Jinx of the Sphinx
An Ouran High School Host Club Fanfiction
By: Kougetsu
Chapter 6: Alone
I moped to myself dejectedly as the Hitachīn brothers dragged me down the long, second story hallway and towards Music Room 3, each having a hold on my arm. It was like being dragged to your execution in one of those dramatic crime shows or something. Of course, the two had ambushed me as soon as school ended, keeping me from a hasty escape. I never had a chance.
When the doors opened, the entire Host Club was inside and instantly watching me. I sighed as they looked at me in curiosity and confusion, most wondering why I was here, except Honey and Mori, who were at a table as Honey stuffed his face with an inhumane amount of sweets.
Looking off to the side, I reluctantly muttered, "...I wanna join the Host Club..." The all stood staring at me for several long, agonizing seconds. Then, as you can probably guess, Tamaki pounced on me.
"That's great!" He cried, holding each of my hands in his as his blue eyes sparkled with undeniable delight. I growled detestibly with something like disgust, pulling away and resisting the ever growing intense urge to replace his sparkles of delight with my fist. Kyoya stalked past me leisurely, scribbling in his black book.
"Glad you see it our way." He said with a seemingly innocent smirk and calm attitude, missing my murderous glare. He was definately behind this, and he would pay.
I don't think I've ever even considered having a Blacklist before. I now had one. Hikaru and Kaoru were first on that list. Kyoya was next. Why were the twins first? Because they were the main cause for much of my torment at school and now afterschool. They weren't going to get off so easy.
"We welcome you, commoner, as an honorary member into the Host Club!" Tamaki declared, pouring on the sparkles to visually enhance his supposed Princely charm. A moment later, he snapped his fingers. "Hikaru! Kaoru!" The two appeared next to him with an army salute.
"Boss!"
"Get a uniform for Kurokoinu-kun, on the double!" He ordered with authority edging his voice. The two twins gave a quick 'roger' as they ran off to god only knows where.
"It's Jinx." I corrected with a growl. It went unheard as the twins came up behind me, grabbing me by my arms and dragging me into the nearest changing room against my will, where Hikaru and Kaoru tried to force me to put on the males uniform.
I must've wrestled with them for over ten minutes, somehow coming out victorious as I chucked the lilac blazer and black pants out of the changing room. Luckily my black raincloud gray, faux-fur lined vest and black jeans were still in place, or I probably would've beat the nuts outta them. The two seemed a bit flustered, crossing their arms in thought while I glared daggers at them from my seat, blushing very slightly. You'd be blushing too if the twins had just tried to forcibly rip all your clothes off.
A lightbulb went off above their heads as they each snapped a finger in unison, slipping out the cloth makeshift door with a new idea glittering in their eyes.
Dear god, what were they planning now? They suddenly returned, ambushing me from behind the cloth door and wrestling me. Sadly, I lost this tussle.
They dragged me out of the changing room. My black attire was now accompanied by a fake black tail, a dog collar, and fluffy black dog ears that stood up in a round point like a wolf.
"What is that?! I said the uniform!" Tamaki shrieked, blowing steam out his nose like an angry bull you'd see in American cartoons.
The two of them put their hands on their hips indignantly, a perfect reflection of the other, scowling very slightly as I tugged at the fake dog ears questioningly.
"Well... we couldn't actually get her to put on the uniform..." Kaoru began.
"...but we did come up with the next best thing!" Hikaru boasted, beaming proudly.
"Introducing the new Dog of the Host Club!" They both declared, a random drumroll sounding from virtually nowhere as the lights dimmed and a spotlight magically fell on me.
"That's all well and good, but is this neccasary?" I deadpanned, tugging at the fake dog ears once more.
"Of course!" They chimed matter-of-factly. I really doubted it was.
"Besides, the guests will find it adorable!" Kaoru pointed out cheerily. I didn't want to look adorable... I didn't even want to be here... Damn the twins and their stupid blackmail! And damn the Mr. Blackbook, Kyoya, for planning it!
