-Chapter 9-
Covering the Famous Host Club!
The Floral department was rushing back and forth in the inner garden of Ouran Academy, Miki both helping out to plant some flowers as well as monitoring the progress. Ten more minutes until the host club opens, and they were running some final touch-ups.
"Miki-san, where should plant these?" One of the designers asked.
"This should go by the pond," Pointing over at a blue to a purple assortment of flowers, Miki instructed patiently as her arm instinctively wiped away beads of sweat that glistened on her forehead. "Hikaru and Kaoru are stationed there; this colour should help their costumes pop." She then turned to one of the other workers. "Make sure Tamaki-kun's station is surrounded by hydrangeas." She reminded. "That'll help him play into the forbidden rendezvous act."
The worker pointed at the crowded flower clusters. "Is this enough?"
Miki paced over, glancing around and noticing a slightly bare spot. "Please add more over there; it needs to feel secluded."
"Understood."
"How are the bonsai trees looking Miki-san?" The gardener asked.
Holding her hands up, Miki formed a camera frame with both her thumbs and index fingers. After a moment of humming and adjusting the angle, she nodded with a bright beam. "It's perfect! Thank you for your hard work! We can start running the stream anytime now!"
"Miki-senpai." Approaching Miki from behind, Haruhi called out to her. She was already dressed up in her kimono, ready for the host club to open for business.
"Haruhi!" Miki skipped up to her friend with a cheerful smile, observing her beautiful costume. "You look wonderful!" She complimented.
"Thank you very much." With a small bow of gratitude, Haruhi proceeded to look around the inner garden in slight disbelief. In a matter of hours, it seemed to have gone from a regular garden to an outdoor garden suited to the Heian Era. "But you really did a number here, Miki-senpai. It looks so realistic."
Miki giggled, scratching her chin shyly. "I will have to thank Kyoya-kun later," She explained. "He gave me lots of reference materials to draw from. With data and detailed information like that, inspiration comes like a breeze."
"I see..." Haruhi hummed, still taking in the beauty of the garden.
"Miki! Miki!" The next to enter the area, was Tamaki with sparkling eyes. Like an overly doting father, he beckoned Miki over excitedly. "Come here! I have a surprise for you!"
Blinking rapidly, Miki tilted her head to the side wondering what could the surprise be.
By the time Miki got back to the inner garden, the host club has opened its doors to the customers. Girls gathered around the station of their favourite hosts, being entertained with honeyed words and hilarious jokes. Some caught sight of her and squealed.
"Miki-chan!" One of the guests called out to her. "You look so pretty!"
As it turned out, the surprise Tamaki had in store for her, was a beautiful kimono of her own. Since that incident with Nekozawa and Kirimi, the two have been spending more and more time together, with Miki often drawing up her production sketches in Tamaki's room. And while she was sketching up the layout for today's theme, Tamaki had overheard her muttering about how she wanted to try wearing a kimono as well. Of course, when he revealed the surprised, Miki practically jumped onto him and enveloped him into a bear hug.
"Thank you very much!" Miki giggled, twirling around gracefully, being careful not to step on the fabric accidentally.
"You look great Miki-senpai." Haruhi waved, standing in the gardens with a tranquil expression.
Bouncing over with a giddy heart, Miki stood beside her friend singing a word of thanks. "You look so happy, did something good happen?" She asked with a radiant smile.
"No, nothing like that." Haruhi quickly shook her head, glancing over the hydrangeas. "I just think that it's so peaceful, I guess that's what acclimation will do to you." She said thoughtfully.
"Acclimation?" Miki blinked.
"When you try and adapt or get accustomed to the new climate," Haruhi explained. "Like right now, we are transitioning from Spring to Summer."
