I Didn't Wish for This!
Chapter Fourteen: Attack of the Zuka Club!
Due to the cultural club exposition, there were no classes for the next two days.
Nanako's phone buzzed. Normally she wouldn't have it out, but today was special.
Mei Mirashiro and Izumi Kibe, her friends from other schools, were coming to Ouran. They were coming for the cultural club exposition—Mei for her school's choral club and Izumi for his school's theater club.
The host club also fell into the 'cultural' aspect of clubs. They had plans, but it wasn't anything extensive. They were planning to spend most of the day inside the club room and explain their club to any wandering girls who walked in. The theme was medieval, so most of the boys had decided to wear the typical knight-in-shining-armor costume. They had an outfit for Nanako if she came, but since she wasn't required to show, she got to spend her time exploring the other booths and meeting interesting people from other schools.
'Not required to be at booth. Searching for Izumi. Planning to stop by Host Club after.'
Mei's curt text really said a lot about her personality.
'Okay. I'll be there most of the day. Check out some of our other clubs. They're really cool!' Nanako replied with a smile on her face.
Mei replied with a smiley face.
/-\/-\/-\/-\
"Excuse me, can you help me find the third music room?" Nanako felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around and opened her mouth wide with a smile.
Mei and Izumi were standing behind her—the former tall and poised while the latter slouched.
"I can't believe you found me!" Nanako hugged Mei before hugging Izumi.
"We were following your directions, but then I spotted your hair so we decided to surprise you." Izumi ran a hand through his curly black hair.
"He also got distracted by a few of the booths that were serving food, so that's why we were running behind." Mei sent a cold stare up towards the boy before turning back to Nanako.
Mei stood at a solid 163 centimeters. Pale skin, a willowy build, and long dark hair made her look almost ghostly. Her eyes were covered by large circular glasses that caught the glare from the sun, hiding her thin, taupe eyes. Her uniform told everyone where she was from—St. Lobelia Academy. The white sailor uniform inspired top was draped loosely over her torso, and the long red skirt covered her abdomen and legs up down to her knees.
Izumi stood next to her at a whopping 180 centimeters. His skin tone was slightly darker than Nanako's, and while he was thin, he was still muscular. He had short, curly black hair, a relatively sculpted face, and grape-colored eyes. His uniform, belonging to the best public school in the city, consisted of a dark blue sweater vest, white button-down, grey slacks, and a purple and white striped tie. He drew the attention from females of varying ages anywhere he went, although Nanako could never pinpoint why.
"I'm sure Nana wouldn't have minded if I ate, especially if I brought her food." Izumi protested, producing a bag of candies from his pocket and holding it out. "Here. I got these from the store yesterday. I thought you would like them."
Nanako took the bag from him. "Thank you, Izumi."
"So, where's this Host Club? I'm interested in what they do." Mei asked, stepping aside so Nanako could lead the way.
"Is it like an actual Host Club?" Izumi questioned. "I wouldn't see that as very appropriate if it is."
"No, they're not a host club host club… They just entertain the girls by talking to them about different things. The girls really seem to like it." Nanako clarified, hoping they would understand the truth behind the club. The last thing she wanted was for them to be left with a bad impression of the club as well as how the school conducted itself.
"And you?"
Nanako nodded. "I like them. They're really nice, although they can be kind of silly sometimes." Nanako talked about some of the club's antics as well as their consideration to each other along the way. She also pointed out different room, her homeroom, introduced them to a few of the girls from the club, and they eventually made it to the music room.
"I'm shocked that you can even navigate through this giant place. I still get lost at Roka and our building is only a quarter of this school."
"You do attend a public school. Private schools have much more funding—especially Ouran and Lobelia." Mei noted.
"Not all of us are born into wealth, Mei. My mother isn't rich but she isn't poor either, and I'm perfectly content with our living situation." He retorted.
"Okay, there's no need to argue, guys! We're here." Nanako turned around. "I'm not sure if it's busy or empty, but there's no telling that they're doing right now, so please be on your best behavior. No fighting." She warned, pointing at each of her friends.
Upon opening the door, she caught the end of a sentence from a group of Lobelia girls.
"—we cannot allow this maiden to remain in this club. We must prepare the paperwork for a transfer to Lobelia at once and welcome her into the Zuka club!"
