Chapter 14: Rikkai University Host Club
The theater room was quiet and empty. No one would have thought that just a few minutes ago, World War Three occurred in this place. There was a series of murderous glares, explosions and brutal, yet colorful vocabulary that occurred in this place just a while ago.
"Mou," a timid girl uttered before wearing her green skirt back, "The play didn't end like it was supposed to."
Her cheerful companion energetically placed her hand on her friend's shoulders, "SAKUNO! What are you talking about!? That was the best ending I have ever seen in a play!"
Sakuno looked at Tomoka with bewildered eyes.
"Are you dense!? Almost all of the guys back there glared at that new character, Nathaniel Scha-- something! OH, THE POWER OF MOE!" Tomoka screamed.
Sakuno's eyes changed and turned into a dot, she force a smile and asked, "M-Moe?"
Tomoka looked confidently at her, "It's an otaku thing… you wouldn't know."
Sakuno forced a smile on her lips and touched it gently as she recalled what happened a few minutes ago, and blushed.
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Men's changing room
"Boy, that was some play we had there! And we've all got perfect scores in our V.I.P card because of the result!" Momo said cheerfully as he stares at his V.I.P card.
He was answered by annoyed groans from other men in the changing room.
"Looks like you're the only one thinking about that," Oishi replied, "I mean… look at them! They're determined to kill someone!" he continued as he pointed his index finger on the other tennis players from different schools.
F L A S H B A C K
"Who gives a damn about that?" Nathaniel smirked and looked down at everyone and Sakuno who was now looking back at him confusedly.
Everyone who has a crush on Sakuno stared angrily at Nathaniel Schaeffer.
He slowly stood up and went down the staircase to reach Sakuno. When he finally reached her, he felt murderous glares shower him from other men, but he ignored it anyway. He snatched Sakuno's hand away from Tezuka and intertwined it with his. He smirked and he quickly leans forward for a deep kiss. Everyone in the room jaw dropped. Sakuno's eyes widen, she couldn't think of anything else to do but to blush madly. She was too weak to break herself from the kiss. She remained shocked even after Tezuka punched the foreign kid on his cheek to break the kiss.
That was another side of Tezuka they never knew about.
Nathaniel touched the part where Tezuka had punched him, "Overprotective onii-san, eh?" He was about to punch the stoic captain back but was stopped halfway by his vice-president, Ezekiel Gradstein.
"Kaicho (president), mou, stop bothering people already," Ezekiel said with a serious face.
Good thing that he listened to his vice-president, or else he would've called the flotilla to come. He peacefully left the room, but not before seductively holding Sakuno's chin. Everyone knows he will not leave this room alive after what he did. And so, they all charged to the European kid to teach him a lesson of their own. But what they do not know is that Ezekiel was actually a professional combatant, whose sole purpose is to protect his master, Nathaniel, or any other member of his family. Nathaniel only smirked as he watches his subordinate carefully beating (he doesn't want to leave a mark) every guy who attacks them. After getting bored for a moment, he opened the door and left the room.
Demonic eyes glared at the disappearing figure of the blonde first year, followed by his loyal companion.
E N D O F F L A S H B A C K
Momo placed his card back to his pocket, "Well… who wouldn't be when you see your crush being kissed by some foreign guy she has never met before?"
They glared murderously at Momo, which made him paled and ran outside.
"He stole… my angel's first kiss. (cursing)" Kirihara thought as he clenched his fist.
Fuji, on the other hand, was thinking of some medieval ways of torturing the arrogant kid.
Atobe was bothered by everything he just witnessed and he just kept on tightening his grip on his cell phone. Who would've thought that there's someone in this world that's more conceited than Atobe. And Nathaniel is one wealthy kid, too… Probably even richer than Atobe Keigo or Tamaki Suou (2).
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Sakuno waved goodbye to Tomo since they still have to finish their own games. When she opened the door leading to the hallway of the university, she was met by beaming glasses looking down on her, "Sakuno…"
"Onii-sama…"
Tezuka gave her a sympathetic look, "I've already thanked the Vongola for coming and asked them to leave," he recalled about what happened at the end of the play, "How are you feeling?"
Sakuno forced herself to be cheerful, "Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! It's only a kiss anyway. No harm done! Nevertheless, I'm glad that Reborn-san and the others could come," Sakuno walked away from her stepbrother and tries her best not to worry him any longer by acting cheerful and such.
Before Sakuno turned into a corner, Tezuka grabbed her arm and patted her head lightly. Sakuno gave him her sweetest smile and hugged him before she turned into a corner and leave. Tezuka followed her movements through his eyes and he pushed his glasses upward, "Forgive me. If I knew this would've happened then I shouldn't have let you come."
