After a delicious lunch of omurice (which Hanami and Haruhi ate on the bare floor, due to a lack of a tatami mat), Hanami groaned and fell onto her back, clutching her stomach.
"So… full!" She gasped. Haruhi blinked, then doubled over in peals of laughter. Hanami was sprawled on the ground in such an awkward position! Hanami waved her arms around, making a sort of debris angel. Her hand hit the parcel she had received earlier. Sitting up, Hanami grabbed the package and ripped off the note attached to it. It read:
"Fujioka-kun, kindly wear this shirt with the pants you wore yesterday. Signed, K. Ootori."
Haruhi took the card from a puzzled Hanami and read it as Hanami unwrapped the high quality paper. In it was a box that contained a mint green, silk men's dress shirt.
"Uh…." Hanami stared blankly at the shirt, unsure of what to do with it.
"Hey, that's the color Tamaki-senpai decided that the host club is wearing tonight!" remarked Haruhi. "Except we're wearing vests as well.'
Suddenly, everything made sense. Kyouya, the ever-so-calculating Shadow King, wanted to create a feeling of curiosity around Hanami, leaving the customers wondering about her. Er, him, as Hanami would be pretending to be. With the matching shirt, the girls would assume Hanami was a host. But if 'he' wasn't wearing the vest, then 'he' wasn't a host. Or maybe just the naughty type… Either way, the ladies would be quite interested. And they would not be so bold to ask questions, being raised in such a refined atmosphere. It was an ingenious plan, Hanami had to admit. Surely, Kyouya knew (and meant) business.
Hanami must have had an "Ah…I get it!" look on her face, because Haruhi poked her hard, wondering why Kyouya had sent the shirt. "OW!" Hanami scowled, rubbing her arm. "That's gonna leave a mark!" But she explained the plot anyways. The two laughed over the silly plan and Haruhi retreated to her own apartment to prepare for the party (which meant taking a nap and drinking many energy drinks.)
When it was almost time for the host club to pick Haruhi and Hanami up from their apartment complex, both girls were already dressed (Hanami was vest-less, of course.)
The two were sitting in Hanami's apartment, having an intense conversation about the newest sale prices on the Maruchan Midori no Tanuki instant soba. Haruhi was trying to compare prices while Hanami was speculating on taste, and it just so happened that Tamaki burst through the door, announcing, "The King is here!" He assumed a very striking pose, but jumped out of it when he heard that the two girls were discussing a soba called "Tanuki."
"Ohh! Is Haruhi talking about a Tanuki? She is an adorable raccoon, isn't she?"
"Senpai, I'd advise you not to call me a raccoon." Haruhi glared, causing Tamaki to hide behind Kyouya (who was walking through the door.) Looking past the two, Hanami saw that the rest of the hosts were coming in as well, all dressed with the mint green shirt and vest.
"Ahahah! You two are so cute, ne! Hana-chan, are you ready to see us in action?" chirped Honey as Mori nodded towards the girls.
"Come, let us commence into the realm of beauty, love, and divine dancing!" Tamaki said eloquently with a graceful sweep of the arm. He held the door open and ushered the hosts out of Hanami's apartment, and Kyouya led them to the limousine.
Hanami felt that the fancy, elongated cars were a nuisance. They were kind of a waste of money… Then again, the hosts always had the money to waste. However, as Hanami sank into the plush suede seat, she sighed contentedly. Haruhi slid in next to her, and Honey and Mori took the seat across from them. Along the side of the vehicle, an expensive-looking leather bench was occupied by Tamaki and the twins. That meant…
Hanami slowly swiveled her head around to see that Kyouya was sitting next to her, a smug grin on his face. Frowning, she turned back around. But, she felt his presence lingering around her and felt a shiver down her spine. What if he tried to kill her? Hanami didn't put anything past the infamous Shadow King…
"Well, well, well, look who's dressed to host?" Kyouya's low whisper resounded next to her ear. "I wonder how many customers you might reel in, even before you officially join the club." Hanami shifted her weight into Haruhi. ANYTHING to get away from the evil scary lord!
The host club arrived at Karuizawa at long last, and Kyouya's driver pulled up in front of the Ootori family Karuizawa vacation home, er, mansion. All 8 passengers filed out of the car and entered the home, where maids were scurrying about trying to clean and decorate the place. In the kitchen, top chefs from around the world were preparing dishes such as fancy European hors d'oeuvres. Kyouya led them to one of the many living rooms, and invited everyone to sit. He waved his pencil at Hanami and informed his friends that she was to be a host.
"But before she can host, we have to change her name, and give her a sort of pseudonym. The name 'Hanami' is blatantly feminine." he said. "Let's make this interesting- whoever calls out the best name will receive some of Haruhi's childhood pictures." Kyouya held a few of them up, and the games began!
