I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, and I never will. I just own little Maya and some of the shenanigans she gets into.


3

The Second Day: Settling In

6:48 PM; Dublin Airport

Maaya Ootori


Everyone moved to stand as the seat belt light flashed off. Haruhi and I waited patiently in our seats. I heard some host-related discussions behind us, most likely fawning over the eager blond speaking casually with our homeroom teacher.

He said he was carrying out a personal favor from the chairman by attending this overseas trip with us. I still thought he just wanted to get into Haruhi's pants. If he had the balls to do it, that is.

I rubbed at the bandage just above my knee. Damn Kyoya. Damn trip. Damn school. The only good thing about this trip was the destination: Europe. There were various "adventures" planned for our time here, but I hadn't spent much time regarding the agendas, in hopes that I wouldn't have to take part in any of them.

The aisle finally cleared enough for us to collect our bags from the overhead compartment and join our classmates ahead. Tamaki swore traveling in the commoner plane he took his first year would infect us with his class' love, or some shit like that. I waved politely at the pilot and his flight attendants. I was sure they got their moneys worth, flying with this group.

A strip of black caught my eye, but it quickly vanished. I blinked. Two thin arms snaked easily around my shoulders. A tuft of ginger hair tickled my cheek. A twin. The familiar hum against my ear was enough to recognize him.

"Good morning, Hikaru." The name rolled off my tongue so simply. He dug his nose into the nape of my neck in silent appreciation. I couldn't control my eyes rolling at the sensation.

"We couldn't find you two this morning." Kaoru spoke somewhere to my right. I could only imagine he had Haruhi trapped in a similar way.

"How heart wrenching. We'd almost successfully spent a full twenty four hours apart." The words tumbled lazily from my mouth. I felt the rumble of a laugh at my back. Another pair of arms entangled themselves around me.

"Don't you love us, Maaya?"

"Don't you want to make memories with us, Maaya?"

They both whined in my ear. I had almost forgot how clingy these two could be. I turned towards Haruhi for assistance, but found her nowhere in sight. You had got to be kidding me.

I glanced from left to right. I surveyed the whole area. She couldn't have gotten lost from the pack already, could she?

I zoned out the babble at my eardrums, as my search became a tad more urgent. She better not have found a way out of this dumb trip without me.

And then I spotted her. She stood next to a shadowy corner, conversing with herself? I scooted closer to get a better view, the twins shifting their holds to walk beside me.

Hikaru and Kaoru spotted the mystery figure before I could.

"Boss!" They called out in unison. A chilling shiver darted down the second year's spine. Tamaki squinted at the three of us, with a look that could only be described as remembrance. Did the bitch forget we were going to be on this trip too?

My gaze hardened into a glare. In a few quick steps, I had Haruhi's hand in mine and began dragging her away. Tamaki scowled at the now empty space in front of him, a rather pathetic sight even for him. The twins hung back to properly take the time to laugh at the king's misfortune. I could still hear his silly cries as we fled.

"What did he want?" Our suitcases rolled behind us as we followed the herd of tittering teenagers. She shrugged before responding.

"He's got some crazy idea into his head again. Something about a homosexual supporting cast." Her tone was bored as usual, but I could tell she appreciated the upperclassman being here. As much as she teased, the big blonde lug always did find a way to make her laugh. I wasn't willing yet to say she shared the same feelings for him, but Tamaki's chances were beginning to look up.

We all filed into crowded lines to finish the customs process. Everyone showed each other such bright smiles. If the overwhelming sound of our group wasn't any indication of the excitement in this class, I didn't know what was. There were many hushed whispers from passerby as the flock finished the final security procedures.

As we neared the airport exit, the sound of rain flooded into our ears. Haruhi and I stopped by the windows to take in the view. Dublin was undeniably beautiful, and the accents weren't too bad either. I suddenly missed being home in my own bed just a little bit less.


A sea of umbrellas swarmed the streets outside of The Merrion Hotel. Limousines of all sizes lined the curb nearest the entrance and backed up the adjacent intersection, taking turns dropping their passengers off at the door. Classy heels clacked against the wet bricks before disappearing into the hotel's foyer.

Our bags were shuffled between bellhops to meet us at our doors upstairs. Haruhi, the twins, and I snuggled deeper into our overcoats before making the dash inside. The teachers managed to check us all in, while the available lobbies became more and more congested.

Luckily, we were with the Hitachiin twins. Bundles of seats were opened up for the two as we neared the first seating area. They didn't miss a beat, plopping cross-legged into the closest loveseat. I took a seat beside Haruhi on an empty sofa, grinning at the previous occupants in gratitude.

"So, what are your plans?" Hikaru mused over the cup of coffee a waiter immediately served him. I skimmed over the beverage choices for myself, before shifting towards him. Kaoru took my silence as a cue to finish their thought.

"Ouran gives us a schedule, but we have a lot of free time." He clarified. Hikaru nodded in approval. Haruhi and I shrugged.

"I don't think either of us really thought about it much, to be honest." She spoke as she struggled to open her bottled water. I moved to help, but Tamaki had beaten me to the punch. I didn't know where he had come from or how long he had been there, but the pink hue steadily building on Haruhi's cheeks kept me from questioning for long. He rested on the arm of the sofa. His face bloomed red at either Haruhi's touch or the amount of strength he was putting into opening this bottle.

