Hosts…and Hostess?!?
AN: Thank you for all the reviews you sent over. Also, sorry for the long delay. I've been hoping to update this chapter earlier this month, but I had been so busy. And then I had a surgery involving my wisdom teeth being taken out, I was in pain for a few days and my mom refused to let me do anything other than stay in bed.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or Ouran High School Host Club. If I did, I would've wrote the manga series combined, the same goes for the rest of my stories.
Interlude#1: Meeting the musicians
Ten-year-old Usagi sat excitedly in the backseat of her father's car with both her younger siblings on either side of her. Her father had just received an assignment to do an article on the homecoming concert performed by two famous musicians, Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh, two of the youngest musicians that had the privilege of performing around the world. Since it was a weekend and she was a big fan of the two, her father had asked if she wanted to come along. Her father was going to call a babysitter to watch Shingo and Hotaru, but the two stubbornly said, "If onee-chan's going, then we're going," so they ended up following.
The Tsukino family was given tickets courtesy of Kenji's boss and they were near the front where they could see the two female musicians perform. A beautiful thirteen year old girl with long curly bluish-green hair, wearing a simple but beautiful purple dress, was playing a violin. And sitting next to her, playing the black piano, was another thirteen year old girl, only she looked so much like a boy, especially with her short blond hair and the black and white tuxedo she was wearing. Usagi had heard of the two when she first heard their music being played at her friend's house and immediately fell in love with the soothing music the duet played.
When the concert had ended, it was already getting close to midnight with just an hour left, signaling that it was time for Kenji's interview and that it was way past the two five-year-olds' bedtimes, which was evidently seen when the two were rubbing their eyes and yawning. Usagi sighed disappointedly as she stared at her two younger siblings. "Are you two sleepy?" she asked. Knowing full well how excited their sister was to see her favorite musicians, Shingo and Hotaru both shook their heads, trying to find excuses from something getting into their eyes or something getting caught in their throats. Usagi shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. "Honestly, if you two are getting tired just tell me," she scolded gently, "Even if it's a weekend, you two still need your sleep."
Kenji couldn't help but laugh as he picked up the two children in his arms. Ever since his wife had passed on, Usagi had completely taken the role of a mother over and it seemed to have strengthened when they adopted Hotaru a year ago. Asking one of the workers if he may borrow one of the dressing rooms to put the sleeping children in, Kenji decided to ask if the one he'll be interviewing could come and see his daughter. After all, he smiled, it's not often when a ten-year-old would dismiss her younger siblings' needs for her own.
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"Well now, that answers all the questions I have for you," Kenji said, getting up. They had spent the past forty-five minutes getting to know each other and the pianist and violinist were beginning to be disappointed that the time would be cut short. Just as Kenji was about to leave the room, he remembered something and turned around. "I'm sorry for troubling you, but I was wondering if you'll do me a favor?" he asked, smiling apologetically.
Michiru nodded her head. "Sure, what is it?" she asked.
Kenji rubbed the back of his head with one hand and scratched his cheek with the other hand. "My daughter, Usagi, came with me, hoping to see you two, but my two youngest fell asleep, so she's watching them in one of the dressing rooms we've borrowed," he explained, "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind paying her a little visit. She was very excited to see you guys in person, but her siblings refused to leave her alone."
"Why doesn't your wife watch over them instead?" Haruka asked.
Kenji looked down for a quick second before smiling gently. "My wife passed away five years ago," he replied. Haruka suddenly looked ashamed for bring it up as Michiru smacked her on the arm hard. "Ever since then, Usagi's been looking over them. I guess after being like a mom to them, they grew very attached to her."
"I'm sorry to hear about that," Michiru said, glaring at Haruka for a second before smiling back at Kenji, "How old is your daughter?"
"Usagi just turned ten last week," Kenji replied, "Shingo and Hotaru are both five years old."
"Wow, she's only three years younger than us," Haruka said. She emitted a low whistle. "She's pretty responsible, isn't she?"
Michiru rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Yes, very responsible, said the girl who can't even take care of a goldfish."