"Oh god no." Mei groaned. Nanako shifted her gaze from the scene to her friend who was grimacing.
"Hold on a minute, please! There's been some kind of misunderstanding here." Haruhi swindled her way out of the boyishly tall girl's grip. "You called Tamaki-senpai a halfer, for one."
"Tama-chan is a halfer. He's half French and half Japanese!"
"But still, I'm not so sure about calling the host club a fledgling and picking on them on other pretexts as well."
"No, we are pretty new. We were only founded two years ago. His highness created it when he reached high school, after all."
Haruhi's just trying to help…
"Saying that they're only holding club activities to satisfy their own appetites is going too far. It's not as if they're charging their guests anything."
"I wouldn't call it a charge, but we do have a point system. We do offer priority service depending on the price of the items won in net auctions on the club's homepage."
Nanako held her head in her hands.
"They don't sound like they know she's trying to save face," Mei noted, receiving a nod from Izumi.
"I agree."
"See, Haruhi? Your mechanical pencil was sold for a winning bid of 30,000 yen. Good for you."
"That's the one I thought I lost!" Haruhi cried, staring at the screen of Kyoya's laptop in shock. "This is the first I'm hearing about any of this, you know! I never heard we were taking money for this!"
"Is this a bad time to be here?" Izumi asked, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "We can come back later, you know."
"I don't even know." Nanako sighed. "Maybe we should leave. This is kind of awkward and I don't want to keep you guys for too long."
"It's not a problem, really. We can go see a few choral performances… or slack off somewhere."
"I think there's a pool on the roof somewhere."
Mei didn't waste another second in the room. "I have an extra uniform in my bag. Come on, let's go to the roof."
Izumi and Nanako jogged out after her.
/-\/-\/-\/-\
Nanako sat at the edge of the pool, her calves dipped inside of the cool water. Mei was swimming around in her underwear without a care in the world. The way her hair moved behind her reminded Nanako of seaweed.
Izumi was seated next to Nanako, his pants rolled up tightly at his knees. He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the partially cloudless sky.
"Sorry that happened." He heard Nanako murmur.
"Hey, it's okay. You didn't know it was going on. I'm just glad they didn't notice us." He laughed lightly.
"I can't say we have issues on a daily basis… but this just happened to be one of those times…" Nanako lowered her head into her hands. "I cannot believe they were being so oblivious to Haruhi's feelings."
"I'm sure they were just stressed out because of that club."
"The Zuka club." Mei appeared in front of them. The way her bangs clung to her face made her look like the dead girl from Ringu. "Benio, Chizuru, and Hinako are the three most popular girls at Lobelia. They do a variety of musicals and theatrical things. They love women and hate men. My mother originally convinced me to join, but after being around them for a week, I left and decided to join dance instead." She pushed her bangs out of the way. "They probably mean well, but they really hate men… and they seemed to really hate the Host Club." Mei placed her wet hand on Nanako's knee. "If I were you, I'd stay away from them. If they figure out you're a part of the club, they'll probably attempt to transfer you to Lobelia, too. Not that I don't want you there, but I wouldn't say it's worth it." She sighed. "I never knew how much I liked having men around until I went to an all-girls private school."
"It's the same for me," Izumi raised his hand. "I went to an all-boys middle school… I begged my mom to help me get into Roka for high school because there was no way I was going to be surrounded by guys for three more years."
Nanako laughed.
The three of them spent the last half of the day around the pool, and after the school day had ended, they had opted to go to Izumi's house for dinner.
His mother was more than pleased to make a large family meal.
Nanako found herself cutting vegetables while Izumi's mother cooked the meats. "It's good to see you again, Nanako. I haven't seen you since you were little."
"It's good to see you too. You don't look like you've aged a day." She complimented, making the older woman laugh.
"Thank you, Nanako. You, on the other hand, have blossomed. You used to be so small and now you're much taller than I am."
The younger girl smiled. "Izumi has gotten much bigger than I have."
"I expected as much. He looks and acts more like his father than he does me."
Nanako moved onto the next vegetable.
"I loved being your nanny. You were such an adorable child, very aware of the world. Your father is such a nice man." Nanako watched the mother turn around with a smile on her face. "Even after all these years, he's made sure that I was financially stable. Such a caring man."
"That sounds like him."