Not surprisingly, Tamaki already seemed to be warming up to the idea.
"I see..." Tamaki said thoughtfully, eyes closed in contemplation as he held his chin in one hand, elbow resting in the other hand. "Great work, you two!" He praised, shooting them an approving thumbs up. I scoffed in disbelief and looked off to the side. Dear lord, Tamaki was an idiot...
"Now we just need a type for Kurokoinu-kun." Tamaki mentioned.
"Type?" I asked skeptically. Suddenly I heard a loud metallic rumble and felt vibrations in the floor. Was that an electric motor? A second later I could hear a loud ruckus of annoying laughter, a girl with hazel hair adorned by a pink bow and wearing the yellow girls uniform slowely spinning out of the ground on a circular rig like a ballerina figure on a musical jewelry box, save for the music and the pose. Where the hell did she come from?
"That's right!" She crowed as the rig clanked to a stop. "Every member of the Host Club has a 'type' to meet the needs of our guests!" She declared in a dramatic voice, her tone obnoxious, sharp, and - regretably - hard ignore. She raised an indix finger and continued.
"So far, we have Tamaki, the 'Princely' type, Kyoya, the 'Cool' type, Honey, the 'boy lolita', Mori, the 'strong, silent' type, the twins are the mischeivous 'Little Devil' type, and of course, Haruhi, 'the Natural'."
"Ooooooookaaay....." I drawled. "...and I care about this...why?"
"Because!" She snapped, thrusting her finger sharply in my direction. "As a new member of the Host Club, you need a 'type'!"
I sighed, sweatdropping. "...And mine is...?" I prompted grudgingly.
"Come to think of it..." Kaoru began, looking at his brother.
"...we already have all the types covered." Hikaru continued thoughtfully.
"Is there a type left, Renge?" Kaoru asked quizically, both twins looking at the girl before she retorted, "Of course there is!", placing her hands on her hips.
"I have the perfect type for Kurokoinu." She stated defiantly before, once again, pointing a finger sharply at me.
"Your type is..." She paused for dramatic effect. "The Shy Loner!" She declared.
"The shy...loner?" I parroted, blank-facing. There were those three magically floating dots again...
"Who is this freak?" I asked, turning to the other members as Renge took on an insulted expression.
"Freak?!" She caterwauled furiously.
"I'd be careful what you say. Renge is the Host Club's manager." Kyoya warned calmly.
"Gotta be kidding..." I growled, practically face palming. I sighed, head drooping slightly in defeat. How I'd make it through the year with these weirdo's was beyond me.
"So now what?" I asked vehemently, about ready to strangle the nearest person.
"Now we prepare for our guests!" Tamaki declared, sweeping his arms in a dramatic arc as a pink, flowery backdrop stood behind him and the air glittered with golden stars. How the hell did he keep doing that?
The door clicked open as opening hour rolled around and the first of the Host Club's guests arrived. Of course they welcomed all the ladies in with the usual greeting and quickly dispersed to different area's of the room, clients with their chosen Host's. I, being my cheery, talkative self - hah hah - sat on a windowsill on the far side of the room. As you can probably guess, Tamaki was charming the ladies by acting kind and constantly complimenting their beauty, the twins were entertaining their clients by acting incredibly gay towards each other, Kyoya simply answered questions about new club products for sale and remained incredibly calm and generally apathetic, Honey stuffed his face with more cake than I'd once thought humanly possible, Mori just sat there, and was being...well... Haruhi. He...er...she...obviously earned his...her title as 'the Natural', entertaining her - hah! I got it right that time! - clients by being herself, meaning helping out whenever and whereever she could, being thoughtful and considerate, and always smiling that unmistakably cute smile of hers.
