A/N:
Hey everybody! I decided to try and throw another chapter up before I went to camp at the end of the week. You'll actually get to see a small glimpse the Host Club in this chapter, so, Hoozah! :D
Without further adieu, here's chapter two!
Okay, yeah, I lied. Gotta put that disclaimer thing somewhere…
Disclaimer: Yep, I own OHSHC, I actually bought it on eBay last night. No of course not you sillies! I only own Kara. :D
The long flight had landed about three hours ago, and at this moment Kara was rearranging her personal things in her new room at her uncle's vacation home in Japan. It was no mansion or anything more than just a modest home really; four bed rooms, three bathrooms, and two sitting rooms, each on a different half of the house. The room Kara was staying in had a bay window, just like her old one, that overlooked beautiful park where people could be seen walking dogs and jogging and then the occasional couple holding hands.
Japan was proving to be more beautiful than Kara could ever had imagined as she lazily watched the leafy trees that swayed in a gentle breeze. At the center of the park which Kara planned on spending a good deal of her time, was a small pond with happy ducks sunning themselves around the banks wile trying to avoid the splashes of playing children.
Now that some of the larger things were put up, there was the bed to try and tackle. Kara looked at it with a grimace.
She would have to grow accustomed to the fact that she would no longer have house-maids to help her make her bed or prepare her meals. The only other resident in the house was an older woman who was to make sure that Kara was attending school and avoiding trouble, you know, or robbing any banks in her spare time. At least she, or someone, had put all the clothing that preceded Kara's arrival on the hangers in the small closet and dressers.
'This is going to take some getting used to…'
The bed was only a standard size, much smaller than what Kara had ever slept on, if you didn't count Kiersten's couch while watching movies that is. She spread the peach colored comforter that had been given to her over the surface of the recently dressed mattress and smoothed out the creases till it was smooth as the surface of a still lake.
Bed made and everything else put up, Kara decided to add her personal touches to the room.
A colorful array of scarves were draped over the corner of the vanity mirror and colored the light that bounced off of the mirror in several shades of bright hues. The floral decorated jewelry box that was given to her by her great grandmother sat in the corner of the vanity dresser's smooth marble surface. The pinks on the box complimented the light colored wood of the bedroom suite and made the room a little brighter. For something only a few inches in length and height, it sure had a good habit of brightening a place.
Kara pulled out the tub of poster putty she had made special note of to pack and began to put up her menagerie of wall décor. Pictures of various people and artworks began to overlap each other as the wall deemed 'poster perfect' began to fill. She stood back and looked at the now covered surface with a content smirk.
There was a nail situated perfectly above the head board of the bed where she hung her cork-board filled with pictures of her and Kiersten, as well as other close friends, family and pets. Looking at the collage of memories started to bring stinging tears to the corners of her eyes which Kara quickly wiped away and kept unpacking.
Soon all the walls had at least one thing on them and the surfaces of the room were no longer bare. If there was one thing Kara hated, it was empty walls.
The nightstand to the right of the bed held a picture of her family on the last vacation they had together as an actual family. They had gone camping and Kara in the middle of the cluster of loved ones; a huge smile plastered on everyone's faces and stars twinkling in their eyes. The entire scene was framed perfectly in a simple silver rectangle with small daisy embellishments in the opposing corners.
If only things could be like that again, It was before the company had gotten as huge as it had, and everyone was still humble. Now her mother believed in this whole 'prim and proper' load of crap. She was still Mom, but some of her just wasn't the same.. The two of them never watched old movies together like they used to, and her mother never seemed to set foot near the horses that she used to love so dearly. Kara and the stable boy were the only ones who ever seemed to pay them any attention anymore, and now even she wasn't going to be there. Same for all the other family animals. Nobody would play with the dogs or let the cats cuddle with them while they worked.
Her dad was never home any more either. He would stay till the late hours of the night before he would come home from the small newspaper he ran with his good friend and business partner. Kara didn't ever want to believe it, but it seemed like the family was ripped apart when they got wealthy. Her brother had moved to Alaska to operate a gold mine and her sister had dropped out of school once again and was now working front desk at a hotel in Mississippi. Kara worried about her sister. She had suffered from depression all her life and was finally on good medication, but still their mother paid no attention to her after she had renounced her as heir.