"I see," Sneaking a quick glimpse over her work, Miki agreed. "It is very peaceful. I felt the same way just by looking through the catalogues." She then turned to look at the hosts, each absorbed in their roles. Hikaru and Kaoru were playing a shell matching game, Honey and Mori had stuffed themselves into a single kimono with only Honey's face popping out as Mori attempted to feel the soba noodles to the lolita. Tamaki, he was at his station, speaking to a love-struck guest in the midst of the flower field. She then turned to look a Kyoya who stood not too far away from them with a couple of guests, overlooking the yarimizu channel as he wrote down reservations in his notebook. Feeling a sense of peace overcome herself, she let out a satisfied sigh, but that was when...
"Haruhi! Miki! Watch out!" Tamaki yelled.
Haruhi and Miki snapped around, seeing a ball heading directly for them and the blond bolting towards them in full speed, a trail of dust behind him. Miki let out a shriek in shock and jumped out of the way, but poor Haruhi didn't react in time as Tamaki grabbed onto her, tumbling into the field of flowers.
"Ouch..." Rubbing the side of her head that hit the soft grass when she landed, Miki murmured under her breath. With on eye closed, she sat on the ground, gently rubbing her head when she felt a figure loom over her. Glancing up to meet his eyes, she saw Kyoya looked down at her. He bent down to have a look at her.
"Are you alright?" He asked, touching the side of her head.
"Of course." Hearing his concerns Miki, nodded with glimmering cheeks. "Something as little as this won't hold me down," She quickly bounced back onto her feet. "Don't worry, Kyoya-kun."
"That's good to hear." An amused smirk plastered across his face, watching as she dusted off her kimono.
Miki turned to look at her brother only to find his eyes gleaming. "What?!" He growled. "Then, try catching this!" Reeling his leg back, he kicked the ball on the ground with full force. "Starlight Kick!"
"What!?" Kaoru gasped.
"That's fast!" Hikaru added.
"Wow!" Miki squealed.
"Take care." The twins cheered sarcastically, waving handkerchieves at the ball that curved up into the air and vanished with a sparkle.
Miki held a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. She watched with an awestruck expression as the ball once again curved in midair. She blinked, her face turning blank.
"Tamaki-kun." She called out to him.
"Yes, Miki?"
The strawberry blonde blinked a few more times, still looking out into the distance.
"The ball is going to crash into a school window." She said with an oddly face.
"What?!"
Sure enough, the sound of shattered glass echoed through the school, followed by two frantic voices yelling 'President!'.
Sitting on the ground, holding the dustpan as Haruhi swept the glass in, Miki glanced around the room curiously. Tamaki stood behind her apologizing continuously.
"No, not at all. It was just a mari ball breaking through the window and hitting me right on the head." The newspaper club president Komatsuzawa Akira spoke, resting his hands on his chin. One of his club members held an ice pack over his head, trying to sooth the bump Tamaki's starlight kick gave him.
"Sorry!" Tamaki bowed again.
With a wry smile, Akira continued. "However, this works out perfectly. In fact, I was just thinking about asking the Host Club to let us do a story on you." He proposed.
"I never realized Ouran had a newspaper club," Haruhi said, cleaning up the last bit of glass shards as Miki nodded in agreement. Standing up, she made her way over to where the twins were and began looking through the bundles of newspapers, noticing they were all the same. She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. I thought people only buy one issue of the news.
Almost as if on cue, Hikaru and Kaoru turned over the separate articles they were reading.
"It's mostly just gossip, we call it Ou-spot." Hikaru explained, pointing at an article that read 'Teacher is growing hair!'. "It covers the school love affairs, separation in class divisions caused by family power struggles and so on."
Kaoru nodded, holding up a piece that read 'Love across the Social Classes!'. "It's a gossip paper, specializing in excessively stirring up scandals."
With narrowed eyes, they glared at Akira and spoke in an indifferent tone. "It's all made up, so no one reads it anymore."
Miki hummed, looking over all of the identical bunches of papers. "So all of these are their unsold copies?" She asked bluntly, adding salt to the wound, causing Akira to freeze up.