The Host Club was doing some sort of Native American Cosplay. Apparently Western theme's were, as Renge and the twins put it, 'in' right now and had become the clubs most recent focus. Of course Tamaki was wearing authentic Native American clothing and the biggest crown of feathers I had or probably would ever see in my life. It looked quite wierd on him, especially on the account of his perfect blond hair, blue eyes, and incredibly pale skin. He would stand out more in any Native American culture than he ever would here in Japan.
Of course I didn't really pay much attention or dress up in the stupid costumes. None of it interested me, I was just here by obligation.
"Excuse me?" I looked up at two girls in uniform who'd approached me, trying to mask my disinterest.
"Hm?" I replied distractedly, gazing back out the window again.
"Are you a new Host?" One asked in a mousy voice.
"Yeah." I said, not looking at them.
"Why are you way over here?" The other asked. Casting a killer glare at the twins, I grunted, "It's quieter."
"You mind if we talk to you?" The other ventured shyly. I sighed lightly, waving my hand invitingly and prompting them to pull up a chair. They each did so, folding their hands over their laps.
"So...um...your name is Kurokoinu-kun, right?" The obviously mousier one asked hesitantly.
"Jinx." I corrected mildly.
"Wow, that's..."
"Strange, I know." I retorted patiently.
"I was going to say cute." She gigled. I just shrugged. Whatever people thought was their business.
"So Jinx-kun, what's your favorite color?"
"Many." I replied.
"Huh?"
"I don't like just one." I clarified, fidgetting slightly from where I sat.
"Do you have a pet?" I growled to myself at that, picturing my evil cat from hell. I swear with that long tail it was going to turn into a Nekomata demon one day. It certainly had the right demonic personality, but besides that, what was with all the stupid pet questions?!
"A cat Spawn of Hell." I deadpanned, making them sweatdrop.
"O-oh...really...?" They blinked a moment before giggling. "You're so funny." I turned away quietly at that. I think I was blushing...
"You have any siblings?" The other inquired now.
"No."
"What do you like?" I stopped, thinking a moment as I watched small white clouds drift across the azure sky.
"Nature. Music. Dogs." I listed after collecting my thoughts, looking back at them.
"What about flowers?" The shy girl asked more confidently.
"Sure..." I shrugged.
"So you like dogs?" The other asked. I nodded silently. "So is that why you're dressed like one?" I shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Koiiinuu-kuuun!" I lurched at that horrid, familiar voice singing my name from across the room. Tamaki was calling me. Grudgingly, I slid off the window and slipped past the two girls.
"'scuse me." I grumbled, tracing my way to the robin's egg blue colored couch Tamaki used as his station. I glowered at him silently, but my looks never reached him.
"Could you please help Haruhi serve tea to our guests?" He cooed, trying to pour on the so-called 'charm'.
"Piss off." I hissed, shocking Tamaki's clients as I spun on my heel and walked away, though no one in all of Music Room 3 was paler than Tamaki himself right now. He stuttered stupidly for several moments before regaining his composure and yelling something along the lines of 'not speaking to my "chief" like that'. Whatever.
Of course I'd still help Haruhi, but if they were gonna force me to work for them and thought I'd just take it obediently, they had another thing coming. Besides, Tamaki's gaping expression was priceless.
I suppose Haruhi was expecting me, since he - Urgh... - she looked up at me, passing me the tray with an elegant tea set. It was a little heavier than it looked, but not too terribly.
"I've already made it, so all that's left is to serve it at each table. It shouldn't take you too long." Haruhi instructed cheerily, smiling at me.
I shrugged, taking the trays. First was Honey and Mori's table. I quickly set down a few cups and filled them with steaming, fragrant tea.
"Hi, Koinu-Chan!" Honey chirped, smiling with irresistable cuteness. "Wanna sit down and share some sweets and tea with us?" He inquired invitingly. I managed an apologetic look.
"Maybe tomarrow." I said gently, dodging the same situation as a few days earlier.
