Before I knew it, I was looking up at a huge, very pink school. Ouran Academy, one of the most prestigious schools in Japan, only rich individuals or honor students could attend. I had fretted so much when I had gotten dressed this morning, I normally chose an outfit for the day but I ended up changing three times, redoing my hair twice. I finally settled with a flattering black peplum shaped shirt with a chic pencil skirt that had pastel stripes in black, pink and baby blue. I completed the outfit with nice 3 inch peep toe baby blue heels with a pastel pink purse that I got for the occasion. I did my hair into an elegant side wrap braid. I had given it my all. It normally took me max 30 minutes to get ready and this morning it took me two big whooping hours. I took a deep breath before marching up to the school.

My mind went back to what the letter had said:

| Congratulations you've been chosen to become Ouran Academy's new zoo therapist. We believe it could benefit our students to come in contact with animals to lower their stress level on a daily basis. Your talents especially stuck out to us and we would be ecstatic to have you fill in the position.

Hope that we get acquainted soon

Ouran Academy Chairman

Suoh, Yuzuru|

I also remembered that my long time pen pal Haruhi was coming here as well, she spoke about this school quite often in her letters, well now they were emails since she had free access to a computer now. Now her and I go way back. We first interacted with each when I was in 9th grade and she was still in elementary school. We had to choose a pen pal from all around the world and practice English together. Well I was already acing in English at the time so it wasn't much of a struggle for me. I had taken the little Japanese girl that I thought at the time was purely adorable. Her first letter had been a complete enigma to me but it didn't take time for her to catch on. Even after the project was over, we kept in contact through letters since she didn't have a computer at home. When she told me she had gotten in Ouran, I had been ecstatic.

"I wonder if I'l run into her today" I wondered quietly to myself as I made my way to the school.

I walked into the school tentatively. My palms were growing progressively sweaty, I had to wipe them on my skirt as I adjusted it one last time. It was so huge, it appeared almost cavernous. I stood in awe at the luxury, positively breathless at the architecture of the place.

"Excuse me, you must be Miranda" A male voice broke through my daze. I blinked and looked up at the tall male in front of me. He stood tall at 6" with shaggy sandy blond hair, that fell in front of his stormy grey eyes. He had a straight nose with a nice chiseled jaw. He wore nicely tailored navy blue suit that matched his eyes.

"U-uh! Yes that's me, I hope I'm not late" I rambled nervously as I dipped into a bow. The man chuckled warmly as he ran a hand through his hair, trying to take the bangs out of his eyes.

"It's no problem, your right on time" He answered with a charming smile that almost made my knees buckle. Oh my that was starting well…

"You must be our new zoo therapist, I've heard a lot of good things about you" He said as a blush dusted my cheeks. Man news seemed to be traveling fast.

"Oh I'm not that great to be honest" I said modestly, waving a hand. The man graced me with another knee buckling smile.

"I'm Masato, Kaito by the way, I'm an art intern here" He introduced, giving me a small bow. I gave one back almost automatically.

'Miranda Turquoise sir" I introduced nervously, almost tripping over my words.

"Call me Kaito please, no need for formalities with me" He chuckled, adjusting his tie. "How about we do this tour hm?" He suggested, gesturing to the vast staircase behind him.

The tour was pretty interesting as I gaped at almost everything in fascination, but I pushed myself to listen and pay attention, I knew that I tended to space out quite often and I couldn't do that here. I had to do my best. We ran into a few students, who seemed to be loitering in the halls. The boys wore a lovely uniform with a blue blazer with black pants while the girls… wore an unsavory banana yellow dress that in my opinion looked just awful. I kept my posture straight, since I tended to slouch a lot and I had to correct that. I even took etiquette lessons from my grandma and practiced my poised façade. I was in a rich school so my lack of manners had to be corrected.

"Oh and Tattoos and wild coloured hair are prohibited" Kaito finally said as he turned to me. I snapped at attention right away, trying to not look guilty when I realized I hadn't been listening to him the whole time, once again lost in thoughts. My hand went to my hidden tattoo on my wrist. I had assumed as much.

" I can't take it! Your too adorable, don't look like a scared rabbit just now" I was suddenly engulfed into a hug, making me drop my purse with a plop, the guy squeezing the life out of me.

"K-Kaito-k-kun can't…breath" I choked out as I tried to put some distance between us.

"Oh I'm sorry if I breeched your personal space my lady" He apologized cordially, adjusting his suit since it got all rumpled up when he hugged me. I patted my hair to make sure everything was still in place; the bobby pins were starting to irritate me though. They dug into my scalp uncomfortably, I couldn't wait to get home and take them out.