"It's true; we lost sight of the truth as we've focused on getting attention." He stood up, slowly with a solemn expression. "However, evident by those unsold papers, we are getting close to being shut down. Yet it is now that our eyes have finally been opened. We have realized what we should be covering and reporting on." Bowing their heads at them, they pled. "Please, for the last paper of the 1st term. We would like you to let us reveal the truth behind your charm, in an up-close special edition of the host Club. Please offer us your help."
Miki left the pile of new papers to stand before them with the Host Club, blinking as they kept their heads bowed. She wanted to help them.
"Just leave it to me," Tamaki responded, swiping his hair to the side. "I would be happy to acc-"
"We must decline." Before Tamaki could finish, Kyoya shoved him out of the way plastered with an unbalanced smile. "Unfortunately, we limit any information about us to our guests. We will gladly pay any costs related to treating your injury."
"Eh? Why?" Miki turned to look at him, a little shocked. She always thought Kyoya was a nice person, so she was surprised by his immediate decline.
"Because Miki-senpai." Kaoru crossed his arms. "There isn't any benefit to help them out after so much nonsense they've written."
"Besides," Raising his arms above his head, Hikaru continued. "We don't want to get involved their drama. And we don't like people who cause trouble for others." He shrugged.
"But..."
"I see..." Cutting Miki off before she could protest, Akira sat slumped onto the chair. "I guess you really can't erase the sins of the past, huh? You can't get people to offer you a chance to redeem yourself, huh?" He muttered before letting out a shriek of pain. "Aah! The pain in my head!" He yelled dramatically as the two members of the club ran up to comfort him. He continued to yell and scream in an exaggerated manner about his lightheadedness. "I guess we can only disband in grace..." He groaned, clutching onto his head. Miki felt her heart clutch in pain at his words.
"That's not true!" Tamaki exclaimed. "People can always get a fresh start. Very well, we will rally the strength of the Host Club, and work together to re-establish the Newspaper club!" He declared.
"Not us." The twins muttered — each grabbing one of the girls and dragging them towards the exit of the room.
Miki blinked as Hikaru grabbed her by the arm. "We'll never be able to go along with how trusting you are sir."
"Besides, it's too much trouble." Kaoru reasoned.
"We're leaving, Tamaki," Kyoya told him, turning to leave as well. "We're holding an evaluation meeting in the club room, mostly about you."
"Wait!" Quickly shaking free of Hikaru's grasps, Miki ran back to Tamaki and turned around to look at the hosts. "I agree with Tamaki-kun!"
"Miki!" Tamaki cried comical tears as he clung to her.
"The club that they poured their hearts into is at risk!" Miki exclaimed. "Sure they may have done some unjustly things in the past, but life is all about experiences. If they learned their lesson, then don't they deserve a second chance?"
"Exactly!" Tamaki let go of his sister and glared sternly at the backs of the host. "This is an order from the club president! I will not allow you to refuse!" He declared.
Slowly turning around, the hosts scowled at him. With gleaming eyes and a flat tone, they said in unison. "We refuse!"
After leaving the newspaper club, Miki couldn't help but constantly worry about them as she walked back to the clubroom, having changed out of her kimono. They looked so upset and distraught over their club nearly being disbanded. She also couldn't shake off how coldly Kyoya and the twins refused to aid them. Looking up, she noticed another figure approaching the door.
"Kyoya-kun?" She called out to him, stopping in her tracks.
Kyoya was about to open the door to music room #3 when he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. He glanced up to see Miki standing there, looking a bit dumbfounded. Though he knew what was coming, he adjusted his glasses in a reserved manner. "Yes Miki, is something the matter?" He smiled uneasily.
"Why wouldn't you assist the newspaper club with their article?" She asked, her brows furrowing slightly.
"I already explained, we try to limit information about us to our customers." He spoke in an indifferent tone, crossing his arms.
"But still..." With a slight pout, Miki lowered her eyes to a downcast as she heard Kyoya's footsteps approach. "Don't you think they deserve a second chance? They looked so desperate and a-"
"Miki." Interrupted mid-sentence, she looked up to find Kyoya directly before her. "How many times do I have to tell you? The world isn't as black and white as you make it out to be." He looked down, studying as her expression changed to realization. "Besides," He paused, in a low voice, he narrowed his brownish-green eyes. "I don't think you understand the situation you are in."