Kenji laughed as he watched Haruka complaining about the pet fish's accidental death. "Actually, my daughter couldn't even watch over her pet fish either. Her mother always took care of it instead," he said, causing the two to stop and listen, "Usagi's a very carefree child but when her mother was hospitalized, she knew that she had to act grown up, voluntarily cutting her play dates just so she could help around the house." He looked down to his hands. "Of course, several of my co-workers' wives had offered to help us, but…Usagi's a very independent girl. She does want people around and has a lot of friends…she just likes to do things by herself."
Haruka hummed slightly as she rubbed her chin. "Interesting kid," she said, smiling, "Sounds like you're proud of her."
Kenji nodded his head. "She's my little angel, cute and kind, but that's one of the reasons why a lot of people want to be her friends." Then his face became dark as he clenched his fists together. "And then when I think about her all grown up with guys chasing after her, I can't help but get angry at the thought of those perverted slobbering pigs trying to taint my little princess!" he shouted.
"Now she's got my interest," Haruka said, "Hey, Michi, let's go see this little bunny."
Michiru rolled her eyes as her childhood friend quickly rushed out of the room to hopefully would be a new friend. She bowed politely to Kenji. "I'll make sure she doesn't scare your daughter. Ruka-chan tends to get overexcited about certain things," she said.
Kenji just smiled and nodded his head in understand. "It's okay. Usagi tends to act that way as well," he said, laughing.
Haruka ran back into the room and grabbed Michiru's hand. "Come on, Michi, let's go see the bunny," she said.
Kenji just watched as the two vanished from his sight. He shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He opened it and stared down at the small picture of his departed wife. "Well, it looks like Usagi's going to have another friend," he said. Then he glanced over to the door and scratched his head in a confused manner. "Though I wonder how Haruka-kun knew Usagi's nickname," he wondered out loud as an image of his wife giggling could be seen behind him.
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Haruka and Michiru walked towards the dressing room hand in hand. "Are you sure about this?" Michiru asked, looking uneasy.
Haruka was about to reply back when something caught their ears. The two musicians placed their ears by the door to hear somebody humming one of the songs they had played during the concert. Lifting her index finger to her lips, Haruka opened the door slightly and both girls peered into the room. Looking in, they saw a cute little girl with short chin-length black hair and a cute little boy with short brown hair sleeping on a bench, but what really caught their attention was a slightly older girl with long blond hair, blue eyes that sparkle with care for her siblings and a bright smile.
"That must be her," Michiru whispered, "She seems very nice." Haruka knocked on the door gently alerting the girl of her eavesdroppers.
Usagi couldn't see who it was since the door was blocking her view of the two teenagers. Thinking that it was her father, she closed her eyes went on with her humming, stopping only for a short second to say, "Come In."
"Usagi-chan, right?"
Usagi opened her eyes to see Haruka and Michiru standing in front of her with soft smiles on her face. The minute her mind and eyes recognized who they were, her face turned bright red as she stood up abruptly. "Haruka Tenoh? Michiru Kaioh?" she shouted, pointing at the two.
Holding her index and middle fingers together against her forehead, almost like a saluting in the military, Haruka winked and smiled. "Hey, little bunny, your dad asked us to see you," she said.
Usagi looked at her in confusion as she asked, "Daddy told you guys my nickname?"
"Oh," Michiru placed her hand over her mouth, "That's your nickname? Everybody calls you bunny."
"Most of the kids in school," Usagi replied. She tilted her head and stared at them curiously, "Is there a problem?"
Haruka cupped her chin and sighed. "Well, that won't do. Special nicknames should be used by only a certain group of people," she said, "If everyone calls you bunny then it doesn't seem to be much special among different people."
"Does it really matter?" Usagi asked, "I always thought that if someone calls you by a nickname then it would mean that they think of you as someone close."
Michiru laughed, catching Usagi's attention. "Don't mind her. Ruka-chan tends to over think things."
Haruka watched as Usagi began conversing Michiru curiously but at the same time very carefully. She chuckled lightly as she made the analogy of Usagi acting like a kitten. "I think that would be a great name for you," Haruka said, still chuckling.
Usagi smiled at her and asked, "What name?"
"Koneko," Haruka said softly. She laughed and said, "It's perfect. You're just as adorable as a kitten and just as curious and cautious as one as well."
Michiru laughed and clapped her hands. "Now that's a wonderful idea," she said.
The door opened and Kenji stepped into the room. "I see that you three are having a great time," he said with a smile, "As much as you're having fun, it's time to go home."
