To Be a Host
Chapter Ten: Survival of the Fittest in a Commoner's World
Tamaki tossed and turned in his bed, a terrible dream going through his head. The Host club had decided to visit the Fujioka's home. What met their eyes stopped them in their tracks. A rickety, one story house, that looked like it would collapse at any minute, stood in front of them.
"This can't be right." Tamaki muttered to himself.
The door suddenly shook, making the hosts jump. It opened to reveal a sickly looking Haruhi in a gray sweatshirt and dirt ridden cheeks.
"Hey guys. Your here. Why don't you guys come in?" The girl offered.
The guests entered the house, only to have cracked walls and a lone light bulb, hanging from the ceiling.
"Please, make yourselves at home. I'll make you guys some tea. I'm sorry. We don't have enough cups, but we do have have some bowls. Here."
Haruhi set down a series of bowls, cups, and measuring glasses on the table. Kaoru waveringly picked up a cup and whispered to Tamaki, "Hey boss, what's with this place? She lives here?"
"It's some kind of set. You know, like in the movies." Hikaru tried to convince the others, as well as himself.
"I hope so." Tamaki stuttered. "Calm down you guys. This is just the storeroom. I'm positive the infinite cosmos is just on the other side of that closet."
"Then shouldn't we try to open it?" The twins hissed in unison.
"Now's not the time."
"Since you guys decided to come over at lunch time, my dad said that it would be rude if we didn't offer you anything to eat. So we've been fasting for three days just to save up money to buy something suited to your tastes, but it's all well and worth it, as long as you guys like it. Ta-da. A sushi sampler."
Haruhi pulled out a small plastic tray of sushi from the cabinet.
"It was marked down at the supermarket. How about that?"
Honey finally broke. "We're sorry we came over Haru-chan. Please, don't make us eat it!" The small boy tried to make an escape for the door.
Tamaki took a pair of unbroken chopsticks into his hands. "Be strong men. Haruhi and Ryoku suffered for our benefits, so it's the least we can do."
"But boss, I'm not even sure if this is fish." Kaoru complained.
"Wow." Haruhi exclaimed. The girl had a piece of fancy tuna sushi in her chopsticks and looked at it in wonder. "Is this a piece of fancy tuna? I never tasted it, till now."
Haruhi popped the food into her mouth and savored the taste. Tamaki's eyes widened in horror.
"No Haruhi! That's just regular, old tuna. It's by no means fancy!" The blonde haired host awoke from his nightmare, only to scream at nothing, shocking all the workers in the young Suoh's mansion.
Tamaki was soon seen rushing down the stairs, tightening his tie. A troubling thought seemed to be in his mind.
"Good morning, Master Tamaki. Is their anything we can do for you?" An old woman in a purple kimono greeted.
"I need to hurry. Please bring the car around at once." Tamaki ordered.
"I beg your pardon, Master Tamaki, but what would you like for breakfast this morning?"
"I don't want any! I already told you I had to get going!" Tamaki complained.
'I can't shake that nightmare I had. I respect the privacy of our club members, So I never really intruded on their personal lives, but what if that dump is really her home? What if Haruhi is really living in poverty? I'll have to go visit Haruhi and get the truth out of her, but I've got to go to school.'
"Hold it right there Master Tamaki." The old woman pulled the blonde from his thoughts. "I can't let you go outside like that. Your still in your pajama bottoms and your house slippers."
Tamaki stiffened before running up the stairs and into his room, screaming. He descended from the stairs once again, this time in his full school uniform. The boy coughed into his hand and said, "Thank you Shima. Now if you excuse me-"
"I hate to be a bother, Master Tamaki, but today is a Sunday. Which means you don't have to go to school today, sir."
Tamaki felt his eye twitch in annoyance as he looked at his maid. "Oh really? Then why didn't you make me aware of that fact earlier?" He asked.
"As your maid, it is my job to help you, but I also want you to become a fine gentleman. So you must be able to recognize your own mistakes."
Shima then grabbed Tamaki by his collar and dragged him away from the door. "Now that you have some free time on your hands, why don't we work on your manners?"
The other maids laughed in amusement behind the pair.
"Wait! Hold on! I have to make a call. Someone bring me a phone."