"Huh?" Perking up slightly, Miki blinked.
Lowering his body, to her eye level. "In all your time here, I think you have forgotten that your identity is meant to remain a secret." He gently pressed her shoulder, backing her into the soft pink walls of the corridor. Miki strangely felt her heart rate spike as her back collided softly into the smooth surface."If we allow them to investigate our club, they will get dangerously close to uncovering you and your family history." He warned her, a small hint of amusement dancing across his eyes.
Gasping slightly, Miki's eyes widened. Her eyes flickered down to the ground, noticing just how close he was to her. "Kyoya-kun..." She muttered.
"Hm?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow, his small frown not fading.
She kept silent for a few moments, thinking about something. Then she opened her mouth. "Isn't this considered sexual harassment?" She asked, her face blank.
Kyoya blinked for a few moments, feeling his eye twitch lightly. Then before he could say anything back, he heard Miki let out a small snicker. He looked down in slight annoyance to see her giggling into her hand.
"Miki..." He grumbled, the dark grimace on his face corrupting the air around him, but it was seemingly countered by the radiating light her laughter was emitting.
"Hehehe, kidding~" Finally calming down from her fits of giggles, Miki wiped away some tears that found their way into her eyes through laughing. "I see, so that was the reason why." She tilted her head. "Kyoya-kun, you really are a nice person."
"One of the reasons, at least."
"Despite that, I still want to help them though." Her shoulders shrugged, Miki beamed. "I understand your concern for me, but I think I'll be just fine." She reassured him sweetly. "I've been hiding for years; I doubt they would be able to figure it out within a day." With an overly bubbly voice, her hands balled into fists before her chest.
"That's different; you were actively hidden away then." Kyoya gritted his teeth. Sometimes, this girl really drove his sanity up the walls, much like her brother.
"Kyoya-kun... You look angry." She pointed out with a deadpan, wide-eyed expression. Not knowing what else to do, she gently patted his soft hair with a childish smile. "Don't worry so much, if you do your panda eyes are going to get worse."
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kyoya placed his hand on her head. Letting it linger there for a while, his fingers twitching out of irritation. He considered taking his frustration out by gently squeezing her head a bit, but decided against it. Then, turning around on his heel, he reached for the doorknob once again. Since he was turned away, Miki couldn't exactly see his expression under the shadow of his hair, but she quickly assumed they are once again on good terms. So with a slight hop to her step and hum to her voice, she waited for him to open the door, which he did once he calmed himself down a little.
However, when he opened them, a new set of problems awaited him.
Curled up like a pillbug near the windows, was Tamaki who still hasn't changed out of his kimono. He crouched there, toying with the white ball he had kicked earlier before turning around and shooting Kyoya his best puppy dog eyes.
Kyoya's eyebrow twitched.
Does he ever win against either of these two?
Feeling like he just lost years of his life, he lifted his glasses with closed eyes. "There will be some conditions." He grumbled.
"Woof!" Tamaki barked.
"Yay!" Jumping up with a fist pump, Miki cheered.
"The outline for the special feature articles will be submitted by us. Interviews will be cardinally prohibited. Views of us entertaining the customers will be intrusive to them, so they are out."
"Woof! Woof!"
"Understood!" Miki giggled, running up to give her brother, now turned dog, a ruffle on the head.
"I saw you move Kyoya!" Tamaki yelled from across the field, waving his finger around like a little kid.
The entire host club was playing 'The Daruma Doll' out in the inner garden which has been reverted to its original form. Tamaki, the host club's king, was chanting the commoner's children game. Kyoya was only glad Tamaki came up with the idea of the game. If it were Miki, she would've suggested something insane like the 'Pretty Girl Cops' one she played with Kirimi the other day. He sighed and walked over.
"Yes, yes."