Kara absent-mindedly fiddled with the beautifully detailed copper owl on her necklace that sat just above her breast. It was something she always wore. It really had no significant meaning to her, other than she liked how beautiful the tiny horned owl was. Each of his little feathers had texture on them, making him look almost fluffy.
Kara hoped she could disguise it under the monstrous uniform since the school did not allow jewelry of any sort.
'Ugh, speaking of that uniform…'
Kara finally dared look at the thing. It hung from the hook on the back of the door in a protective plastic covering. The yellow tint could be seen through the opaque plastic and she shuddered. Did it really have to be so full in the bottom? It was going to be ridiculously hot wearing the thing.
'This school better have invested some of their fortune into a decent air conditioning system.' Japan could be hot from what she'd heard. Nothing like West Texas, but she definitely wasn't wearing things like this back home.
The digital clock on the table displayed 6:30 p.m. in it's obnoxious green color like the ones in the movies. 'Time for dinner, I guess.'
Kara made her way through the house to the small kitchen. The walls were covered in a country style wallpaper that was almost the same color of the dress. Tacky green and red roosters were the shape of the cook-ware holders. There was even this awful stir-spoon holder by the stove where you put the utensil in holes where the tail should have been. The roosters all had beady black eyes that were a little unnerving to have staring at you from all directions.
'Really, Uncle David? Couldn't you have at least picked something a little better to decorate with?'
There was a red and white checkered cook book sitting on the counter, presumably for her. At least they didn't plan on letting her starve completely.
'But wait… I have no idea how to cook.'
Kara gulped as she clearly remembered the words of the old woman, "And don't even think of disturbing me unless it's a dire emergency or someone's dying or something or other."
Kara turned in the direction of the outbuilding to the left of the house where the old bat was staying.
Dare she?
Desperate, Kara scoured the fridge and freezer for something that could be heated in the microwave.
No luck.
'Maybe if I just went out for something… I'm sure they have fast food in Japan, why wouldn't they?' Kara thought nervously, twiddling her thumbs.
She decided to avoid the dinner confrontation with the woman for as long as possible. Kara ran back to her room for a pair of shoes suitable for walking, a certain pair of orange Converse that were still the only ones left out would do just fine.
On her way out the door, she grabbed her satchel off of the coat hangar and picked up the keys to the house, then off she went. She went ahead and brought her sketch pad and a pencil with her in case she decided to stop by the park before returning home.
She had about thirty U.S. dollars in her wallet, hopefully that could buy her something filling.
There was one thing about coming to Japan that Kara didn't understand. Her parents had cut her off from their budget. She was given a little money to sustain herself and maybe have a little luxury, but there was certainly no spending room for any extravagant resorts, not that she was really into those things, but she did kind of want to buy a kimono so she could fit in if she went to any festivals. Well, fit it as well as her hair would let her.
Kara's thoughts roamed freely as she walked down the sidewalk, taking the sights and sounds while looking for a place to eat. She had been walking for about twenty minutes now when she spotted a small shop that was selling what looked like noodles of some sort. A wonderful smell wafted from it's premises and lured the blonde in. Three hefty men in construction looking attire sat on stools, that looked like they were straining under their weight, at a counter where steaming bowls of food were being presented to them by young woman with a pleasant smile. In behind on the far wall, a young man around the age of twenty vigorously stirred noodles in a pot. Sweat was building on his forehead as he worked passionately on the food.
Kara, intrigued by the delightful smell and vibrant color of the walls and décor in the little shop, sat down at a stool herself on the other end of the counter. An older woman dressed in traditional Japanese attire came out of the back of the shop to greet her.
"Can I help you, young lady?" the woman asked politely. Luckily, she spoke English and Kara didn't have to try out her new language skills that were still rather weak just yet.
"Um, I honestly have no idea what's good Japanese food-wise, so just surprise me if you will. Ah, but please nothing too expensive. I don't have much."
"Alright then, I'll fix you up something good then," she replied with a smile. "Ayumu! Start an order of shoyu ramen for me."
"Yes Chiharu-Sama." The young man nodded and started to scoop the freshly cooked noodles out of the pot.