Sakuno is not a good liar. It's obvious that Nathaniel's kiss bothers her like witnessing a murder case being unfold before her eyes. But she doesn't want anyone to be anxious because of her personal problem. Sure, that was her first kiss… but no one else should be concerned by it. And of course, she was being her usual self by entering a random room accidentally because she too absent-minded.
"Irrashaimase!" A dozen of good-looking men greeted her with their seductive poses. Sakuno's eyes disappeared and her whole face turned red.
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Back at Saori's coffee shop…
"So that's why you look troubled before," Yukimura's brows raised after he heard Sanada's explanations about suddenly disappearing earlier that day. "I guess you're already satisfied since you figured out Tezuka and Sakuno-san's relationship… and won't be bothering them any longer."
"You shouldn't worry about me that much," Sanada paused to take a sip from his tea, "anyway, shouldn't you be more concerned about Ryuzaki?"
Yukimura suddenly became teary-eyed, which made Sanada fluttered. "Sakuno-san… she doesn't deserve this kind of horrible punishment," Yukimura's background turned into twinkling lights, "Having her first kiss stolen from a guy she haven't met before." He's acting like a prince, who just lost his princess.
Sanada sighed and said, "Admit it; you were planning on stealing her first kiss before, weren't you? That Schaeffer guy was just one step ahead of you."
Yukimura's expression changed and his twinkling lights background turned into a dull, dark graded purple one. "One step ahead from me," Yukimura's bangs slowly cover his eyes, "If only I could change everything."
Yukimura tilted his head sideways to gaze at the sky from the windows, "If only… our school didn't invite him here."
(1) Saori suddenly dropped the tray filled with hot coffee and tea she was carrying. She should really apologize to Miyuki's feet for accidentally spilling hot beverages on them, much to Miyuki's dismay. Saori did not hear Miyuki's complaints, instead, stared at Yukimura and Sanada with big round teary eyes, "No, this can't be true," she accidentally stepped on Miyuki's 'wet' foot and hurriedly ran towards Yukimura and Sanada's table, "S-Sakuno-chan had her first kiss!? And not to you," she violently grabbed Yukimura on his collar, "WHY!" She yelled.
Yukimura sweat dropped.
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"W-Who… w-what… w-w-where a-am I-I?" Sakuno stuttered as she stares at the good-looking men who greeted her earlier.
Coincidentally, the manager of the game greeted her, "Welcome to Rikkaidai's host club! Bringing you the best entertainment we can for a low, low price of one hundred dollars, each host!"
"One hundred dollars, that's too cheap!" one of the girls who just arrived said.
"Yeah… but they look so cool! I'll take the guy with red necktie!" one girl said.
After a while, Sakuno finally absorbed all of the information…
Rich Bastards (3).
She nervously took her card out of her pocket and showed it to the manager of the game, "A V.I.P gamer, I see. Well… the fact is… my host club is short on female crew," the manager observes Sakuno's figure from head to toe, "that Seigaku uniform looks cute on you… but I need more… what's the word? Oh yeah, impact."
All of what the manager said confused Sakuno.
"What I mean is… you're now going to work for the host club until I dismiss you. That'll be your game."
Niou Masaharu, who was currently chatting with three women (he's a regular customer), glanced at Sakuno and the manager's direction.
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Sakuno played with the hem of her maid skirt. The manager asked her to greet the customers in a maid outfit and look cute like always. She wondered about the cute part but the manager only said to act natural… her natural ways are totally cute.
"I-I-Irra… shai… m-mase, m-master," Sakuno greeted a guy who was now blushing madly.
The guy then wondered into paradise.
"M-Master… a-are you okay?" Sakuno asked and leaned forward to the guy's red face. She tried to place her hand on his forehead, to see if he was sick or something but was stopped immediately by the manager, "No, no, Sakuno-chan. You're not allowed to touch a customer until he becomes your official master."
The blushing guy regained his self-control and said, "I-I'lltakeher."
The manager grinned, "Two hundred dollars. She's our special guest after all."
Before the guy could protest, another man suddenly spoke, "I'll give you three hundred."
Sakuno blushed when she looked at the man who interrupted the manager and the previous guy's negotiation. "R-Ryoma-kun."
"Deal," the manager replied. He took Ryoma's payment and asked Sakuno to take him to an empty table.
The two sat on a silk couch with a mahogany coffee table placed horizontally in front of them. "A-Ano… Ryoma-kun… I'll get us some drinks… W-What would you like?"
"Anything," Ryoma answered and looked at the other customers who were busily chatting with the hosts, and hostesses.