"Hey, mom?" Izumi pushed the small flap out of the way before walking fully into the kitchen. "Did a large package ever come for me?"
His mother nodded. "It came around noon today. I was leaving the house when it happened so I put it in the trunk of the car." Izumi nodded and shuffled out of the kitchen.
"He got a job recently. He used his last two paychecks to buy a gaming console online. I was proud of him for finally buying something big for himself." She turned her head back towards Nanako. "It means he's one step closer to becoming independent and leaving me with more money."
Nanako snorted.
She had forgotten how funny Izumi's mother was.
"Not saying I won't miss him when he's gone, but I'd love to be able to pamper myself every now and again."
"I understand that."
It was another half hour before they could eat, but it was worth it. They felt like a family as they joked and laughed over this and that, over each other, over the past. Nanako missed this feeling—the feeling of eating with people you cared for.
She was rarely able to eat with her parents. She ate with her dad when he was home, but that was rare. She only ate with her mother if she asked, and if not, Nanako would stay in her room the entire night.
Eating with Izumi, his mother, and Mei made her happy.
After they finished, the girls said their goodbyes and parted ways.
Nanako hoped the next day would go a little smoother.
/-\/-\/-\/-\
"You want me to what?"
Nanako had taken three steps into the club room before being rushed into the back room and seated at a table with rose tea and a sandwich.
"We need to show Haruhi that she can experience the Zuka club while still being part of the Host Club!" Tamaki pleaded.
"We don't want Haru-chan to transfer!" Honey gripped her dress with watery eyes.
Nanako stared at the club members. "You want me to make you all women?"
"Yes! Well, minus Mori-senpai."
Nanako pursed her lips. "I'm going to make a quick call. I'll be right back.
/-\/-\/-\/-\
"Everyone, these are my friends, Mei and Izumi." Nanako held her hand out to introduce them. "Mei is from Lobelia, but don't worry, she's not crazy."
"I hate the Zuka Club with a passion."
"She's here to help with getting you into your costumes."
"I've worn and helped design over fifty costumes for dance and other various activities; I know how to make someone look like a woman."
"Izumi, believe it or not, is actually a man."
Nanako had asked Izumi to come just after he performed in his school's play in Ouran's grand auditorium. He raised a gloved hand and smiled. "I'm here to help with makeup."
"Precisely. Now," Nanako pointed to Honey. "I'm taking Honey-senpai and the twins. Izumi is taking Kyoya-senpai and Tamaki-senpai. Mei is going to put Mori in his costume."
The members of the club divided themselves into groups and went with their respective leader.
It took a while, as putting on makeup usually does, but the end result was beautiful, horrifying, and hilarious.
"Don't move your breasts and breathe with your chest, not your stomach. You're not synched up top." Mei coached, demonstrating the difference between the two types of breathing. "We don't want you dying out there."
"You guys will do fine." Nanako smiled at her drag sisters (and one brother). "I don't think Haruhi would leave you guys. Plus, those Lobelia girls—,"
"Are horrible." Mei finished.
"Thank you, Mei, but I was going to say weird, and a little too pushy."
"I hear talking!" Izumi called from his place at the door.
"Okay, into position! I want you guys to look like a huge cloud, not a bunch of little clouds!" Mei barked, inspecting the group as they got closer to the ground. "Honey-senpai, move inwards. You're a little detached…There you go." Mei lifted her hand to signal for the lights to be turned off.
Izumi flicked the switch, and the two girls dashed over to stand next to him.
The door opened, and the entire room stayed silent for several long seconds.
Each boy began to sing 'Ouran', and just before Tamaki sang, Izumi flicked on the lights and revealed the club members dressed as women—some more natural than others.
"Ouran Host Club welcomes you!"
Haruhi stared blankly while the Zuka girls stared at the boys in varying levels of shock.
"Oh, Haruhi, welcome." Tamaki gracefully approached the group of girls, the click-clack of his heels echoing in the otherwise silent room.
"Haru-chan! Haru-chan! I'm a princess! Do I look good?" Honey asked, poking his cheeks.
"What kind of stunt is this!? Are you trying to make fun of our culture?!" Benio shouted.