He handed the order off to Chiharu and she proceeded to add this and that to it and topped it off with a few ingredients before serving it to Kara.
Kara picked up the pair of chopsticks she had been given. 'Oh boy…' she thought uneasily.
And with that she snapped them apart and dug in to the magical smelling dish. The exquisite flavor was bold, but not overwhelming and the sides that were put on top were to die for as well. This is what she had hoped of encountering when she came to Japan; a real insight to the country, not just this school she was going to be attending.
After finishing her meal and paying the woman, she thanked her and left. It had gotten close to being dark so Kara had no choice but to skip out on the park. Getting kidnapped on the first day didn't sound like much fun, if you asked anyone.
She made her way back to the house after taking the occasional wrong turn sometimes and getting lost. Now she stood at the front door, wishing she had thought of turning the front porch light on so the search for her key would be made a bit easier. She could see the old woman's silhouette, Chikako or whatever her name was, sitting at her table drinking tea, but she dare not go ask to use her copy of the key. She'd rather sleep outside than piss that woman off on the first day. That lady had a scowl that could melt the faces of newborn puppies, and do Lord-knows-what to Kara's face, or soul for that matter.
There was a small beam of light peeking out from one of the windows cutrains of the outbuilding.
'It's not much, but it may be enough to at least find my stupid key.' Kara crept up to the window as silently as she could and each twig that crunched underneath her feet made her breath hitch in her throat. At long last, she had made it to under the window-sill and dumped the contents of her bag out it the light. Out fell her keys with a small jingle and it was all she could do to keep herself from punching the air in triumph.
Kara scooped her belongings back into the satchel and cursed silently as she could feel dirt and a few pieces of debris fall into the bag as well.
She opened the door and hung her bag and keys up on the black coat-rack where they had previously been. There was an eerie silence in the house, and the forever-staring roosters that she knew were only a room away didn't help much with the feeling. Kara turned on the fans in the both of the sitting rooms to try and add some noise. Normally, she would have one of the cats curled up with her to keep her company on weird nights like this, but this time, she was all alone.
After assuring herself that no murderer had broken into the house while she was away and calming herself with a handful of raspberries topped with a dollop of whipped cream, she began to get ready for bed. She put on her favorite pair of yellow and red plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a simple cream tank top that had a lavender bow design printed on the left shoulder that looped down and around to the back. She almost hated to mess up the bed knowing that she would have to make it herself the next day.
Tomorrow was going to be her first day of school at Ouran and she had to try and get some rest and the more she pondered pointless topics, the more tired she grew and eventually drifted over to the bed where she fell into slumber, without ever undoing the bed spread.
"Blee dal dee! Blee dal dee!" The alarm clock sounded in its shrill voice.
The sudden noise startled Kara to un upright position. Previously she had been laying horizontally on the bed, her comforter and sheets still tucked in and just slightly wrinkled.
It was six in the morning, thirty minutes earlier than she preferred, but there were school things to attend to. Kara forced herself to get out of the bed with a tired groan and pops coming from her various joints. Even jetlag can ruin a morning person.
"Why do I have to go the school the day after I get here?" Kara groaned.
The dress stared at her from across the room with its yellow-ness taking up the majority of the door it hung from. All Kara could do was glare back at the thing, as if she could somehow hurt its nonexistent feelings.
"Hrngh," was all she could muster out as she bent over to gather her shower necessities from her bag. In the bathroom there was a fresh towel on the towel-rack, probably left for her by the kind person who had unpacked her clothes. Kara cranked up the hot water till steam started to fog the mirror and climbed in to the shower bathe herself.
When she climbed out of the tub, she wrapped the mahogany colored towel with her uncle's monogram in the corner around her soaking form. Her flaxen hair was plastered to her face and neck and was becoming obscenely wavy. Kara threw on the pair of shorts and t-shirt she had pulled out for after her shower and started on taming her hair down. First she applied a generous amount of heat protection spray and got to work with the hairdryer. Between the blowing heat and the running the brush through it, the waves in her hair started to calm down and eventually began to frame her face nicely.
Kara pulled it up into a side ponytail and put on the black headband she wore almost every other day. This time though, she applied a simple yellow bow strung on a bobby-pin to the headband, to match the atrocious uniform.