Sakuno went inside another room and when she got out, she was carrying a tray with two cups of tea and two strawberry cakes. She gently placed the tray onto the coffee table and placed the teacups and cakes in front of Ryoma.
"Ryuzaki didn't fall over this time," Ryoma commented.
Sakuno's whole body stiffened and blushed at Ryoma's comment, "U-Uhm… you-re r-right… t-that's a g-good thing. I-If I break the t-teacups t-then I'll have to p-pay for them."
Sakuno was shaking when she sat beside him. He sighed and said, "Why should you be worried? You're a Tezuka now. You're rich."
Sakuno stiffened even more, "I-I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone… A-And besides… I don't want to trouble my new family."
Then, there was an awkward silence that enveloped them. Sakuno tried to start a conversation, "R-Ryoma-kun… I don't think you're the type of guy who would go inside a club like this."
Ryoma instantly replied, "That's right," he lowered the brim of his cap, "but you're here and that changes everything."
Sakuno blushed and quickly looked at her frilly leggings.
The silence that enveloped them now wasn't awkward anymore.
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While Jirou Akutagawa was still busy with his nap, a random paper suddenly covered his face. After having the need to breathe, he quickly removes the source of his temporary suffocation and read it. He stares at the paper with boredom and threw the paper away, and caught another guy's attention.
"What's this? Akutagawa-senpai, you shouldn't be throwing things randomly in other students' school," the guy was revealed to be Ootori Choutarou.
"Read it," was Jirou's statement before he went back to sleep.
And he obeyed his senpai's order. After a few seconds of silence, he ran as fast as he could. He dropped the paper and it read: Come and join us for some fun in our HOST CLUB! Featuring our special guest, RYUZAKI SAKUNO. Room 309.
And under it was a picture of Sakuno wearing a Lolita outfit.
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The comfortable silence between Sakuno and Ryoma was interrupted by the manager, "Time's up, Echizen-san."
Ryoma looked at him with bored expression, "V.I.P gamer."
"R-Ryoma-kun, don't say you're a V.I.P gamer or else he-" Sakuno tried to stop him but the manager's grin was one step ahead of her,
"Then you'll work here as a host until I dismiss you, Echizen-san," the manager's grin became wider… and creepier, "with your looks, It'll definitely attract a lot of female customers."
Ryoma could only mutter a weak 'eh' before being dragged away by the manager. Sakuno watched the two as they left the scene. She sighed and went inside the club's changing room and changed her outfit into a kimono. She went back to the front desk to greet new customers. She was surprisingly greeted by sleepy eyes from a certain Hyotei regular.
"I couldn't sleep because of the noise outside. There's a couch here, right? Let me sleep in one." Jirou Akutagawa said. Looks like he got here before Ootori… how'd that happen?
Sakuno forced a cute smile, "Y-You have to request a hostess before we give you any couch, J-Jirou-san."
Unexpectedly, Jirou grabbed her arm and dragged Sakuno into the nearest couch. Sakuno was being pulled like a child dragging his teddy bear around. "J-Jirou-san, wait-"
With an impulsive stop, Jirou asked Sakuno to sit on the couch and he, on the other hand, lied on the couch. He rested his head on Sakuno's lap and held her hand. Sakuno was astonished at first but smiled when she gently stares at Jirou's peaceful face. She caressed his hair and murmured, "Have a nice dream."
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Atobe stared blankly at the guy who cornered him just a few seconds ago, "What do you want?"
Niou gave him his slyest grin, "Ryuzaki Sakuno-chan. I saw her inside the host club just a while ago. She was wearing a cute maid outfit. And every ten minutes after entertaining a guest, she changes her clothes."
Atobe twitched and he was about to leave when Niou added something, "Oh, before I forget… Nathaniel Schaeffer is on his way there. I told him that information before I went here to see you."
Atobe glared at the trickster but decided to not say anything else. He quickly took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number, "Send the nearest helicopter in Rikkaidai."
Another rich bastard…
A little while later…
A golden helicopter landed on the University's rooftop, with Atobe patiently waiting for its arrival. He went inside the helicopter and Kabaji followed after him. Kabaji was carrying tons of papers piled together. Atobe ordered the pilot to fly the helicopter around the whole university while Kabaji throws the piles of paper as they go around.
The people who are currently wandering around the school noticed a sudden rain of paper coming from a certain gold helicopter. Kirihara caught one of the papers and looked at it. It's the same Host Club poster as what Jirou and Choutarou saw before but under Sakuno's picture was a handwritten note, "Nathaniel Schaeffer's headed that way. Do everything just to stop him!"
A moment of silence…
Tennis players started to groan annoyingly…
Atobe spoke, with a megaphone in hand, "We can't let him do that again. Grab her before he does… and later, give her to me."