"Here you are." A maid placed the phone in front of Tamaki. The blonde quickly dialed in the number and waited for someone to pick up.
A small click was heard and Tamaki said, "Kyoya? I need to talk to you about something."
Haruhi walked back to her apartment with bags of food in her hands and a content look on her face. She stopped when she noticed a black car surrounded by the many people in her neighborhood.
Whispers could be heard as, one by one, the hosts emerged from the black car. Haruhi leaned on a pole in a dumbstruck moment.
Meanwhile, the boys gazed upon The apartment complex. "So this is where Haruhi lives? It's bugger than I thought." Hikaru said.
"Yeah! Look at all the rooms." Honey exclaimed, excitedly.
"This is what you would call an aggregate commoner dwelling. Haruhi and Ryoku's home is just one of many units in this building." Kyoya informed the others.
Tamaki then grabbed glasses wearing host by the shoulders. "Kyoya! Why did you bring all of these idiots here? Especially those two doppelgangers!"
"Well you see, I knew you didn't have the courage to come here alone. so I thought it best if everyone came along." Kyoya then turned around and started pushing the twins back into the car. "Oh well then, let's go home. I guess I underestimated our great leader."
"What?" The twins asked. "We're not going home."
Tamaki stopped the black haired student. "Wait. I'm sorry. I don't want to be alone."
The club president schooled his features and began directing the other hosts. "Now listen up men. Don't you forget! We must be polite. This is a casual, we-just-happen-to-be-in-the-neighborhood, kind of visit. We're not her to judge the Fujioka family's life style. The words 'shabby', 'cramped', and 'rundown' are absolutely forbidden. We must treat Haruhi, Ryoku, and their father with respect or else they will throw us out."
"Your to late for that. Go away!" Haruhi finally spoke up.
The hosts turned to face the girl. They saw Haruhi shaking in anger, dressed in a pink dress and a white shirt underneath.
"That pink dress looks cute on you." Tamaki, Kaoru, Hikaru, and Honey said in unison.
"Shut up. Get the hell out of here."
Tamaki recoiled in shock. "Haruhi's so mad that she actually cursed at us! All of this is your fault." Tamaki pointed at the twins.
While Tamaki yelled at the two brothers the landlady of the apartment tapped Haruhi on the shoulder. "Excuse me Haruhi, but are you all right?" She whispered.
"Oh hi, Miss. Landlady." Haruhi greeted the woman.
"Those young men are driving such fancy foreign cars. Their not Yakuza are they?"
"No. They're-"
"Do you want me to call the police?"
Before Haruhi could answer Tamaki grabbed the landlady's hand and quickly enchanted her. "Please to meat you, mad'am. My name is Suoh. I'm one of Haruhi's friends."
"Really?" A blush made it's way onto the woman's cheeks. "My goodness. Aren't you just adorable."
"We're just dropping by. We didn't mean to cause a scene. We're sorry."
"Oh, no problem." The landlady laughed, flustered, and whispered to Haruhi, "I'll come by later with snacks for you and your friends."
Haruhi sighed before climbing up the stairs to her apartment. The hosts fallowed her accordingly.
"Alright. I'll let you guys in for a look, but only three seconds. Then you all go home. Got it?" The girl laid down the rules strictly.
"Hey look Haru-chan. I got you a present. I know how much you like cake. There's both chocolate and strawberry." Honey showed the box of sweets to the brunet.
"Fine. Might as well make some tea."
Haruhi unlocked the apartment door to reveal any other normal apartment. Tamaki sighed in relief. 'At least it's better than my dream'
"What a hovel." Hikaru stated bluntly.
"Shut up!" Tamaki pulled the twin's cheek to silence him.
Kyoya performed a quick scan of the small complex. "A wood built two bedroom unit. It's normal for a commoner family of two, but what about three?"
"Haruhi's such a pipsqueak that two people could easily fit into one room." Said Hikaru.
"Well I think it's a super cute little room." Honey cheerfully commented.
"You guys don't have to force yourselves to compliment it." Haruhi's eye twitched in annoyance.
Honey looked down to see that Haruhi had taken her shoes off. "Hold on. Do we have to take our shoes off as well?" The boy asked.