Usagi pouted and whined, "Do we have to?" She looked at her father with sad puppy dog eyes. "Can't we stay, just a few more minutes?" she asked.
"We have to put those two into bed, Usagi," Kenji said. It was then that Usagi was reminded of her two sleeping siblings. "Perhaps you three can arrange a date to get together," he said, "You two busy tomorrow?"
Haruka and Michiru shook their heads. Writing their address and phone number on a piece of paper, Kenji passed the paper to them. "You can come over anytime," he said, "Just give us a call so we could let you in."
Haruka took the paper and looked at the address. "We'll be there at noon," she said.
Usagi clapped her hands together. "Great! I can make you lunch and after that, you can meet my friends. We were going to hang out at the Crowns Game Center(1) at three o'clock. You want to come?"
The two musicians were shocked. Most people when inviting them would usually picked places or activities that assumed to be perfect for their tastes. Places like a simple arcade would be deemed as unworthy by other people of their "supposed" stature. The two old friends smiled at each other. Maybe this was a sign. Not all people would make the same kind assumptions the adults had done. True, the two of them are famous and rich, but they are still kids. Knowing what was on each other's minds, they nodded their heads. "We'll be there," they said together.
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Morning arrived fast for the two musicians. Setting off together, they arrived in a quiet and not so busy part of Tokyo, only to stop in front of a large two story white house. Taking a step out, Michiru and Haruka looked around, only to notice that while the residents did stop to look at them, not once did they go into shock at seeing well known people in the area, it was almost as if this was a usual occurrence for them. Thinking about asking Usagi about this, Haruka ran the doorbell. They heard footsteps coming towards the door and watched as the boy they remembered sleeping in the dressing room stuck his head out.
Shingo stared at the two, vaguely remembering that he had seen them before, just the question of who they were lingered in his mind, but all he could think about was this boy standing in front of his door which caused him to glare. "Look I'm sure that you're a great guy and all, but STAY AWAY FROM MY ONEE-CHAN!" he shouted, slamming the door shut.
Michiru brought her hand to her lips as her shoulders shook from her trying to contain her laughter in. Haruka just wondered what had occurred and scratched her head in confusion. "What was that about?" she asked her friend.
"Here, let me try," Michiru said. She stood in front of Haruka and ran the bell this time. The door and the same boy opened the door. Michiru smiled at him and asked, "Is Usagi-chan home? She invited us over."
"Shingo, who's at the door?" the other sleeping child from the night before came to the door. She saw the two musicians and smiled. "Hi! My name is Hotaru. Onee-chan is right inside," she said.
"Hotaru! You're just going to let some boy into our house?" Shingo shouted in disbelief, "Otou-san's going to go ballistic."
Hotaru stared at her brother with confused eyes. "Shingo, that's not a boy," she said, pointing at Haruka. Shingo's eyes grew wide as he studied an amused Haruka. "Don't you remember? That's Haruka Tenoh. We were at their concert last night," she told him, "And besides, onee-chan was expecting them to arrive."
The two musicians entered the house and looked around. The home wasn't as extravagant like their mansions, but it was amazing. The simplicity and contrasting items placed around the home brought out a warm homey feeling. "Otou-san told us that when okaa-san was alive, she decorated this entire house from top to bottom," Shingo explained, leading the guests to the dining room, "After her death, we pretty much kept everything the same it was before."
"You know, I pictured a house with three kids, a working dad, and no mom to be…you know, messy," Haruka said, causing Michiru to elbow her.
Shingo laughed. "Yeah, everybody who comes to our house the first time tend to say that," he said, "But onee-chan and otou-san clean most of the house up and we usually clean after ourselves so it's not a lot of work."
Hotaru hit her brother on the head lightly. "You mean, I clean up after myself and I have to remind you to do the same," she said, sighing. Shingo looked embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head. Hotaru ignored him as she continued on to the dining room. "Onee-chan, they're here," she shouted.
"Kitchen," a voice called out. Hotaru and Shingo disappeared into the cooking area as Haruka and Michiru sat down in the living room.
Haruka whistled as she stared at a brown piano leaning against a wall by the large window overlooking the front yard. "That's a great looking piano," she said.
"That was okaa-san's," Usagi said, coming out of the kitchen. She wiped her hands on the yellow apron she was wearing. "Glad you guys could make it," she said with a smile, "Lunch is ready. You could wash up in the restroom or the kitchen."