"It's quite alright" I reassured, waving a hand. I had a good looking guy call me cute, that alone made my day. No, you didn't come here for that. I told myself firmly. I came only for business purposes; I can't let myself be distracted by something as mundane as love…right?

Kaito and I took a seat at one of the windows and were simply conversing over a mug of coffee taken from the cafeteria, which wasn't like my old high school cafeteria at all. It had gourmet dishes of gastronomic proportions with high class cooks. I couldn't believe this school.

"Ahhh this feels great" I sighed as after I took a sip of the rich, slightly bitter coffee. That just hit the spot, if that school had killer coffee as well, I was officially sold.

"Want some coffee with that sugar Randa-chan" I twitched slightly at the nickname but didn't find the heart to correct him. I gave him a look over the rim of the cup.

"Hardy har har, you're a comedian you know that" I said, pushing his leg slightly with my foot. He grinned mischievously, showing off his pearly whites. I found myself quite at ease with Kaito and let me tell you, I'm really awkward when I talk to boys. I was as awkward as a trout to be honest. Although on the other hand, once I get to know them, I become one of the boys, I make jokes with them and I can truly be myself in their company. I was never a girly girl. I knew how to dress the part but attitude wise, I might as well be a boy. I swore like a sailor, I was crude and often jumped in on the dirty jokes. I glanced outside, leaning my head against the warm window pane as I cradled the warm cup into my hands. The courtyard was so vast and beautiful. I believe I caught a glimpse of a huge cedar hedge maze in the back. We were snapped out of our gentle silence by loud voices coming from down the hall.

" Noisy" I grouched with a displeased expression as I took another sip of my coffee. Kaito looked over his shoulder to see the source of the racket.

"Oh their from Ouran's famous host club." He said as if he was stating the obvious. Hmmm why did that word suddenly sound familiar but I couldn't help but ask.

"Host Club?" I tilted my head to the side curiously.

"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 the Ouran Academy's elegant playground for the super-rich and beautiful." Kaito recited as if he had heard it plenty of times.

I stared at him blankly. He chuckled, his hand raking through his hair to take his bangs out of his eyes.

" The tallest blond, that Tamaki Suoh, the chairman's son" Kaito said in gossipy tone, pointing to a tall blond who seemed to be fussing over a small brunet boy." He's the club president"

"The guy with the glasses, that's Kyoya Ootori" He pointed to a guy with glasses, dark hair and he seemed to be writing in a black book." He's the club vice-president "

"The really tall guy with the child on his shoulders, that's Takashi Morinozuka and Mitsukuni Haninozuka" True enough , the guy was really tall with short black hair and the child on his shoulders had sandy blond hair." By the way…Mitsukuni is in college"

Ehhhh talk about weird. He must have more of a complex about his appearance then me…

" The twins, are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin" Oh no not twins, I was bad at telling them apart. They both had spiky ginger hair. They looked like they were teasing the brunet.

" and lastly, Haruhi Fujioka, an honor student, who is in my opinion the most down to earth person in that darn club, aside from Kyoya and Mori" Wait…hold the phone. Haruhi Fujioka!?

The noise only got louder as they got closer. Haruhi as in my Haruhi. Before I knew it, I was found myself standing, handing my cup to a confused Kaito, who took the cup, almost dropping it. Sure enough, it was her, I could recongnize her anywhere. I suddenly felt nervous, what if… she ended up not liking me?"H-Haruhi?" I called tentatively as they got closer. I almost froze when they all focused on me. I saw recongnition flash in her warm brown eyes.

"Miranda?" She asked in disbelief, pushing away the clingy blond 'president' I couldn't hold back a squeal as I ran towards her, my heels clicking rapidly on the marble floor.I squealed again when we met half way. I squeezed her hard as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, my heels making me much taller then her.I felt her arms wrap around my waist.

"Oh I can't believe it! It's really you" I squealed, rubbing my cheek onto her hair affectionately. Oh to say she used to be this cute little girl and now she was all grown up." Look at you, to say you were so little when we started writing to each other" I said fondly, pulling away, resting my hands onto her shoulders, a spark of affection warming up my heart.

"I can't believe it myself, what are you doing here?" she asked in disbelief, a bright smile lighting up her face ,making me want to squeeze her cheeks at her cuteness.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm the new zoo therapist here" I said as I proudly set my hands on my hips. I saw realization flash on her face.

