Chapter Six

Haruhi sighed as she made her way down the hallways of Ouran Academy. it was her second day, and she was already exhausted. Now it was time for her elemency test.

The door was easy to find with all the elemency pulsing from behind it. Magic wasn't currently being used from within the confinement of the large room, but Haruhi could feel the magic coursing through the walls, ceiling, and floor none the less. Magic and this room were old friends.

"Fujioka, Haruhi. 15 years old. Class 1A. Water mage," a voice listed off as she entered the room. No one was in sight, but that meant nothing. The voice probably came from an overhead intercom, and the headmaster as well as some others were probably hiding behind one of those one way mirrors you see in police dramas on tv. Haruhi refused to be phased or intimidated, and pressed on.

The room was dark, pitch black when the door shut behind her with a thud, before three evenly spaced lights clicked on. Are they trying to scare me away? she pondered. If they are, it isn't working. She stood tall, shoulders wide, back straight, feet apart, stance strong. She was a fighter; she wouldn't back down.

"Welcome," the headmaster's familiar voice floated to her. "Do you have any questions?"

Haruhi shook her head.

"Good."

Haruhi smirked, her suspicions confirmed. He could see her.

"Your test begins now."

A light turned on in one of the far corners of the room, revealing a three tiered fountain. Koi fish, Japanese carp, swam obliviously in the base as water trickled down. Haruhi shivered at the thought. Water.

"Stop the water flow and lift the fish out of the fountain."

Haruhi closed her eyes and relaxed. Be careful. Don't reveal your full strength, her father had warned yet again when she told him of this test. A task as simple as this was easy for her, but it could not appear so. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Opening her eyes she approached the fountain.

With a lift of her right index finger, the water slowed to a stop. She lifted her pinky and twirled it calmly. Ten fish floated in the air, each in their individual bubble of water as so not to suffocate. Their wet white, orange, and black scales shimmered in the direct light.

"Very good. Now, put them in a bigger bubble and put them in the top tier."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. Is this supposed to be hard? She lifted up her left hand, and brought both hands together. The water mimicked her motion, and all ten bubbles combined. The fish now interacted with each other, swimming around and chasing one another, if not floating around lazily. Again she poked out an index finger, and guided the bubble to the top tier, releasing the fish when their destination was reached. A small splash erupted, but no water was spilled.

"You may allow the water to continue flowing, but don't let the fish fall." As if expecting her to be confused, he added, "Use your imagination."

Her left hand raised above her right, which gave a swipe and released the water. As soon as this was done, Haruhi moved her left hand, which was in a fist, up and uncoiled her fingers. The spurt of water bursted higher and arched so that it landed directly on the second tier instead of the third. The fish continued to lazily move about.

"Good." The light over the fountain shut off, and another turned on in the opposite corner. This time it revealed a basin of water, no living creatures included. "Freeze the water."

Haruhi took in a deep breath and held it. The water froze.

"Release it."

She exhaled, and the water unfroze.

"Make an ice sculpture."

This time the sequence of event make sense. To freeze that amount of water takes strength, but to create a sculpture takes skill and control. Haruhi smirked. More skill, but not too much for it to be a problem for me. She raised both of her hands, palms up, and started making shapes.

Slowly, as to perfect the outcome, a scene of stars and moons took shape. A mobile, strikingly similar to the one she had as a child. Dark clouds acted as the support, and thin strands of water, so thin they were invisible, held the figures to the clouds. She twirled one of her fingers, and the scene spun. The stars even seemed to twinkle.

"Huh!" a gasp sounded. Haruhi rolled her eyes. They think this is impressive…. but her dad's urgent words held her back. A shame. Haruhi sighed. "Astounding. Let it go."

The mobile was quick to rush and crash back to the basin, but Haruhi slowed the water just before it hit to stop the water from splashing and spilling.

"Use the water as you will."

Haruhi smirked. This is going to be fun. This time, she didn't use her hands. Instead, she crossed her arms and let the water move as it wished as her eyes pull it out of its confinement. It was like water in a zero gravity zone. It spread out in all directions, remaining at a certain level, but escaping anywhere it could. Haruhi received gentle caresses in thanks as the water flowed around her. She laughed as it tickled her arms and stomach.

She regained her bearings, and started a cycle. Water drifted to the ceiling where it accumulated into a giant rain cloud. There it rested for a second before crashing down in big raindrops and then whooshing up again. A wind even started to blow from all the movement.