Haruhi sighed next to Miki with a weary yet merry expression. "I hope this ends soon..." She wondered out loud, her body slumping from how much they have been playing.
"Awe, come on!" Giggling, Miki reached her arms up in a stretch. "Don't be like that; this is so much fun!" She opened her eyes to see Akira approaching with his mini-notebook open and his two other club member holding cameras and lighting equipment.
"Fujioka-kun and Suoh-san, wasn't it?" He asked, approaching the girls.
"Hm?" The two girls turned to look at him.
"Might I have a brief word with both of you?" He smiled an unreadable smile, pen ready to record.
"Okay," Haruhi replied first.
"Why did you join this club?"
"Oh, well, it was over me being a little careless..." Haruhi's voice trailed off, remembering her debt.
"You are an honour student, aren't you?" Brushing off Haruhi's answer, Akira continued to pursue.
"Yes, I am."
"So in other words, you are a token member of this club here in order to allow the Suoh family to flaunt their power."
Miki blinked at those words of his.
"Huh?" She stared at him.
Lowering his voice, Akira whispered. "Could I ask you to tell me about his darker side? Perhaps I will be able to help you out of here, as well."
"He doesn't have a darker side," Haruhi stated factually.
"What?!" Seeing as he was getting nowhere with Haruhi, he turned to Miki who blinked. "As the only female member of the club, do you have an input on this Suoh-san? Does he ever coax you with sweet words to follow him?" He asked, leaned closer. Miki noticed how his pen was moving at a rapid pace.
"No." Lifting a finger with a bright smile, Miki said. "Tamaki-kun is a wonderful person. I stay with him because I want to."
"So you both are telling me, that those high school kids genuinely enjoy playing these games?" He gritted his teeth, seemingly frustrated.
After a few moments, Haruhi replied. "Is that strange?"
"It's really fun Komatsuzawa-senpai!" Miki chuckled, she grabbed onto his hand and began pulling him towards the games. "Do you want to try it?"
"N-No."
"CHOP!" Suddenly, Hikaru and Kaoru busted between the three and separated them. Each of them grabbing one of the girls they began to run off.
"Hey! That's not where you are supposed to cut you know!" Tamaki yelled after them, flailing his hand with Kyoya's in it.
After getting tired of that game, Tamaki suggested to play 'kick the can' instead. After declaring Kyoya as 'it,' Tamaki reeled his feet back, once again using his signature move.
"Starlight Kick!" The colourful can whizzed past the newspaper club members and the host club scattered, each of them searching for a hiding spot. Miki bolted off, towards the courtyard, settling for a small bush her and Kyoya hid when they were playing hide n' seek with Kirimi.
As she was settling into her hiding spot, a shadow quickly loomed over her. Blinking a few times, she glanced up to see Kyoya looking down at her with a smug smirk.
"Kyoya-kun!" Miki exclaimed, standing up from the bushes and dusted down her skirt. "You were peeking, weren't you? Besides, there is no way that was thirty seconds."
"The Game is on hold, Miki." Pushing up his glasses, Kyoya sighed. "I have something more interesting in mind." And with that his smirk deepened, leaving Miki to tilt her head in confusion.
"Eh?"
As the hosts gathered in the newspaper club, Miki tilted her head, her blinking speed increased. With no explanation what-so-ever, Kyoya gestured for Miki to sit on a stack of old newspapers which she obediently complied with. She glanced around the room; the entire club was here except for Tamaki and Haruhi. Mori perked up as he turned to the door.
"He's coming." He muttered.
Kyoya nodded, pushing up his glasses once more as he snuck as side glimpse as Miki who, as usual, was utterly clueless to what was going on.
"Don't say a word, and listen to this very carefully." He told her in a hushed tone.
Suddenly, Akira's voice echoed down the long corridors of Ouran, growing closer and closer. "I just have to write an article that exposes him. If I set my mind to it, I can cook up any number of articles that will throw the idiots at this academy into a tizzy. In any case, we have to set Suoh up." Then the doors to the newspaper club busted open. Miki held her breath, processing what the club president had just said.