"HEY!" Haruhi yelled. She needed to have a little talk to her father, Ranka.
Tamaki and the twins yelled out random names such as "Yuki," "Kyo," and "Tohru," which caused Haruhi to scold, "Tamaki-senpai, please don't read Fruits Basket to the twins. Shoujo manga is unhealthy!" Eventually, Hanami revealed that her middle name was Noriko, but Kyouya felt that it sounded too feminine, even if the name was unisex.
Haruhi volunteered the name Daichi (which, coincidentally, she got from a shoujo manga that she had been forced to read to Kirimi Nekozawa.) Haruhi ended up winning the photos, pleased to get them back. And so, that was that. To the customers and other students, Hanami would now be known as a boy named Daichi Fujioka. Thankfully, Hanami was still allowed to be Haruhi's cousin. But now, she was a male cousin. Who had nothing to do with PineComp.
Guests began to arrive in their imported European vehicles, and the dance party went underway. Hanami had looked for Haruhi, but her cousin was currently dancing the waltz with an adoring customer. Sighing, Hanami leaned against a pillar (….Kyouya-senpai has pillars in his house?!) and watched the scene. After a few minutes, some of the braver girls asked 'him' to dance. Tamaki had raced over and tried to whisper dancing instructions in Hanami's ear, but Hanami pushed him aside.
"Senpai, I've already learned how to ballroom dance. I took many years of lessons in America."
"Ehh? Daichi-kun, that's amazing that you learned to dance since you were young!" cried the girl on Hanami's arm. With a pointed look, Hanami whisked the young lady away to the dance floor. Thankfully, Hanami's dance instructor had ordered her to learn the male part as well, for coordination.
Within a few short minutes, the song was over and Hanami led the girl away graciously. A few more girls asked for a dance, until there was actually a small sort of line. And of course, when girls gathered to whisper about the hosts, in the center of it all, was Renge.
"Oh-ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! It seems that a new character has arisen! Will it be a host? Are a bystander? Or a customer like Bossa Nova? It is I, Renge Houshakuji, your daily source for the Ouran Host Club Love Love News!" Renga cackled, using a chair as her podium. "Daichi-kun must be host! If he is not yet, he will! But first, girls, we must determine his host type!"
"Oh? What did you have in mind, Renge-san?" Kyouya came up, carrying his black notebook. Behind him, several of his fans trailed, peering over his shoulder to look at Renge. Honey and Mori joined the cluster, along with their fans, until everyone in the room was clustered around Renge, anticipating the news. Well, save for Haruhi, who was investigating the appetizer table (she was uninterested in Renge's ramblings today. And.. did Kyouya remember to buy ootoro sushi?) and Hanami, who was staring at the large clump of people, looking confused.
Out of nowhere (presumably because of Renge's fangirl tendencies), all the lights dimmed quite low except for a single, bright spotlight which was placed on Hanami.
"Ah!" 'Daichi' raised an arm to shield 'his' eyes from the blinding light.
"Look. The grace that Daichi-kun exudes. The dark, jet-black hair that is swept aside carelessly. The hazelnut eyes that look into yours while you dance. Could this be angst? No, I think not. Daichi-kun also emits an air of Americanism. His calm but outgoing personality, the grace yet the joviality, clearly Daichi is the American host! An international character!" Renge screeched. All the girls clapped, astonished.
Hanami felt that Renge was a bit strange. Hanami was American, but she wasn't aware that that could be a host type as well…
"BOO!" yelled the twins. "Wrong! It seems that the fangirl antenna is broken." Was Renge really so out of ideas that she used 'Daichi's' previous home for his host type? Haha. What a fool.
"NO WAY!" Renge yelled back. "There is no way I'm wrong!"
"My apologies, Renge-san, but it seems that the twins are right." Kyouya handed over his black notebook, Tamaki straining his neck to get a look.
"What is it, Renge-chan?" asked Tamaki, leaning over the folder. His eyes widened when he saw what it said. Renge was staring at Kyouya's results sheet on Hanami's personality.
"Eh? Renge-san, what is it?" girls clamored. "Tell us!"
"Daichi is.." she began, as everyone slowly turned their heads to stare at Hanami, er, Daichi intently. "Daichi is… the host type."
A/N Whoa. Long chapter. Be prepared for more long chapter like this, because I'd like the story to progress faster now. Anyway. Tell me what you think so far! Any questions? Comments? Advice? All of those are greatly appreciated. Stay posted, okay? And I don't own Ouran, Fruits Basket, or Kitchen Princess (didya recognize Daichi's name?) Anyway. It was really fun to write this chapter. Cause I get to use Renge. She's like my role model-for otakus everywhere!! MOE!