"Oh right, you did email that to me a few days ago, I've been so busy with homeworks that I totally forgot" She said rubbing the back of her head, smiling in apology.

"Haruhi, mind introducing your little friend here" the blond haired president asked. Wow, that guy was even more handsome from up close. As all of them were.

" Oh Tamaki-senpai, this is my long time friend Miranda Turquoise" She introduced and I gave a small timid wave.

"Long time" One the twins started.

"Friend?" the other finished his doppelganger's sentence.

"Why yes, me and Haruhi started writing to each other way back when I was in middle school while Haruhi was in elementary school" I explained, wrapping a casual arm around the brunette's shoulders.

" My daughter, why have you been hiding this from daddy!" The blond yelled loudly , making me flinch at the loud noise.

Daughter,Daddy?

" It just hasn't come up senpai calm down" Haruhi replied calmly.

-Kiss Kiss Fall in Love!-

Me and Haruhi ended up switching cell phones numbers and we ended up making plans for the next day. I also took in note Kaito's numbers, he would be a pretty nice person to hang out with, not that Haruhi wasn't it was more because he was more of my age. I was really happy that I made friends with someone today. It hadn't been my main objective today but I was proud myself. I didn't let my anxiety get the best of me. I had seemed confident on the outside but everything was a jumbled mess in my mind. My anxiety wasn't crippling per say, but it did cause me to be socially awkward at times and it made it difficult for me to make friends.

I stepped into my apartment, which had been provided to me by my wasa a condo style apartment, that was luxurious and decorated with style. It wasn't all that big but it was big enough for me.

I let out a sigh of pure pleasure when I kicked off my shoes and dropped my keys into a bowl near the door. The sound of claws scratching along the wooden floor caught my attention.

" Oh there he is, my little munchkin!" I gushed as I picked up my boston terrier, Winston.I hugged him tightly to my chest, showering his face with kisses. I had brought him along with me for my trip, I didn't have the heart to leave him behind, he was my baby. Anyways, I often brought him to work with me so this was no difference.

" you didn't miss mommy too much did you?" I cooed as I wandered into the kitchen.I set him down and reached to into the bottom cupboard for his dog food. I took a measuring cup full of dog kibbles and poured it into his bowl, which he scrambled to eat hungrily. I rolled my eyes and reached to change his water. I let the water run, putting my finger under the stream, filling the bowl once i judged it cold enough. I set the bowl down and slid down the cupboard to sit on the cool ceramic floor with a sigh.

" This was a long fulfilling day Winston" I said with an exhausted smile, petting at his back as he chowed down at his food hungrily. He was such a little piggy.

-Kiss Kiss Fall in Love!-

My first day of work went really well. I always felt good about helping others, especially when I could actually rely to them on a certain level. I held back a giggle when the male student left, a deep blush on his face. I had a total of three girls and two boys, which the boys would always blush upon seeing me. I got complimented far more times than I could actually count. I blushed a couple of times myself.

I closed and locked the door of my office, sighing deeply in contement, feeling accomplished.

" Today was a good day, wasn't it, Princess?" I asked the Chihuahua that was in a small carrying bag. She barked once, the distinst thumping of her little tail was heard against the sides of the bag. I giggled, giving her a tiny threat, which she gobbled up eagerly, crumbs falling all over the place.

Princess wasn't mine and actually belonged to Kaito, he had begged me to keep an eye on her since he didn't want to leave her alone all day. Let say it was a good thing that I used animals in my field of work or that wouldn't have been possible. I had left Winston at home, I felt like he needed to get used to the apartment first before moving him about. He tended to get gazy when he was nervous, and let me tell you, it wasn't really a good thing when it happened in confined spaces. The school had ooffered a myriad of cats and dogs but I settled with Princess for now.

I had to find Haruhi. We had made plans for after school this morning via text message. I reached for my phone into my purse. I took it out and unlocked the lock screen by running a finger across the screen, revealing a selfie of me and Winston as my background.I went into my sms tab and went to see the ast message she sent me.

|Haruhi:I have club activity after school so wait for me at the fountain outside

Me:Alrighty I had answered.|

Club activity uh? Perhaps I could swing by and see what the big fuss is about. People, especially girls seemed to talk about it a lot.

I had changed out of my formal clothes, opting for something more casual for when I went out with Haruhi. I had slipped into a short sleeved teal dress with black and white striped jersey leggings. The heels of my studded back teal platforms clicked noisily onto the floor, the sound echoing off the walls. I fixed my hair in one of the hallway mirrors, straightening my teal and white flower headband. I retouched my make-up and lipsticks before giving a small smile to the mirror and went on my way trying to remember the plan of the school.