Everyone knows he smirked at the last sentence but the tennis players (and Kirihara's men) ignored it and ran rapidly into the third floor.
Make way for Sakuno's lovers express- Choo! Choo!
Kintarou (who was inside the building during Atobe's 'speech') was carrying a paper bag full of bread when he encountered a battalion of Sakuno's fans rushing to one room in the third floor. Kintarou knows that Sakuno is their primary purpose for going into that floor and so he decided to follow them. When he arrived at the third floor of the building, he dropped the bread he was currently eating and jaw dropped. The floor's walls are covered with Sakuno's posters in different outfits… and looking cutely at every shot.
"W-When did she… she was just…" Kintarou couldn't find the right words to say.
Then, his face dropped into the ground (smashing the bread he dropped) when a bunch of familiar faces ran over him.
"I won't let Nathaniel hurt you again!" Kirihara said as he stepped on Kintarou's back.
Kin-chan heard curses from Marui Bunta's mouth when he stepped on his head.
"Unforgivable!" the twins, Youhei and Kouhei yelled when they stepped on Kin-chan's hand.
"I can't believe it! I actually got lost on the way here! I'm so stupid," Choutarou murmured after he stepped on Kintarou.
After making sure that there will be no one else that will step on him that day, he stood up…
… But
BLAM!
Tooyama Kintarou slammed; face first, on the floor. This time, harder than the first.
"Nyah! I'll save O'chibi's girlfriend, nyah!"
Fuji handed Kawamura his racket, "BURNING! LET'S SAVE TEZUKA'S SISTER, BABY!" The way he stepped on Kintarou's back will surely leave a mark (footprint mark) tomorrow morning.
"Saa… I can't wait to execute my medieval ways of torturing a guy."
"Ii data…" Inui said, but he was not running like the others. He saw Kintarou flat on the ground but still purposely step on him.
And he appeared… the former Yamabuki regular, Akutsu Jin, who saw Kintarou with a lot of foot marks on him. He grinned evilly and stepped solidly on Kintarou's head… for no reason.
"A host club… that sounds fun," Kajimoto Takahisa, who has nothing to do with Sakuno, said after he stepped on Kintarou's leg.
Shinji Ibu silently walked past Kintarou (without stepping on him), but went back and purposely stepped on him anyway… what's up with that?
Yukimura had his hand rubbing his chin and walked on Kintarou, knowing that he's there.
"Aniki, wait! There's a lot of way to torture a guy without using medieval ways," Fuji Yuuta yelled and reached his hands to his brother, stepping on Kintarou's head in the process.
"Ah, Yuuta. Sorry. I can't hear you," Fuji slowly stops and replied.
"Aniki, I'm serious!" But Fuji ignored his brother and moved ahead.
After a few minutes of ceasefire, Kintarou stood up… his eyes flaming with anger, ran as fast as he can and went ahead of all of those who stepped on him, "SAKUNO-CHAN! THEY STEPPED ON ME!" He yelled while crying a fountain of tears and entered the host club room.
Everyone's jaw dropped literally on the ground, when they saw Sakuno peacefully sleeping. It's not that jaw dropping seeing her that, in fact, she's really cute in that peaceful state… but on her lap is Jirou Akutagawa's head! ON HER LAP! IN A KIMONO! That's almost as unforgivable as Nathaniel Schaeffer KISSING Sakuno. Kintarou and the others could only stare at them.
And then he arrived…
A/N: Okay, that's it for this chapter. Seriously… besides the next chapter, I don't know what is going to happen next. PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS… and reviews, if possible. And… no, I'm not yet dead lol XD. I laughed at that review. I just turned into a college student… which, I guess is the same thing as being dead XD.
(1) Saori Tetsu and Miyuki Minaguchi were the OCs in chapter two, two characters that I own.
(2) One of the main male characters in 'Ouran High School Host Club', an anime which I do not own.
(3) Fujioka Haruhi's, main female character of OHSHC, favorite line when commenting on Ouran's students' financial status.
I DISCLAIM. This anime/manga is owned by Konomi Takeshi-sama.
Special thanks to: Brunettebeauty2, VampireBlood22, SasoLOVE111, Tainted Silver Rose (yeah… and thanks for the idea), animefreak7574, dijanexryoma-kun, Sakumi Echizen, rebeccasanfujieijilvr, yuukiyume, xXxDiscarded AngelxXx, and xname for reviews, faves and alerts.
Next time: Revelation of Nathaniel Schaeffer's past. More insane and blushing tennis players... and a signed contract. Find out what else will happen in the next chapter!!!