"Oh, okay..." Honey said, a little crestfallen. Luckily, he got over it instantly. I sighed with relief, slipping to the next station where Kyoya was. I poured some for his guest, but none for him on the account he didn't want any at the moment. Lucky for me he wasn't a conversationalist. Next were Hikaru and Kaoru. They had an deerskin blanket stretched across the floor where they sat cross-legged, their clients sitting a few feet away from them. Both had on the usual Native American costumes like the others and a large assortment of decorative beads. It actually looked pretty good on them.
"Those beads look amazing on you two." One girl swooned.
"Thanks. Our mother special ordered them from America. Everything the Hosts are wearing today is from her." Hikaru explained casually.
"She wanted to get the most authentic costumes she could, and had to do a lot of research to make sure it was all the best. Of course, it was a lot cheaper than you'd probably think." Kaoru added. "But the beads are a lot more precious to the Native Americans. They were a lot harder to find."
"Yeah, but nothing could be more precious than you, Kaoru." Hikaru purred devilishly, leaning in and pushing Kaoru's head up delicately with one finger on the underside of Kaoru's chin. A light blush and forlorn look delicately adorned Kaoru's face in response.
"Hikaru..." Kaoru whimpered patheticly. Of course, their clients gave a fangirlish squeel as if their phony act of brotherly love was the most amazing thing in the world. Blek...
"Your tea, homo one and two." I mocked unforgivingly, pouring some for them and the girls.
"Well that wasn't very nice." Kaoru pouted.
"Well your rediculous gay act is stupid." I sniffed with something like disgust.
"Are you jealous?" Hikaru challenged slyly, eyes glinting with a sudden plan.
"If you want, you could always join us." Kaoru purred, beginning to rise from his poition on the floor. Hikaru instantly grabbed him and pulled him close, his hand grabbing one of Kaoru's wrists while the other arm snaked around his back, trapping him.
"You can't, Kaoru. Only I can be with you. I won't let it be anyone but us." Hikaru whispered passionately.
"You can't hold onto me forever, brother..." Kaoru murmured weakly, looking frail and helpless in Hikaru's embrace.
"Promise me you won't ever leave." Hikaru demanded quietly, hugging Kaoru closer. The silence dragged on for several seconds as the twins' fanclub held their breath and pulled their clenched hands to their chests, holding their breath as they waited anxiously.
"I promise...Hikaru..." Kaoru whimpered, a soft blush lighting up his face. The girls let out another squeel of fangirlish delight, the twins secretly casting me a tiumphant look. I rolled my eyes, tempted to pour piping hot tea on the two idiots. Knowing Kyoya would make me regret it and the twins would never stop haunting my ever step like a lingering nightmare come alive until either I or the twins grew old and died, I shifted to the next place before anymore harmful ideas could sprout.
Of course, it was Tamaki's table next. He currently had one of the girls under his Princely enchantment before she blushed ten shades of red and said something back, no doubt something along the lines of how kind and gentlemanly he was. I was glad I was too late to hear what they said. Serving them their tea, I quickly slipped away, Tamaki being the last one I wanted to see right now, and made it to the last station where Haruhi sat.
She greeted me cheerily as I set down the tray.
"Thankyou, Jinx." I shrugged.
"Don't worry about it." I replied calmly. I didn't mind talking to Haruhi. She was the type of person who'd listen and not judge very much, try to annoy you for her own personal amusement, or try and use you for her own gain.
"You wanna sit down?" Haruhi offered, tilting her head slightly in a cute manner. Now I know I keep calling Haruhi 'cute' and we're both girls, but I still don't think of her like a crush. As far as I knew, I was no where near being lesbian, or bi, for that matter. I do take note of it a lot though on account that her charm is completely natural and unintentional. Tamaki's charm - not that I could find any - was a lot more fake and for show. He was just a rich bafoon. Kyoya acted nice for the clients but showed his true colors before and after club hours. I guessed it was a business technique, since he was a son of the Ōtari family, but I still thought of him as a snake in the grass. Honey's charm seemed genuine enough, but I got the feeling he wasn't as completely innocent as he liked the portray. I couldn't really find anything fake or secret about Mori. It really just came down to 'if Honey is safe and happy, then Mori is happy'. Of course, with his ever present blank-face, it was hard to be sure. And the twins...well...
