Hikaru and Kaoru were sitting in chairs at a hosting table, chatting away meaninglessly with the three girls in front of them and not really paying all that much attention. It wasn't that interesting of a conversation, anyway, just the same things they had heard a hundred times before and a hundred times again. Favorite this, favorite that; favorite food, favorite class. Even the hosts themselves would use the same flirtatious line every now and again! There was nothing new.
That is, until she came in. The one person who was never the same as anyone else in the school, the only one who didn't do things just because she simply didn't want to. And, out of all the places she could've gone, she came to the host club. The members of the host club didn't notice her standing in her own little corner of the room at first, too busy with their clients, but the girls didn't see her either, too busy with their hosts.
It went without saying that any few who did happen to glance her way flat out ignored her. Whether out of fear or plain disinterest is up to interpretation, but the main thing is that she was alone. And that was the way she liked it; no pressure to make interesting conversation or to answer or ask questions. It was just her and her thoughts, completely alone even when around so many other people.
When it was time for the hosts to switch clients, she quietly took a seat next to Hunny and across from Mori. The two hosts were facing the girls that were leaving the tables to say their goodbyes, so neither Hunny nor Mori noticing her silent approach until they turned back and saw her sitting there. As she looked up at them, she made it obvious she wasn't trying to impress anybody; she was slouching forward in her seat, an arm on the table and head on her palm. Hunny, of course, being Hunny, broke out in a huge grin and latched onto her other arm.
"Misty-chan! We've been waiting to see you all day! Right, Takashi?"
Mori nodded quietly, the only verbal cue of affirmation being a soft grunt of agreement.
"Come on, Misty-chan, have some cake with me! We have all sorts of flavors! Like chocolate, strawberry, and lime!" he spoke excitedly, beaming up at her happily. Mystique gave a small, affectionate smile and patted Hunny's head gently.
"Well, I guess I did promise you that I would, did I not? I think I might like... a bit of chocolate, maybe?"
Within an instant, there were pieces of cakes all around, piled onto the table in almost comedic amounts. Hunny began to devour piece after piece, most of them strawberry, and looked up at Mystique expectantly, noticing she hadn't even touched her first slice. Not wanting the childish boy in front of her to get upset, she picked up her fork and scooped up a small bit of cake; making sure that Honey saw her eat the bite. It seemed to work, and she looked away again, absentmindedly taking a small bite every now and again.
"Misty-chan? Don't you like it? You can have something else, if you want," Hunny said after a bit, but she only smiled softly and patted his head again.
"Hunny, you do not have to worry about that, the cake is very good. But with you around, I do not think I need anything else that is this sweet."
From behind her, she heard a suspiciously boyish squeal. She slowly turned and shot a glare, finding Tamaki with red and ecstatic expression on his face.
"That was so adorable! The way you act so tough around others, but show a secret affection for Hunny-sempai's cuteness! Such an air of femininity and kindness in your eyes! I can see it now-!" His own eyes sparkled at the theater of his imagination, not paying any mind to the looks he was getting from surrounding guests.
Mystique, however, was very well aware of the people looking at them, and was trying to (very subtly) force him to stop making a scene just by pleading with her eyes. Her own cheeks were starting to become a bit red, and she could feel the heat that was rising. There was no way she could yell at him; that would just make everyone else in the room to have an excuse to stare at her, to talk about her.
Finding herself to be speechless, not sure if any words would help her, she stared down at her lap. Her posture was now obviously rigid, and her hair was in such a way that covered her face from onlookers. Hunny saw this and asked her the questions that were most evident in his mind.
"Are you feeling okay, Misty-chan? It wasn't the cake, right? Do you want some milk?"
He was trying to make her feel better, but the club guests surrounding them saw this as something to squeal at, which only made her feel more uncomfortable. Mystique refused to look up, but shook her head to answer him. He could barely hear her as she spoke next, but didn't have enough time to react before she bolted up out of her seat and ran out of the club room. Tamaki, who was in the middle of asking what was wrong, stopped mid-sentence and extended a hand out towards her as she left.
"I don't get it... Was it something I said...?" he mumbled to himself, dropping his hand to his side as the doors to the club swung shut again. The club was mostly silent, aside from a few whispers here and there from visiting girls, for quite a considerable amount of time. Tamaki's mouth pressed into a thin line and he raised his hand into the air, snapping his fingers to alert the other club members. The other club members snapped to attention.
"Haruhi, right now you are the only host who doesn't have any guests. And that means you are the only one of us that is eligible to go after her! From the moment she first stepped into this room, she became a guest of our club. And it is our responsibility, it is our duty, as members of this host club, to make all of our guests happy. Follow her and bring her back!"