'Eto….she said third music room 3 right?' I wondered aloud, absent-mindedly petting Princess's head. The Chihuahua didn't offer me an answer. My hazel eyes scanned for my reference point I had set for myself with my photographic memory. I remembered that flower pot and that baby blue vase. I was getting closer. The halls seemed practically empty, a few students lingering here and there. The club activities were now open so most students had gone to said club or naturally went home.

The sunlight filtered through the windows, casting shadows of the windowpanes onto the red carpet underneath my feet. I stopped in front of a door which had a 'music room 3'sign on top.

"This must be it' I said softly, wrapping my thin fingers around the handle and slowly pushed down the handle, opening the door only a little. Both door suddenly yanked open and I was showered with roses. I batted them away and sputtered. Princess barked as the petals seemed to scare her. I blinked as I was met with a western scenery, with the hay bales and the whole shebang. I stared in awe.

' Miranda-chan?' I looked up quickly, only to realized I had frozen in the doorway. I stepped into the room meekly, suddenly feeling nervous.I wrinkled my hands infront of me, fiddling with the edge of my skirt. I finally looked up to who had addressed me. I saw Haruhi, who was dressed as a ranger wearing a blue engineer bib shirt, a red neckchief, brown canvas trousers with dark brown cowboy boots.

"Oh umm hey Haruhi" I offered meekly, walking over to the female in disguise, feeling cold sweat cover my skin as everyone seemed to be staring at me. Did I just embarrass myself in front of everyone? My eyes darted around nervously, taking in the few familiar faces that were littered around the room. My chest felt tight and I felt like bolting.

"Mira-chan! You decided to come and visit us' Tamaki's loud voice broke through my anxious haze. I looked up at the blond, visibly startled. He was dressed as a shootist. He wore a white cavalry bib shirt, classic brown canvas trousers with black leather corsair booth. The look was completed with a dark brown fringed coat. The fringes ran along the shoulders and down the arms.

I backed away as he suddenly breached my personal bubble, Princess small yips told me that she didn't take it well either.

"Oh is that a puppy?" I heard Mitsukuni (Honey) say excitedly, one more person that was coming into my personal space. He was dressed as a saloon keeper. He wore a white Victorian man dress shirt with a high stand collar that had a little pink bow tie tucked underneath along with a pink vest with decorative white pattern. He also wore pink brushed cotton trousers. He had a pair of pink arms garter along with white dress shoes. I winced unintentionally. I shushed Princess ,gently petting her.

"Geez guys giving her some space" Haruhi said, clearly irritated, her hand gently grabbing my arm and took me away from the two overly excited blonds. I hadn't realized that my breathing became labored and that Princess was licking at my hand as I gripped the strap of her bag tightly.

" You guys need to learn the means of personal space seriously' The short brunet crossdresser scolded as the two blonds had the modesty to look ashamed. I had a feeling that this didn't just apply to the two blonds.

" Don't look so afraid, their idiots but they mean no harm' I heard Kyoya's cool voice say, which kind of temporarily soothed my anxiety. I backed away from the trio to approach the teen who was sitting at a table with a black book and a laptop. He was dressed as land agent. He wore a black pinstriped vest over a charcoal gray rounded color shirt that had a bow tie tucked underneath the collar. The trousers matched the vest.

"Sorry to bother you Haruhi, I thought I would come and see the club that your into and show some support you know" I said timidly, scuffing the tip of my shoe on the polished ground. I would absolutely hate the fact that I could be bothering her.

" O-oh well come take a seat then, the club will open soon" Haruhi said with a faint smile, motioning to a table . The knot in my chest slowly unwinded as I we made our way to the table. I noticed Mori sitting at a table dressed as a highwayman. Honey seemed to be all over the teen, who was watching him diligently.

He wore a grey vest over a black dress shirt with black canvas trousers. The outfit was completed with a black frock coat and black boots.

His steel gray eyes met mine. I offered a small meek wave which he answered with a small shake of the head. The club seemed to be decorated like a typical saloon, with a bar in the back where Honey and Mori were standing behind. Some table were scattered all around the place.

There was even a poker table which seemed to be held by the twins, who were dressed as cardsharps. They both wore a high collar Victorian dress shirt ;Hikaru wore a teal vest while Kaoru wore an orange coloured vest over it. They both wore arms garters that matched with their vests. They both wore black pants.