Her hair was for the most part, nice looking, so she did what was no longer avoidable and went to put on the dress. The multiple layers of silky fabric where getting hung together in places and made smoothing the thing out impossible.
After fighting with it for another few good minutes, Kara finally got it all straightened out. The poofy shoulders were awkward, but then again, so was the entire thing. She slipped on the dressy flats that came with the uniform- perfect for her feet size- and made her way through the house, stopping in the kitchen to watch her first sun rise in Japan though the small window above the sink. It was nothing compared to her beloved Texas sunrise, but still beautiful.
To Kara's relief, there was a case of chilled orange juice inside the fridge just begging to be drunk. How on earth could she turn them down? She began to greedily reach for one, already imagining the smooth taste running over her taste buds.
'Now all I need is-'
"Kara!" A screeching voice cut off her thoughts.
"Yes Chikako-San?" Kara said as politely as she could, but there was an undertone of sarcasm. The woman reeked of perfume this morning. Maybe, for the sake of the people of Japan, it would fade by the time school was out and she would never put the putrid stuff on again.
"The car to take you to school has been waiting for ten minutes now. "
"Sorry, I wasn't aware I was being waited on." Kara bowed as respectfully as her horrible thoughts would let her before turning and scowling. At the front door, she looped her bag over her shoulder and made sure the keys were in an easy to access spot. The car that sat outside the house was a gleaming black with silver embellishments. The back windows were tinted almost black and on the side was a strange insignia that she did not recognize. In gold, The letter 'O' was beautifully done in cursive and an elaborate oval frame decorated the letter further. The chauffer stepped our of the driver's side of the car and went around the back to open the door for Kara. She walked quickly up to it, trying not to make the man wait any longer than he had already. Kara gingerly stepped in to the beautifully upholstered interior. The seats were a soft black leather that felt amazing to the touch. And the rest of the inner shell was an ash grey with red and gold details here and there. This was way more elegant than the vehicle she normally rode in, and that one wasn't cheap. She didn't dare try to imagine the figure it cost to buy this.
The ride to the school was surprisingly short; she could've walked it if it weren't for the dress. It was actually not too many blocks further past the ramen shop she had dined at the night before.
The school though, Ouran, was amazing. The campus was huge and the architecture was gorgeous. The car pulled up to the drive of the school, which was cobblestone and beautiful in itself. There was a huge clock-tower that boldly stuck out against the sky and white doves flocked around a long rectangular pond with a fountain-statue at its head that, surprisingly, fed the pond through the spout in its 'tastefully-placed' fig leaf.
'Didn't see that coming from a school like this,' Kara thought with an immature smirk.
On each side of the drive were elaborate buildings which she presumed were classrooms and other activity rooms. Kara hoped she could join a good art club to fill the time that she would have spent playing tennis back home. She needed something to do after school at least. Anything other than go home to that mean old bat until she absolutely had to.
Kara noticed that the car she was in was gaining stares. At first she thought they were looking at her funny until she remembered how dark the windows were tinted and there was no way they could possibly see her. The looks were starting to make her a little self-conscious though.
'Maybe there's a weird dent in it or something that was shaped like a cat or something.'
When the car was finally at the front of the drop-off line, the chauffer stepped out to open the door but was caught off guard when Kara opened it herself and got out. Now people were really staring and she blushed a little bit and apologized to the driver.
So, this was it. Ouran Academy; school for the rich.
Even if it wasn't evident on her exterior, Kara was beyond nervous. Other girls in the same tacky dress as herself were whispering among their groups, some even pointed in her direction. Hopefully this wasn't how the entire day was going to play out.
Kara walked in through the main doors to the school, which were huge and beautifully carved wood. Split between the two halves of the door was the insignia of the school; a shield displaying the letters 'O' and 'R.'
Everything about this school so far was gorgeous.
Kara had to go to the front office to get her schedule and try to make a mental map of the buildings before school started. Luckily, the office was easy enough to find. The secretary was kind, a woman in probably her mid-thirties with jet-black short curly hair. She handed Kara her schedule and even was patient enough to be willing to change it if it wasn't satisfactory.
