"Wow, this place is really fancy!" Mai stared up at the Ouran Academy. It was a beautiful, extravagant building and Mai could hardly believe it was a school. She and Naru had just arrived and were busy unpacking the equipment.
"Mai, why don't you stop gawking, and make yourself useful," Naru said, piling up a series of cameras and books in her arms. "Take these to Music Room #3."
Mai was about to mutter a resentful comment about always having to carry things, when she remembered the article she had read earlier. Produce a positive vibe.
"Sure thing," she said, smiling brightly. But Naru was already unloading more equipment, his back turned to Mai. She sighed and sulked off towards the school.
As she entered the building, she was taken aback by how magnificent and grand it was. She made her way up the marble staircase, and down a wide corridor. She stopped for a moment to admire the view from a large window overlooking the courtyard. The sun was shining brightly on the neatly trimmed hedges and a large, clear pond below.
How could anything bad happen at this place? She wondered. She continued down the hall and thought back to their first meeting with Tamaki…
"It all started a few weeks ago," he had explained to them while sipping a cup of tea. "At first it seemed like nothing – some flickering lights, creaking noises, and so on. We assumed it was just faulty wiring or something like that. But then things started to get worse. We would hear strange voices and laughter when no one but us were in the room, and things would start to rattle and move on their own."
He set the cup down on the table, using his pinky finger as a cushion. Mai saw the fear in his eyes, and knew that it must be serious. "Just a few days ago, we were sitting in the music room where we do our hosting, and out of nowhere a series of bloody handprints showed up on the walls! We were all very frightened by this, so when I heard about Shibuya Psychic Research from one of our guests, I thought I would contact you to see if you might help."
And that was that. They had a new case…
Mai finally reached the music room. The door was slightly ajar. She wasn't sure whether she should knock or just go in. Since her arms were full of equipment, she decided knocking was out of the question. Using her foot, she pushed open the door.
She was immediately taken aback by the powerful aroma of flowers and bright lights and mist swirling around her. For an instant she didn't know where she was. There were trees and strange plants and an array of colorful flowers covering the entire room. Mai momentarily thought she was in a rainforest.
And that's when she saw them. Out of the mist came seven of the most handsome boys she had ever seen. "Welcome," they chimed in unison.
"Is… Is this the, uh, host club?" Mai managed to say.
"Yes, it is," said a tall redhead, appearing at her side.
"Looks like we have ourselves a first time guest," said another boy, suddenly at her other side. He too was a tall redhead. Mai was seeing double. They were identical twins!
They wrapped their arms around her waist and led her into the room.
Just then Tamaki hurled himself at them, sending the twins flying to the floor. "You get your dirty paws off of Mai, you perverts!" He yelled, pointing an accusing finger at them.
"You know her, Tama-chan?" A very short, blonde boy caring a stuffed rabbit stepped forward.
"Yes, Honey-senpai," Tamaki said to him, "This is Mai. She is from Shibuya Psychic Research."
A dark haired boy with glasses scribbled something into a notebook. "We've been expecting you," he said. "I suppose I should introduce you to the members of our Host Club. I am Kyoya Ootori. You've already met Tamaki." He then motioned to the twins who were getting up off the floor. "Those are the Hitachiin twins – Hikaru and Kaoru. And that is Mitsukuni Haninozuka."
"But you can call me Honey!" The short blonde boy chimed in. "And that's Takashi!" He pointed to a very tall, dark haired boy. "Most people call him Mori. And this is Usa-chan!" He proudly held out his stuffed rabbit.
"He's very cute," Mai laughed. "But, um, aren't you a little… young to be a host?"
"Don't be fooled by his height," Said another boy, "He's actually a third-year."
"No way!" Mai exclaimed.
"It's true," he laughed. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka, by the way."
"Nice to meet you," Mai said. There was something odd about this boy, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"I believe Tamaki has already explained the nature of our case to you," Kyoya said.
"Yes," Mai replied. "He said you've experienced some strange disturbances."
Kyoya nodded, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Unfortunately this ghost, or whatever it may be, has been scaring off many of our guests." He consulted his notebook and frowned. "This has significantly decreased our profits. The club is losing money."
Mai heard Haruhi sigh. "It's not entirely about the money. We're also concerned about the safety of our guests."
What a gentleman, Mai thought. "We'll do everything we can to help you," she declared. "I'll just set up this equipment so we can monitor the room, and hopefully we can find out who – or what – is behind this."
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Tamaki said, "I believe I already know who is responsible." He thrust a wooden doll into the air.
"What is that?" Mai asked.
"Why, it's Beelzenef," said an eerie voice from behind Mai, "Beelzenef the curse doll!"
Mai spun around to see a dark figure cloaked in all black towering over her. She gasped and stumbled backwards. She caught a glimpse of Tamaki hiding behind one of the coaches. The twins had trapped Haruhi in a protective embrace, despite his protests. Honey had climbed up on Mori's shoulders, and was hugging his stuffed rabbit tightly. Everyone seemed to be trembling with fear, even Usa-chan – everyone except for Kyoya, who seemed to remain calm.
He adjusted his glasses. "Mai, this is Umehito Nekozawa. He is a student here at Ouran."
"He's also the president of the Black Magic Club," Tamaki whispered from behind the coach. "He's the one who's been cursing us!"
"That is correct," Nekozawa let out a sinister laugh. "With the power of Beelzenef the curse doll I have placed you all under a powerful –"
"He's clearly an amateur," A voice interrupted.
Everyone turned to see Naru enter the room. "He could never have cast such a curse," he continued.
Nekozawa started to protest, but Naru cut him off once more. "I don't even think we're dealing with a curse here. I believe this is the work of… a poltergeist!"