I sat down on one of the chairs that surrounded a round table that had rose vase in the middle and a beautiful tea set. I made sure to stay poise and keep my back straight. I set Princess's bag on the floor besides the chair before carefully pulling her out and set her on my lap. She circled on herself a few times before settling down with a sound akin to a sigh.

"That dog is adorable, where does it come from" Haruhi asked as she poured us some tea. She handed me one of the cups. I took it gratefully ,taking a tentative sip, making sure to raise my pinky. Man, acting like this was exhausting…

" Oh that's Princess, Kaito's dog, he asked me to watch her for him" I answered, fiddling with the pink bow around the dog's neck.

"The music interns dog?" She questioned ,taking her own cup and taking a sip. I nodded, rearranging said bow since it was all askew, probably from moving around too much. I turned as I heard the doors open, female students filtering in, gossiping and giggling.

-Host Club is now open!-

" Shes so adorable Mira-sensei!" one of the girls at Haruhi's table squealed as she took note of the dog in my lap. Princess perked up, her ears straight on her head.

"I'm glad you came to visit Mira-sensei, the host club is the best" Another gushed, hearts in her eyes. I chuckled softly, some girls were highly impressionable weren't they. Although…I would of wanted something like the Host Club at my school… For someone to tell me I was a princess, that I was pretty. Maybe it could of given me more confidence, more self-esteem that I clearly lacked back then and even now…It wasn't at its best. The confidence and self-esteem at school were all a façade to hide how incredibly insecure I was…Fake it till you make it….right?

"Time to switch!"One of the twins said

"Come with us Mira-Chan!" The other said as I was whisked away from Haruhi table. Princess barked in indignation as she was disturbed from her rest. She was quieted however when one of the girls picked her up and showered her with affection. I was forced into a chair at the poker table. I looked at the grinning twins with displeasure.

"You could of just said so instead of dragging me here" I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"say Mira-chan, want to play a game?" They asked in perfect unison, which left me blinking at them.

I felt weary all of the sudden. Haruhi did warn about how they could get with their 'games' and the fact that they called her their toy wasn't helping.

"That game is?" I asked wearily, not liking that little secret smile of theirs.

"It's the which is Hikaru game!" They announced with flourish. Well fuck. I didn't know which was which yet…

" umm, I-I don't think I can play…" I said softly, staring at my folded hands that rested in my lap." I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings if I don't get it right and I don't know you that well yet so perhaps …another time?" I said, offering them a small closed eye smile. I took my eyes away from my lap and saw them staring at me. Did I hurt their feelings by not wanting to play their game? M-Maybe I should of tried, just to humor them. The look in their eyes made my heart pinch, their expression were indescribable. My bit my lip hard, almost drawing blood.

"Miranda-sensei, would you mind coming here a second" I heard Kyouya call from his spot at one of the table. I held my head down, my bangs coming to shadow my eyes as I offered a meek bow to the twins and briskly watching over to the teen. I could feel the twins eyes on my back.

" Yes Kyoya-kun" I said softly, holding my hands in front of me, trying to will my heart to slow down as It thudded away against my ribcage. The black haired teen offered a smile but I could clearly see that it was a fake one but didn't call him out on it.

" I believe that you are aware of Haruhi's predicament yes?" The teen started, his hand never stopping as it flew across the page of his notebook.

Oh yes I was aware of her 8 million yens debt. That was a shit load of money, she did get herself in deep trouble but I guess paying it off while working here wasn't all that bad and besides, she told me she loved it here.

" Yes I am well aware of her sizable debt" I doubted that sizable could even cover how much money that damn vase costed. The teen chuckled, pausing in his writing to push up his glasses ,causing a weird glare to appear on the lenses.

"Then may I make a proposition to you," He said casually as I took a seat in the chair in front of him. I couldn't see his eyes anymore and that made me nervous, that little smile was unnerving." Why don't you extend your work to here, in the host club, like that not only the girls will benefit your services but us as well"

Well it did seem tempting, not all of them had necessarily the time to come and visit and I would be able to see Haruhi more often so it was a definite plus.

"What do I get from this exactly?" I asked, folding my hands into my lap, regarding the male in front of me, carefully placing a blank expression on my face.

" you would help out Haruhi in paying off her debt and you would help the students mood along the way" Damn it, he had to get me by the feelings. I had to give it to his guy, he was good.

"Alright, if I can help Haruhi, then ok I'll do that club thing doohickey" I finally agreed, sticking my hand. Why did I have a bad feeling about this? Kyoya shook my hand with a bone chilling smirk.

" Oh did I mentioned that you had to disguise yourself as a man?"

…Well fuck….