"Make fun? No, certainly not. I have taken everything into account. This is a surefire technique guaranteed among commoners to make even a crying child happy: The Freebie Campaign!" Tamaki twirled around in his giant dress and presented the group. "You ladies who have lived sheltered lives at Lobelia might not know this, but commoners are apt to have a weakness for free things. Haruhi might be distracted and sense the appeal of joining the Zuka Club, but if you choose our club, your brothers and sisters come with it!"
"The plan is to allow Haruhi to experience the same feeling she would get if she were to join the Zuka Club as she continues with the Host Club," Nanako spoke up, earning the attention of the girls standing by the door. "They were very worried you would leave, so they went through all the trouble of being a female impersonator for you."
"I wouldn't leave them if I were you. They care a lot." Mei commented blandly, adjusting her giant glasses, and proceeding to cross her arms.
"You see, Haruhi? Aren't I pretty?" Tamaki asked as he batted his (fake) lashes.
"We're the Hitachiin Sisters! Which one is prettier?"
"Just teasing!"
The twins were probably the strangest looking of the bunch next to Tamaki, but it wasn't like they minded. They were doing this for Haruhi after all.
"Haru-chan! You can call me Big Sister!"
Mori and Kyoya stood still with small smiles on their faces.
"You think a maiden can be taken by this?!"
Nanako looked at Haruhi. "Absolutely."
Haruhi began to laugh, lightly at first, but the more she thought about it, the harder she laughed.
"Too much! I don't even know what this means!" Haruhi was rolling on the floor with laughter. "I knew you guys were goofballs, but geez…"
Haruhi began to calm down, but just before she did, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Honey swarmed over to her.
"Are we really that funny?"
Haruhi began to cry with laughter as she tried running away from them. Nanako couldn't help but laugh herself. It was really funny to watch.
"Really, stop it already! What were you guys thinking?" Haruhi asked, wiping stray tears from her face.
"Well, we want to run the Host Club with you, Haruhi."
Haruhi stood up. "There are all sorts of people in the world, and I do think that your way of thinking is unique and interesting, but I'm studying at this school because I have a goal for my future, so I never intended to quit Ouran here to begin with."
Nanako felt relieved.
"We're not giving up on you, Maiden! One day, we will come and rescue you from this place and bring down the Host Club!"
"Okay, it's time for you to go." Nanako and Mei began to herd the girls out of the room.
"Beautiful Maiden, are you also trapped in this hellhole?"
"Really, I think you guys should leave."
"And never come back."
"Mei, I'm shocked. You were so promising and now you've turned to men?" Benio was really beginning to push boundaries in the two girls.
"My sexuality is none of your business."
"Fine," The Zuka Club members exited the room and began to spin down the hallway. However, all three managed to slip on bananas just before Nanako and Mei closed the doors on them.
/-\/-\/-\/-\
After a brief appearance from Renge, the Host Club members took the time to get out of their costumes and thank Nanako and her friends.
Izumi and Mei left to check out the rest of the performances, and Nanako stayed behind to be with her club.
"You looked very beautiful today," Nanako joked as she took the pins out of Kaoru's hair.
"Thank you. I try my best every day."
Kaoru was the last person left in the room. He had gotten his uniform back on and was now just waiting for his hair and makeup to be removed.
"I know you do." Nanako pulled the hair drills from his head and placed them in their respective case. "You want to know something?"
"Sure,"
"I had a feeling Haruhi wouldn't leave." Nanako stepped in front of him and pulled off the lashes. "I don't see Haruhi as the kind of person to just up and leave with a bunch of debt tied to her name. That would be unproductive."
Kaoru closed his eyes as she began to wipe off the eyeshadow. "You and Haruhi are very similar, you know that, right?"
Nanako nodded. "We do have similarities, but we're not identical." Nanako folded the makeup wipe and wiped away any lingering eyeshadow. "In a way, I guess we're like you and Hikaru—similar but still different."
"Yeah," Kaoru murmured.
After getting all the excess makeup off, they met up with Hikaru and Haruhi in the main room and headed to the theater to watch the rest of the cultural performances.
Today you got to see the two friends that I mentioned in chapter one! They're quite interesting characters—both coming from different places. They might make another appearance in the future, but I'm not sure when.
I think this chapter is going to do it for me. I've written about 15,000 words between these four chapters, and I think I'm hitting my limit.
I will be on another brief hiatus until December 16th (when I get out of school), so expect me to be writing chapters through the end of December and the first week of January.
Remember to review! I'll see you guys next chapter!