Haruhi nodded a bit, feeling slight admiration towards Tamaki and his determination to truly bring happiness to every guest. Normally she would never take part in some kind of hair-brained scheme like she was becoming used to hearing come from Tamaki, but this was one thing she didn't mind. She took her leave and hurried into the hall. Being as intelligent as she was, she closed the door behind her and closed her eyes.
Anyone else would've most likely just ran off in whichever direction they chose at random, but Haruhi was a little smarter than that. Quieting her breathing and listening for noises, she heard the faint sounds of running footsteps down the hallway on the left-hand side; to which she then began to run after. There were multiple times where she had to stop to get another listen because there came to staircases or more turns in the hallway. But it didn't take long for Haruhi to figure out a general idea of where Mystique was headed.
She was heading down and out of the school.
When Haruhi finally came to the school's exit, carelessly left ajar, she had to pause to take a breath. While doing so, she managed to catch a glimpse of her target running into the hedge maze in the school's courtyard. A small groan escaped her lips as she started towards the maze, telling herself that at least she was getting good exercise out of it all.
She wound her way through a few passageways, this time with only guesswork to guide her, and came upon a small little rest area with a table and everything. Underneath that table, breathing as unevenly as though she'd been waiting for the climax of an intense horror movie, was Mystique. Mystique glanced up at Haruhi upon her arrival and watched as she joined her under the table, wiping away a couple of rebellious tears before looking away out of embarrassment.
"You know, you really freaked everybody out back there," Haruhi told her. "Running off like that."
Mystique rested her chin on her arms, her arms wrapped around her knees. "Well, you'd run away too if you knew how it feels..."
Haruhi only watched her, seeing her in a new light; as though she were like a young child who'd gotten yelled at. "Why, then? Why did you run away?"
"...Because they were looking at me... Staring... I just can't deal with it... I'm not exactly a 'people person', you know... People, they- they judge you for every little thing you do. They're always watching and prodding and if you say something wrong, there is always somebody there who's going to correct you, and- well, nevermind, it doesn't mean anything."
"But you don't seem to mind being around me. And even around the other hosts, you seem to be pretty much yourself," Haruhi pointed out.
"Yes, well, I can handle small groups. A handful of people at most. It is bigger crowds that make me nervous..."
Haruhi nodded slightly in understanding and got out from under the table, holding her hand out to Mystique.
"Come on, we can take a little walk until the club hours end and then go back. You did promise Honey-senpai that rain check, after all."
Mystique took her hand with a faint smile finding its way to her lips, coming out and standing with Haruhi. A few moments of silence followed before they let go of each others hands and began to walk together through the roses. Minute after minute flew by as they explored the beautiful maze, each feeling a bit of disappointment when they realized it was about time they should get going back to the club.
They walked the halls together, maintaining a comfortable silence throughout the duration of the long walk to the music room. There weren't any people walking the halls (besides them, of course), but it wasn't fear of being heard that kept them quiet; they'd become comfortable enough around each other that words weren't necessary to set them at ease.
When they finally reached the host club room, the doors were closed. They each knew the room wasn't empty, however, because the voice of the host king had the uncanny ability to travel through walls. Haruhi reached for the door handle, but was stopped by Mystique grabbing her wrist gently, yet firmly, to stop her. She looked at the other girl, a bit confused, but Mystique kept her gaze fixated on the door.
"Before we go in, Haruhi, I just want to say... Thank you for listening."
Haruhi began to smile, retracting her hand from the door. Mystique let go of the female host's hand before grabbing the handles. With a deep breath in and out, she slowly opened the doors and looked to the ground when she saw each of the other hosts' eyes land on her. Tamaki came up to the two girls, a serious look on his face at first. But his inner Tamaki was soon let loose and he hugged her tightly.
"Oh, my darling Haruhi brought my precious daughter back to me!"
Mystique froze in his arms for a minute before pushing her way out of his tight grip. She looked past him and made eye contact with Hunny, whom was so delighted to see her back that he practically bounded over to her. With a tight grip on her arm, he tried to tug her over to one of the tables.
"Come on, Misty-chan! I saved your seat for you and I even saved your cake!" He paused. "Well, actually, I ate it... But I can get you another piece of the same kind!"
The school's clock tower struck the hour and Mystique looked out the window with a soft sigh.
"You know, I would love to sit with you and everything, but I am afraid I really cannot stay here. Sorry, Hunny..."
Hunny then began to pout with a sad look in his eyes, prompting Mori to pick him up and bring him to the dessert table. The twins narrowed their eyes at her, giving an identical look to each other, having expected something like that would happen. Kyoya opened his mouth to point out that they still hadn't come to a conclusion on the whole name thing, but was cut short when Mystique lifted up her hand to shut him up.
"Look, I know this is not exactly an ideal thing and nothing has gone as planned so far. But time is time, and mine is limited, so I really cannot stay. Another rain check?"
Before anyone could even bat an eyelash, Mystique turned swiftly and walked out of the room; her footsteps soon fading into silence.