"That's enough." The shock in his voice was hardly hidden, much to Haruhi's amusement. "Give me a minute." All the lights came on, and Haruhi nudged the water back into the basin.

After a minute or two, the door opened and the headmaster walked in with an astonished look on his face.

"How'd I do?" Haruhi asked with a smile on her face.

"I've never seen anything like it before….. Can you do it again?" he breathed.

Haruhi gave a short chuckle and turned. She brought the water out and started the cycle again, but not before waterproofing the headmaster. He gasped in surprise as the shimmering blue enveloped him. He looked at her.

"I figured you might not want to get wet."

He nodded before turning back to the rain, sticking a hand out. Haruhi slowly removed the shield from that hand so he could catch a rain drop in it, and he did so.

He chortled in joy and turned back to her. "Amazing, Fujioka-kun."

Haruhi smiled in appreciation before putting the water back, for a final time, in the basin and releasing the headmaster.

"It's decided. You are going to be part of the host club. You'll be the only girl, but I hear you have been passing as a boy, anyways… I can't say I approve, but as long as no one gets hurt, I suppose it's fine. They're all masters, so they'll be a little apprehensive, but I'm sure you'll do fine. It's the abandoned music room three."

Three thoughts passed through Haruhi's mind at the headmaster's words. One, that there really was a group of master mages there, and that she somehow landed herself in their hands. Two, that they met in the room she walked past yesterday with all the screaming girls. Finally, three, that her dad was going to be pissed.

Her thoughts were pushed aside as the headmaster placed a firm hand on her back and guided her out of the room. "Well, I look forward to communing with you in the future, Fujioka-kun, but for now you best be on to class. I will see you later?"

Haruhi nodded numbly and walked off. Then she realised she was lost. Again. It had been easy to find the room due to the elemency in it, but her classroom was a different story. Haruhi groaned. I think I came from this way…. She headed off.

A few minutes later she heard a bell ring, signaling the start of class, and that she was officially lost. Damn rich bastards and their overly large schools… she complained from within. A few minutes later, it was clear she was getting nowhere as she noticed the classrooms were those of the upper classmen. Haruhi sighed for the umph amount that day. This is hopeless…

"Thanks," a familiar voice said from around a corner. Where have I heard that voice before? I hope it isn't one of those bullies…. or that kid with glasses. I don't think it's that annoying blond, I would recognise his voice, I surely heard enough of it. Haruhi groaned from the unpleasant memory. She wasn't sure the help was worth the accompaniment. She brushed it off and continued walking.

"Woah!" Haruhi cried as she almost fell before a hand caught her, spilling papers in the process. She had just ran into the familiar voice, and it belonged to none other than Mori. "I'm sorry!" she yelped, still surprised, before scurrying to help him collect the papers.

"Mmm," was all she got in reply, but she still managed to pick up the silent acceptance it implied. "My fault."

She looked up and met his dark eyes as she handed him the last of the papers. "No, I'm pretty sure this was my fault, but thanks anyways." They both stood, and Haruhi brushed herself off.

"Help?" Mori asked. Do you need help?

"I'm kind of lost," Haruhi admitted. Her hand came up and landed on the back of her neck, her own little way of showing embarrassment. She didn't like asking others for help.

"Where?"

"Room 105." Mori nodded and started walking.

This continued for a while before he stopped in front of a room. It wasn't Haruhi's, she knew this much, but Mori stopped anyways and turned to her.

"My class," he informed her, before motioning to the stairs at the end of the hallway. "Down the stairs, take a right, first room on your left."

"Oh!" Haruhi nodded. I think I can remember that. "Thanks Sempai…." she drifted off, and he nodded. "Could you tell Honey-sempai I said thanks, too, please?" He gave a slight lift of this lips and nodded. "Thanks."

She would have waited for him to go to class to take off, but, ever the gentleman, Mori seemed to wait for her. She nodded again and walked away.

Mori's instructions were easy to follow, and after explaining why she was late-much to her embarrassment-the day passed by like usual. That is, if you could call a commoner at Ouran Academy normal. It wasn't, really, but Haruhi was fine with this.

At the end of the day, as expected, she somehow managed to find her way to the abandoned music room three. Without getting lost even, much to Haruhi's appreciation. Tall mahogany doors stood in front of her with newly polished gold door handles. She took a calming breath, and pushed.