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After lunch, Shingo ran upstairs to change and came back down wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a soccer ball in hand. "Onee-chan, I'm heading toward the park to play soccer," he shouted, leaving the house.
"Is it all right for him to leave alone like that?" Michiru asked. Every since she was young, whenever she wanted to go somewhere, she always had people escorting her to the areas. For someone so young to leave with no chaperon is foreign to her.
Usagi just continued to wash the dishes with Hotaru's help. "It's fine," she said, "Juuban is pretty safe so there's nothing to worry about. 'Sides, Shingo already knows the rules about the streets and there are lots of adults who are on the streets around this time."
"Hey, Koneko-chan, there's something that's been bugging me," Haruka said, "When we arrived, the people in this community stopped to look at us and then just left without crowding around us or anything. Do they know who we are?"
"Yeah, they're just use to these things," Usagi replied. She dried her hands and took the apron off. "Believe it or not, you guys aren't the only friends I have that are famous or rich. In fact, it's about time for us to meet, you want to come?"
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The journey to the Crowns Game Center was…adventurous for the two newcomers. As they walked towards their destination, pedestrians would stare at them curiously but think nothing of why two rich famous musicians were walking in a common area like Juuban with someone who's not even in their league. With this observation the two came to the conclusion that this sort of thing happened a lot. And it wasn't until they arrived at the arcade that they realized how right they were.
Usagi had led them into the arcade to see two fourteen year old boys, one behind a counter and one leaning against the counter. One had dark blond hair and dark green eyes with the other having black hair and dark blue eyes. "Motoki-nii! Mamo-chan!" Usagi called, waving to the two as she ran over to give them a hug.
"Hey, Usagi-chan," Motoki said, watching as Usagi embraced Mamoru, "Hotaru-chan, nice to see you again." He looked up to the two out of place musicians. "I see that you brought some new friends over," he said, smiling. "Nice to meet you, my name is Motoki Furuhata. And that's Mamoru Chiba."
"Haruka Tenoh and this is Michiru Kaioh," the pianist introduced, "You look pretty young to be working here."
"This is a family business. I'm just helping out. 'Sides, you two are pretty young to be traveling around the world performing," Motoki said.
Once again, the two were surprised. The only type of people who would talk to t them this way would be their parents or other people part of the rich society. And yet these people of the working class talk to them as if they were a part of their group. For many rich people this would be a gigantic put off, but strangely enough, for the performers, it felt refreshing and oddly comfortable.
"You're friends are waiting for you upstairs in the café," Mamoru told them. He patted Hotaru on the head.
"Are you going to come with us, Mamoru-nii?" Hotaru asked.
"I'd love to, but Motoki and I need to get this project finished," Mamoru said, "Maybe next time, kiddo."
Hotaru nodded her head. She grabbed Haruka and Michiru's hands and dragged them up the stairs. "Come on, you've got to meet the others. You'll like our friends," she said as she pulled them along with Usagi following behind with an amused smile.
"Hotaru-chan! Usagi-chan!" four voices shouted. Michiru and Haruka looked up to see four young girls, all around the age of ten, sitting in a booth. One had short blue-hair with bright blue eyes; another had long brown hair in a ponytail and bright green eyes; there was one with long black hair with dark purple highlights in them and dark purple eyes; and the last one looked somewhat similar to the bunny next to them with only shorter blond hair and duller blue eyes. The two were able to recognize the four girls, one was the daughter of a well known doctor, another was the daughter of a famous actress and director, another was the daughter of a famous politician, and the last was the legacy of two famous chefs who had passed away long ago.
"I see form the looks on your faces that you know them," Usagi said smiling. She walked over to her friends and said, "These are my friends, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, and Minako Aino. Now you know the reason why nobody acts surprised when they saw you with me."
Haruka shook her head as she said, "You are one unpredictable kitten, Koneko-chan. I'm beginning to think that this is the beginning of one beautiful friendship."
(1) Crowns Game Center is the arcade that Usagi went to in the first season. Unfortunately I don't know the Japanese name for it so I'm using the English name instead.
AN: I hope you enjoyed my version of how Michiru and Haruka met Usagi for the first time. Don't worry about the other characters since I'll get to them later on in the chapters.