I cackled as he passed the drink to me with a dejected frown. I popped off the cap with ease and handed it back to its owner. I heard a whimper that made me smile.

"You have nothing planned?" Kaoru pondered with a smirk. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"This is our only first year trip, you know?" Hikaru followed his brother's lead, setting down his drink on the coffee table between us. He leaned in closer with a matching grin.

"That means we have two more of them ahead of us." I added bluntly. I wasn't about to get swept up into one of these two's games.

"The heathens are right. You will only experience this time once. It needs to be cherished!" Tamaki assumed 'The Tamaki' position, with his head resting in one large palm and a knee planted firmly on the ground. I ignored the scene it caused with the female onlookers.

"Technically, you only experience everything once." I spoke with little to no interest. "I'm sure I will experience enough just following the schedule, thanks."

Tamaki peeped up at me with the saddest eyes. What a pouting little pup.

He stood from the ground to sit beside me, so I scooted further towards Haruhi. He moped at the action.

He took my hand in his, bringing it up to his cheek and sighing.

"My poor Maaya. You have yet to find the magic."

I showed him a perky smile, before taking my hand and clasping it tight around his button nose. He shrieked in horror.

"What were you saying about 'Poor Maaya'?" I asked as he scampered over to the twins' seat. Murmurs burst out amongst the peanut gallery around us, but it only took a fleeting look from Haruhi and I to silence them. Annoyingly, the room then erupted into giggles from male and female students alike. I grimaced at the sound, while Haruhi merely waved back at her fangirls.

Although I was purely an honorary hostess, I had begun to build up a particular audience in the student body. It was all my damned brother's fault. I knew to be careful around Tamaki. I found that out the hard way the first day we met. Whenever I were to complain in front of that Suoh, he would string together this embarrassingly stupid plan that would only put me in an even worse situation. I suppose I always did end up with a better outlook on the condition, but that's not the point. I didn't think I needed to censor myself in my own home. I was terribly wrong.

It all began one day, not unlike any other. I had just finished a rather long day of school and was relaxing in my favorite reading nook. The room always stayed at the perfectly programed dim setting, and the many windows kept the room chilly yet comfortable. One of the many household cats would curl up in my lap and stay a while.

My phone rested on my bouncing thigh as I hummed to the music filling the room.

"What did he say?" Fuyumi's soft voice crackled through the speakerphone.

"Chairman Suoh so politely informed me that it would be a 'necessity' for me to pick up a couple extra curriculars. Said something about honoring the Ootori family name. Akito never spent time with clubs and he turned out fine." My lower lip jutted out in annoyance. As soon as Tamaki had taken a liking to us, so had his father. Tamaki assured the man only wanted the best for us, but I was fine on my own. I could clearly see the chairman's need to keep a close eye on not one, but two of my father's potential heirs. Old men, same competitive asses.

"Maybe he's right. A club could be good for you." She chirped back. She was permanently deemed the positive one of the family.

I exhaled a deep sigh, a couple stray baby hairs springing free from my elastic tie. I picked up the phone and brought my knees closer to my chest by responding.

"I'll think about it." It was meant to be a kinder way to end the conversation, to show I had made my mind up on the matter. Fuyumi understood that and quickly changed the topic.

The phone call went on for a while longer. She never knew when to stop in my opinion, but it was never uncomfortable speaking to her. When she moved in with her husband, I initially thought we wouldn't be seeing much of each other anymore. Boy was I wrong. She thrived on filling the empty spaces our mother left us with in her absence.

So, we talked that day, and I thought that was the end of it. I would courteously decline the chairman's request, stating my grades and home life occupied such great portions of my life I simply had no more time to take on another activity. I didn't take into consideration how fast news traveled in the Ootori family.

It started with Fuyumi speaking to Akito. Akito to Yuuichi. And finally, Yuuichi to Kyoya.

Now, this is where the topic would usually die. If it were of little to no importance to the family (which it was), no more conversation would be needed. Our time is best spent on things that can benefit us. That's at least what my father always said.

It escapes me now what I had done to be put in Kyoya's bad graces. Before the Host Club, we weren't exactly close. We solely respected each other's personal space. We understood our limits. But, an Ootori's anger is not something to underestimate. A situation could be completely turned upside down if one angered Ootori would arise. It was never a question on whether or not we held grudges, just when and how our revenge would be served.

So, during one of our spats, we went our separate ways, mine to the estate and his to his precious host club. At the time, I had only been studying at the Academy for a few short months. I had made many acquaintances, but none really more than that. And I was perfectly content.

Little did I know, that day would be the very first day Kyoya would enlist the help of Tamaki Suoh. Haruhi Fujioka had recently become the newest member to join the host club. My smug older brother thought it cute to ask a favor of the blonde king. He knew Tamaki already worried about Haruhi's great lack of female companions, so when Kyoya spoke that I seemingly had the very same problem (along with the fact that I had not found a club to my liking), it did not take long for Tamaki to hatch up a plan.

Many long days of stalking, bribing, and begging later, I glumly took the title of "newbie" in Ouran Academy's Host Club. The rest was history.

"Maaya?" I saw a pale hand swipe at the air in front of my eyes. I shook my head to rid me of my memories.

"Sorry. Just thinking."