A door, almost as decorated as the main door in front, began to open. On it was a gold plaque that read 'Chairman.' As the door opened further, the top of a head peeked out, revealing just a pair of curious eyes and what lay above. Then, with no warning at all, the door swung open at lightning speed and a middle-aged man who Kara presumed was the Chairman himself was suddenly at her side, with a delicate red rose in hand. He offered the flower to her and she sheepishly took it, feeling there was no turning this man down.
"Ah, you must be the new transfer student, Miss Kara Thorne-Hime"
'Wait, didn't -hime mean princes-'
She was suddenly jerked from her thoughts as the Chairman grasped her free hand.
"Ah, you must be so tired from you journey from America. I do hope that you enjoy my school to the fullest by joining an after school club."
"Well, actually I was thinking about-" Kara began, but was then interrupted once again.
"Ah! Haruhi-San!" the chairman waved a boy in the hall down. The boy looked panicked, like he had committed some heinous crime like taking a cookie before dinner and then was just caught.
"Chairman-sama-" the boy started.
"Uncle."
'Did the Chairman always interrupt people?' Kara was beginning to get slightly irked.
"Right. Uncle. Is there something that you need?" The boy was finally able to finish.
"Yes, Haruhi, could you please escort Miss Kara-Hime here around the school. Or if you want to go to class, just go find my son and let him do so. They're in the same class so that would probably be better anyway."
"Yes Chairma- erm, Uncle."
The Chairman looked completely accomplished at being recognized the way he wanted and with a jubilant punch of the air, he retreated back into his office.
'What and odd man.'
"Well then Thorne-san, if you don't mind, I'll just show you around until we come across Tamaki, the Chairman's son. I'm here on scholarship so I really have to be in class as much as possible."
"Perfectly understandable. Say, is the Chairman's son anything like he is?" Kara wondered, slightly worried about the idea of being the in the same building, let alone class as the guy if he was.
"In all honesty, I think he's worse. Oh and sorry I didn't get to properly introduce myself. I'm Haruhi Fujioka, first-year scholarship student," the boy bowed politely.
"Nice to meet you Haruhi, oh wait, it's last names here. Fujioka-san. Sorry I'm still getting used to the language," Kara said, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs after he lingual screw-up. "I'm Kara Thorne, second-year American transfer student." Kara smiled as she and Haruhi continued down the hall as Haruhi pointed out various rooms.
Students were still filtering in and out of the halls when suddenly;
"Haruhi! Who is this beautiful princess you have in your company?" A rather tall blonde student slid up to Haruhi's side and draped an arm around his shoulder. Haruhi was visually annoyed at the presence of the guy.
'He kind of acts like the Chairman. Oh God, please tell me this isn't him.'
Kara mentally palm-faced at the overactive student.
"Tamaki-senpai, please get your arm off of me," Haruhi hissed, only just majorly pissed.
'Great, this is who I'm stuck with.'
The dark waves emitted by Haruhi's small form scared the Chairman's son away to some unknown corner where muffled sobs could be heard.
"Great, now who will show you around?" Haruhi groaned.
"I'd be glad to, if Miss Thorne doesn't mind."
"Oh, Kyoya-senpai. That would be great!" Haruhi seemed pleased with the new plan until a thought seemed to cross his mind. His face twisted. "This favor won't cost me anything, will it?"
"I don't see why it would Haruhi," the boy named Kyoya stated simply, a glimmer shining off of his glasses.
Haruhi started to say something before Kyoya cut her off, "Unless of course, you would like more added to your debt, which can be arranged."
Even the threat was lightheartedly said with a smile.
'Note to self: don't go pissing this guy off.'
"Now Miss Thorne, shall we go?" Kyoya offered a hand in Kara's direction, which she accepted.
A/N:
Hey readers, which there are surprisingly a few. :D
I decided to try and get at least one more chapter up for the night.
Edit: Fixed the majority of the typos and fixed up some of the speech. It should be a little more human now.
I have a perfectly legit reason for trying to stay up as well, because then maybe I could play the headache role from lack of sleep so I could skip out on lunch with my grandma's old lady friends. I don't think it's gonna work though, so now I'll just be bored AND tired. Woo~
*waves little pennant that reads "Sarcasm"*
Either way, before I leave my grandmother's, I'll try to fit in at least one more chapter, so let's hope so!:)
Thanks for reading and please leave a review!