"Yes please. If you guys don't mind.
"It's kind of like going to the dojo, huh?" Honey said while looking up at Mori.
"Yeah." Was the tall student's answer.
"Do you have any slippers for us to wear?" Hikaru questioned.
"Wait. The floor is covered with tatami mats. So we don't need slippers." Kaoru observed.
"Great. Thanks for inviting us in." All the boys said in unison.
The hosts made their way into the cramped space of a living room and tried their best to sit comfortably.
"This place is quite unpleasant, but I may have underestimated commoner housing." Tamaki admitted. "It may be a tight fit in here men, but pull in your knees and sit gym style. Commoners have specially developed this position to conserve space."
Haruhi had just had about enough, but held back. 'I just have to make it through this visit.' The girl thought to herself.
"I'm going to make us some tea." Haruhi declared.
Hikaru stopped her. "How about you make us this." The boy held up and orange paper bag, with yellow flower patterns decorating the surface. "It's black coffee that our father brought back home as a souvenir from Africa. Here try it."
"Um, sure. Thanks." Haruhi said as she accepted the bag.
"It's best served as milk tea. Do you have any milk?" Kaoru suggested.
"I think so. When was the last time I bought milk?"
Tamaki's eyes widened. He pulled the twins down to whisper into their ears, "You idiots. What do you think your doing? Stop being so mean to her."
"What do you mean?" They asked, confused.
"I know your trying to embarrass her by asking for that African tea. Look. She has no idea on how she's suppose to prepare it."
The three boys started to cry tears of pity. "She doesn't even have a tea pot." Hikaru said.
"And she's too embarrassed to tell us she doesn't." Kaoru added. "We're sorry Haruhi. You don't have to go through the trouble of making us tea. We'd be fine with a glass of water."
Haruhi turned around. "What? It's no trouble. Besides, I already made it." The girl shifted sideways to show seven teacups filled with black tea.
"Oh. Well in that case." The twins immediately knelt down and continued the conversation with Tamaki.
"That was a close one boss." Hikaru sighed.
"We have been saved by commoners wisdom." Tamaki said grimly.
"What do you mean sir?" Kaoru questioned.
"Nothing we know to be true in out world holds true here. We have to be careful how we act. One little off hand remark could break Haruhi's heart. That means in this fight, the first person to offend Haruhi, loses."
"While I find your antics amusing, I don't see why you feel the need to turn this into a contest." Kyoya said, his nose in a book.
Haruhi brought a tray with the teacups and cautiously placed them on the table one by one. "Alright guys. The tea's ready. Sorry that all the cups don't match."
"Here Haru-chan you can choose first." Honey opened the box of pastries.
"Are you sure Honey-sempai?" The brunet gazed upon the many choices.
"Go ahead. We eat this kind of stuff all the time." Hikaru was quickly shushed by Tamaki and his brother.
"I'll choose strawberry."
"She's so cute." The trio muttered to themselves.
All the sudden, the sound of a sliding door caught everyone's attention. A sleepy looking Ryoku entered the room, his hair in a messier ponytail then usual. The boy's feet dragged themselves to the kitchen and he seemed to subconsciously pour himself a cup of tea.
The hosts remained silent as the process unfolded before them.
When Ryoku took a sip from his mug and was startled into reality by the taste. "Hey Haruhi, what tea did you-" His voice trailed off as he suddenly saw the extra people in the room.
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Ryoku demanded loudly.
'He finally noticed.' Was the thought the reverberated in everyone's heads.
A buzzing shot Ryoku out of his shocked state. He lifted his shirt sleeve and gazed upon his wrist watch.
"Is it really that time already?" The boy asked himself.
Ryoku chugged the rest of the tea and rushed to his room. He came out with his hair neatly brushed and dressed in a plain white shirt and ankle length black pants.
The boy paused before sending a glare, making it known that none of them could touch Haruhi. He gave his sister a quick pat on the head before leaving out the door.
Ryoku made his way down the stairs and onto the cement laid sidewalk. He craned his neck upwards to take one last look at his apartment. He sighed in annoyance, hoping that he wouldn't come home to a pile of burnt rubble.