"So, it is true." Kaoru hummed as him, and Hikaru sat mirrored on the desk in the center of the room.
"Why, you..." Akria scowled.
"Although, it was pretty obvious." Hikaru scoffed.
"I'll bet his highness is the only one who hasn't caught on." Karou narrowed his eyes. "He's especially dense when it comes to himself."
"I'm warning you," Hikaru spoke again. "If you start something against his highness there will be consequences."
"Are you ready to turn not only the Hitachiins but all of our club members' families against you?"
With his glasses shattered, Akira stepped back in anger. "I knew it," He grumbled. "Suoh is wielding his parents' power and giving out orders to you!"
Miki's hazel eyes widened, her heart pounded against her chest. He's one of those 'bad' people.
"No, he isn't" Stepping out from behind the doors, Honey told him. "Tama-chan wouldn't do that. You know what?" His face melting into that sweet smile of his, he chuckled. "We all love Tama-chan, and that's why."
"He is a hopeless idiot," Kyoya said. "Even so..." His voice trailed off as nostalgic smiles surfaced on everyone's faces. Each of them remembering the good times they had with the Host Club's president. The Heart of the Club.
Miki looked down at her black leather shoes with a smile. She could hear his voice as clear as the day he said it.
Miki! It's time for dinner, hurry up and come join us!
"Even so..." She breathed out, the toes of her shoes clicking together as she hummed. "We all love him very much." Her cheeks were sparkling, she pressed her hands against her chest, tilting her head.
"So?"
"What will it be?"
"Don't do this, okay?'
"Damn it!" Growling under his breath, Akira glared at everyone in the door with a scornful look. "It's not just Suoh anymore; I'm going to ruin all of you now!" The hostility emitting off of him startled Miki slightly who hid behind Kyoya and a couple stacks of newspapers.
"Please, feel free," Kyoya smirked with amusement as he paced over the desk. Picking up a first aid box, he flipped it over and pressed a button. A disk ejected out of the machine as he held it between his fingers. "I wonder what you should do about his disk," He raised an eyebrow smugly. "Which has been secretly recording all of your remarks since yesterday?"
The other two members clung to their leader in fear, begging him to give up. Without much to say, his knees which have been trembling for a while buckles as he fell forward and to the ground.
"To put it in the same terms that you would, here's the deal," Kyoya explained walking over to a horrified Akira. "You'd do well to remember that with just the stock that the Ootori Group and the Hitachiins own, we could replace the president of your father's publishing firm whenever we like." He paused. "However, we are not like you. We are after fundamentally different things."
After settling things on their end, the host club par Haruhi and Tamaki made their way back to the courtyard to look for the two.
"So you were right in the end," Eyes in a downward cast, Miki muttered next to Kyoya. "They were awful people with malicious intentions..."
Kyoya glanced down at the strawberry blonde. She looked upset, like a lost little puppy. A smirk spread across his lips as he reached up and flicked the side of her head with his index finger. She immediately reached up to protect it. "Don't look so down," He chuckled in amusement at her swift reaction. "I merely wanted to teach you a little more about the people in the world."
Hikaru and Kaoru glanced at each other behind the two. As much as they wanted to tease them, they knew nothing they said would even get through to their numbskulled upperclassmen. So they exchanged a look, then a wry shrug.
Miki pouted slightly, rubbing the little area where he flicked. "By the way, do you have an idea where Tamaki and Haruhi are?" She changed the topic.
"I saw them running into the hedge maze."
"Ah! So you were peeking!"
Just like Kyoya said, they found Haruhi and Tamaki in the hedge maze, sitting in under a rose covered pavilion. Once collecting them, the group began to walk back towards the school building chatting happily. Miki was talking to Tamaki and Honey about cake while Kyoya and Haruhi trailed behind the group when Haruhi's voice turned into a panic.
"Miki-senpai!"
Turning around immediately, Miki blinked as a response to her friend.
"You and Tamaki-senpai... are the chairman's kids?!" She exclaimed.