Disclaimer: I don't own them…blah blah blah… you know the drill. Hatori Bisco's not suing me, you shouldn't either.
Chapter 3
The Prince and the Devils
The next day after school the twins returned to the Host Club. Kyouya was already filling in the blanks on the checks from the Morinozuka and Haninozuka families. Both checks were as generous as the one from the Hitachiin family.
"Here," the twins chorused, handing the check to Kyouya.
The youngest Ootori looked the check over then smiled. "Not bad. This all totals to more than enough for opening day." This was the first time the twins had seen him smile. It actually wasn't as frightening as they heard.
"So, what are we doing with the rest of the money?" Hunny asked. He was sitting on Mori's shoulders, the much taller standing nearby the twins. Hikaru and Kaoru could barely believe Hunny was in his second year of high school. They had an even harder time with the fact that he was the former leader of the Karate Club.
"We don't have to spend it right now," Kyouya pointed out. "It's usually best to keep extra cash set aside in case something goes wrong."
"Nothing could possibly go wrong!" Tamaki declared dramatically. He had been sitting on the sofa, deep in thought. "After all, what lady wouldn't enjoy being served tea and attended to by the six most desired gentlemen in the Ouran Academy?"
"Still, there is no harm in being cautious," Kyouya added. It was becoming swiftly apparent that he was the voice of reason between the two.
"Before we start discussing the opening day of the Host Club," Tamaki decided it best to change the subject, and polite to ask, "Does anyone have any questions?"
Kaoru's hand shot up. "Why a Host Club?"
"An excellent question, Kaoru," Tamaki smiled. He was quite confident in his supposed ability to tell them apart. The truth was that he was just a really lucky guesser.
"I'm Hikaru," Kaoru quickly lied.
"My apologies," Tamaki looked a bit embarrassed, but it quickly passed. "I've always had a fascination for commoner culture, and for them Host Clubs are quite popular. Places where young ladies who do not know the luxury of being cared for in daily life can pay to be waited on hand and foot by handsome men. And so I thought, 'Why can't we introduce the ladies of our world into this noble concept'."
"So this entire thing was your idea?" Hikaru asked.
"Indeed it was, Kaoru," Tamaki nodded.
"I'm Hikaru!" the older twin snapped.
Tamaki stared blankly at the two of them. He could have sworn the other twin said… He shrugged it off. "My mistake," he said apologetically. "It won't happen again."
The twins smiled devilishly at each other. This was going to be the most fun they'd had in a long time.
"As I was saying," Tamaki continued, "It was my idea, but I couldn't have pulled it together without Kyouya." He then made a grand gesture towards the rest of the group. "And my dream can only continue as long as we all work together!"
Hikaru rolled his eyes. Tamaki had to be the most ridiculous person he'd ever met.
Tamaki didn't notice. "Now, there are some big decisions to be made concerning opening day. Kyouya, can you name a few of them?"
So, for the next ten minutes they listened as Kyouya highlighted the biggest concerns of opening day, among which was advertising.
"Obviously, we need something creative and memorable for this," Tamaki said thoughtfully.
"Something bright!" Hunny added. "And colorful!" He'd moved from Mori's shoulders to the sofa during Kyouya's list of concerns. Mori stood almost dutifully behind him, like a knight guarding royalty. He was so silent, most of the others didn't even remember he was there.
"A banner!" Kaoru suddenly exclaimed. This startled even Hikaru. He was thinking the same thing, of course, but he wasn't going to say anything. Kaoru, on the other hand, seemed to be actually enjoying himself.
"I like it!" Tamaki stood up. "Bravo, Kaoru!"
"Hikaru!" Kaoru huffed.
Hikaru smirked. 'At least he's keeping up with our plan.'
Tamaki shook his head and looked back and forth between them. This was getting very confusing. Of course, that was the twins' idea. "S-sorry…" he said, scratching his head. "At any rate, it's a great idea. I can ask my father if we can hang one up!" He then stopped and a gleam of excitement appeared in his eyes. "Wait, not on! Two! One for the school's main hall, and the other for the dining hall!"
Kyouya was writing at full speed. This was all precisely why they needed the extra money. He had to hire a printer, pay for materials, have the halls' widths measured for size…
"What will it say?" Hunny asked.
"How about, 'Open the door to the Third Music Room'…" Kaoru started.
"'And join the boys of the Ouran Host Club'!" Hikaru finished. Kaoru's excitement was starting to rub off on him.
"There should be more," Hunny pointed out. "Like… 'Enjoy exotic cakes and teas'!"
"'Where every lady is a princess'!" Tamaki started into it too. "This certainly was a wonderful idea, Hikaru!" he laughed as he turned to Kaoru.
"I'm Hikaru!" the older twin insisted.
"Wait…what?" Tamaki pointed at them both, dumbfounded. He still didn't seem to get it. "Wait, wait, so…which of you is Hikaru?"
"I am!" the twins said at the same time.
Tamaki blinked. "Then who's Kaoru?"
"He is!" the twins pointed at each other.
Tamaki slapped his forehead. This was getting him nowhere fast.
"Tamaki, don't bother with them," Kyouya finally spoke up. "They'll just keep confusing you if you try to call them individually. Just call them the twins!" He snapped his notebook shut and stood up as the twins glared at him. "I can tell we've depleted our ability to be productive. I'm leaving." And without another word, he indeed left.
"We'd better get going too," Hunny smiled. He hopped back up onto Mori's shoulders. The taller high schooler nodded to the group as they headed for the door. "Bye bye!" his much smaller companion waved as they left.
This left the twins and Tamaki. Not wanting to spend more time alone with the strange blond than needed, the twins headed for the door. "See ya!" they chorused, looping their arms while wearing their devilish smiles.
"Wait!" Tamaki demanded. The usual cheerful tone was completely gone from his voice.
The twins stopped and turned their heads toward Tamaki. "Yes?" they inquired.
Tamaki, for the first time since they met him, looked truly angry. He folded his arms across his chest and pursed his lips together. He actually reminded the twins of a father about to reprimand his children.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Tamaki finally asked.
"Whatever do you mean?" the twins asked innocently.
"You know what I mean," Tamaki huffed. "This attitude. I know you aren't used to having friends, but that's what we all are now. Friends. Most importantly, the rest of us are very excited about being able to have a successful opening day and keep this club going. If you two are going to ruin it for us and the customers then I'm afraid you can't remain a part of this.
Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other. They then shrugged and declared, "Whatever!" As soon as they turned away from Tamaki, though, Kaoru's face turned worried. He wanted to stay in the club, but he didn't want to stay without his brother. He knew that if Hikaru caused too much trouble, though, then the younger twin would have to choose between the two.
As they walked down the hall, Kaoru debated telling his brother how he felt. 'Who am I kidding?' he thought. 'Hikaru already knows. I don't know why I'm bothering to hide anything from him.'
As if on cue, Hikaru asked, "Why do you like this Host Club so much?"
"I don't know…" Kaoru shrugged. "I guess because they're not like everyone else. They're different…like us."
"Nobody's like us!" Hikaru snapped. He was determined to retain his stubborn disdain for other people. Kyouya's attitude toward them helped feed that fire.
"I'm sorry," Kaoru muttered, looking away. He didn't have to say it was for lying the previous night. Hikaru already knew.
"I know," the older smiled, squeezing his twin's arm a little tighter. "Just promise you'll never lie to me again."
Kaoru took a deep breath and smiled back. "I promise."