.....they were just on another planet entirely.
"Jinx?" I noticed Haruhi was looking at me funny.
"Sorry, just thinking." I apologized. Haruhi nodded in understanding and let it slide.
"Haruhiii!" One of the girls whined, making her snap back to her own thoughts.
"Oh! Sorry. Where was I?"
Apparently Haruhi had been in the middle of one of her life stories before I'd come over with the tea. I listened as she told us about going to the grocery or the convenience store and her father, being as worrisome and overprotective as he was, would stalk her through the isle's and then, 'coincidentally', be found in the next isle where he'd ramble on about something like 'how funny it was running into her there' before offering to carry her shopping basket and go on about how much he loved her. Apparently her dad was also a transvestite. Well now I knew why she dressed in boy's clothes...
She had a few short moments where she'd talk about her deceased mother and take on a thoughtful look, like reliving the past. It was interesting to hear her talk about it.
After a while the guests were ushered out, leaving me, once again, alone with the Host Club. As soon as the door clicked shut, Tamaki fluttered over like he was floating on air, sparkles and all.
"Jinx, you were great!" He cried ecstatically, almost moving to hug me. Luckily I was ready and repelled him from doing so. "Who knew you could be so natural?" What the hell was that supposed to mean? I decided it was better not to ask.
"Yes...looks like you've already gotten two requests." Kyoya said from behind me, seeming to come out of nowhere as he scrbbled in his black book. God only knew what horrible secrets he had in there.
I turned and glared so venomously everyone in the room stopped in their tracks or whatever other activity they were doing, paling white as deathly silence ensued and the sound of wind and a stray tumbleweed filled the void. When I scared the crap out of everyone from Honey to Kyoya into quiet terror, I turned and abruptly left the room.
I sighed quietly to myself as I walked, slipping past several buildings before coming across my run-down old home. Slipping inside, I froze in the doorway.
Father was home.
My heart skipped a beat as his head turned towards me, glaring so hard I couldn't stand to look at him. His face was set into a growl, lips pursed as he rose from the couch where one of his movies was playing on the television. I dropped my bag by the door as he lumbered towards me, tall and menacing as a full-grown bear.
I deflated as he stood over me, feeling his cold, dark eyes on me even though my head was down.
"You're late." He growled venomously, making me flinch at the tone. "And you never called." He added just as harshly.
"I couldn't find a phone at school...and I don't have a cellphone...so I couldn't get...through..." I trailed off weakly, feeling his furious gaze boring into me. His hand instantly grabbed my arm with painful force and pulled me swiftly across the room, nearly dragging me as I stumbled. Whipping around a corner and half-way down the back hallway, he yanked the door to my closet sized bedroom open and thrust me inside forcefully, slamming the door shut loudly and plunging me into claustrophobic darkness.
"You aren't eating tonight." He snarled as I heard the sharp click of a metal lock on the other side. My eyes watered as I pushed into a corner, hugging my knees to my chest and choking back my tears, throat tightening. I'd just get over and wait till morning when he'd unlock the door for me to go to school, same as I always had. I knew by now how to handle this. As long as I got close to no one, as long as no one found out, I'd be okay. I'd make sure no one found out, so they wouldn't worry. So that no one would have to bear this pain and misery but me.
As long as other people were happy and didn't get hurt, then that was enough for me. Even if I was alone.
Old Authors Note(From older account - Old chapter location account: Kougetsu_KitsuneHinote_Hakuma): Awe, so Jinx isn't so bad, is she? ;3 Chapter 7 and the others may not be out for a while but Chapters 7-8 are completely written, Chapter 9 is about 40% done, and Chapter 10 is finished. Don't ask me why, cause I won't say ;C Anyways, please press the pretty button below and leave some reviews or my muse for writing this may die! D;