Before Ryoku could reach at least three feet from his apartment complex, a sudden streak of red tackled the boy, yelling all the while, "Ryoku! How is my darling son?"
The boy tried desperately to shove the figure off so he wouldn't suffocate. "Get off, Old Man!"
The figure immediately leaped off to reveal a makeup adorned face with red hair and amber eyes, both a similar shade to Ryoku's features.
"How dare you! I am your father. You're suppose to treat me with respect." The man huffed.
Ryoku rolled his eyes. "Of course, Dad. Well, have to go. See you later."
With that the boy was off. Leaving his father at the bottom of the stairs to the apartment complex. Ryoku stopped in his tracks. He hadn't told his dad about the six hosts occupying their home. He contemplating on whether or not to go back and warn the man.
Ryoku shook his head. Everything would be fine.
Ryoku has a part time job. Nothing fancy. Nothing like the Host club, heaven forbid. And nothing too agonizing, that it impacted his school work. Just simple part time job at the Supermarket.
Although the job was simple, it was. . . interesting, to say in the least. Many odd people could make their way to the Supermarket. Some examples of said odd people, was a very tall man, who looked strikingly close to Mori, pushing a cart filled with a small child, that looked disturbingly like Honey.
Ryoku pinched the bridge of his noes. Right in front of him, at the counter, was a group of eight people. Seven of which where the Host club and the remaining part, his father.
The boy twitched when eyes watched him swipe the objects across the scanner. The boy twitched again when he handed the receipt to the expecting hands of his sister. He twitched for a final time when he watched the group of eight exit out the sliding doors.
Ryoku let his head fall into his hand in a face palm.
"Oi, Ryoku, you okay?" Ryoku looked over to his coworker, standing in the neighboring counter.
"Peachy." He replied sarcastic
When Ryoku returned to his home, it was just about half past one. The sight that he was met with relieved him, yet scared him to no end.
The apartment wasn't burned to crisps. The dead bodies of the hosts where no where to be seen. And Haruhi was cleaning up what seemed like a finished lunch.
But what scared him was that the hosts where still in his home, and his father didn't seem to have a concern in the world about seven boys being in their apartment.
"Could someone please explain to me why these guys are still here?" Ryoku asked.
"We decided to have lunch here. Hope you don't mind." Kyoya smiled in a friendly gesture.
Ryoku only sighed and made his way into the living room to sit in a slumped heap. By the end of the day, Ryoku would be taking more than one aspirin to calm his headache.
"Hey, Ryo-chan! We have some left over cake. Do you want some?" Honey asked.
"What kind?" Ryoku replied.
"We have one more strawberry left."
The red haired boy contemplated the idea. "Sure. I'll have some cake."
A plate of pink frosted cake was set before him. Ryoku clapped his hands together and said, "Thank you for the food."
He picked up a fork and began to slowly digest the sweet dessert. In a short time Ryoku was left with only a chocolate covered strawberry to eat.
Ryoku looked up to see the longing eyes of Honey glued to the red berry. The boy swayed the strawberry from side to side, only to have the older student gaze after it, like a cat.
Ryoku sighed, with a small smile tugging at his lips. He held the fruit out to his sempai. Honey's eyes brightened as he ate the chocolate covered treat eagerly.
A piece of chocolate then seemed to stick itself onto the cheek of Honey. Almost in an instant, Mori was wiping the spec away.
"It's like some weird family." Hikaru commented quietly.
What? Ryoku turned to face the Hitachin with a raised eyebrow. His father nodded sagely along with Tamaki. "My son will make a wonderful husband one day." They said in unison.
A vein popped in Ryoji Fujioka's head. He grabbed hold of Tamaki's cheeks and pulled hard. "What do you mean by 'your son'?!"
The gurgled pleas of Tamaki where heard by everyone.
Ryoku rubbed his temples. Where was the aspirin again?
Hello faithful read-*Gets attacked by rabid chubby squirrels* I know. I know. It's been a few months since my update. Good new is that I am now in Spring Break! So I can hopefully update again soon. Sorry if the chapter seemed a bit rushed.
So suggestions, critiques or anything else, send me a review. Thank you guys for putting up with my laziness and hope to see you soon.