Hosts…and Hostess?!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
AN: I'm so sorry for the long wait and hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter!
Ch6
In an elementary division on the Ouran Campus, a young ten-year-old boy sat dejectedly at his seat. With his head bent down, his brown hair covered his dark gray eyes from view. It was then he heard his classmates talk about what was going on in the high school division.
"You heard about the host club, right?" 'Who hasn't?" "Well, you know what they say about Suoh from 2-A?" "Everyone's heard of him. He's the king of the host club and he's a genius when it comes to charming girls."
"A genius?" the boy repeated.
"Don't listen to them, Shiro. Tamaki-san's nothing but a shameless flirt who tries to seduce any female." Shiro Takaoji turned his head to see one of the scholarship students.
(Shiro's POV)
Shingo Tsukino, father's a journalist and mother's deceased, lives a well to do life. He's a great friend and someone who's not afraid to speak his mind. A lot of the girls like him and the boys wished to be him. The minute he tried out for the soccer team, he was immediately drafted and considered a star player.
His sister, Hotaru Tsukino, on the other hand is an opposite entity. While Shingo is similar to a rough bad boy (somewhat) type, Hotaru is like the girl next door, kind and gentle. While Shingo tends to rush and be biased to things he doesn't like, she's much more understanding and thinks before acting. A lot of the boys like her and the girls wish to be her. Kind and pretty, she's also intelligent when it comes to math and science, being a star in the science club.
(End POV)
"How would you know that, Shingo?" another boy asked.
"I've met him a lot of times to know. Onee-chan's in the host club too, you know," Shingo said.
(Shiro's POV)
Ah, yes, and who can forget the oldest of the group, Bunny-nee, or Usagi Tsukino, a freshman scholarship student in the high school division. Kind, gentle, and beautiful she's the role model for a lot of the girls here. She would always join them for lunch and give us extra snacks that she made. Might I add that her cooking if like food for the gods. Did I mention she's also a part of the host club? Yes she is, the only female hostess there is.
(End POV)
Shingo shrugged his shoulders as he turned around. "Personally if you want to learn how to charm somebody, especially if it's a girl, you should ask onee-chan," he said, "That so-called king isn't a charmer; he's just a major flirt who chases after any girl, old or young."
"Don't say that, Shingo," Hotaru said, "Tamaki-san may be like that, but he does have his good points too."
Shingo stared at his sister, looking like he had difficulty believing her. "Yeah? Like what?" he asked. He smirked when Hotaru kept silent as she thought about it. "Told you," he said, "That guy is weird…so is the rest of the host club. If you want some real advice, you should ask for onee-chan."
Shiro looked down to his desk. He needs help and Shingo might be right. Usagi had often helped his classmates with advices that always worked. And Shingo was hardly ever wrong, so he decided. After school's over, he's gonna head over to the host club and ask Usagi to help him.
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Shiro took a deep breath as he stared at the door, the only obstacle between him and Usagi. He was hoping that Shingo or even Hotaru would accompany them, but they both had club activities. He took a deep breath once more before opening the door and came across six men dressed in royal Arabian clothing, but what really caught his attention was the only female in the group.
Tamaki looked down at Shiro as he smiled gently. "Oh, what's a child like you doing here? Are you lost...or perhaps you're seeking us out for help?"
Shiro just ignored him as he stared at Usagi. "Bunny-nee, what are you wearing?" he asked, using the name everyone in his class calls her by.
"Oh this?" she sighed, objectively, "I was outvoted into wearing this." She smiled sheepishly at him. "Looks stupid, right?"
Shiro shook his head as he grinned, "No, you look just like a hime or a mashin(1) from the fairy tales.
Usagi had her long hair pulled up into a high ponytail with a tiara made up of white flowers. She wore a light pink veil covering from the base of her nose to her neck. The rest of her outfit was also a pale pink color; the top resembling the outfit he had seen on the princess from that American cartoon "Aladdin" and the bottom was a long overflowing skirt.
"Did you need something, Shiro-kun?" Usagi asked. She patted him on the head with a smile on her face. "It's not like you to come here unless there's a problem."
Shiro's fists clenched tightly. His eyes glistened with determination. "I want you to help me, Bunny-nee!" he said strongly.
Tamaki and the twins all gasped in shock with their jaws dropped down. Kyoya just stared into his open binder. Hunny grinned at Mori. "This will be Usa-chan's first male customer, ne?" he said.
"I need to learn how to charm girls," Shiro shouted. His face had turned into a deep red color with embarrassment. "Why am I telling Bunny-nee this? The last thing I want is for her to think of me as weird…but I really do need help," he said to himself.
Tamaki and the twins' ears perked up. They quickly formed the 'No male customers for Usagi' barrier between the two. "Well, if you want to learn how to charm women, then you should ask me for help," Tamaki said as the twins immediately steered Usagi away to help them get the snacks and tea ready. "You can be my apprentice," he said.
Shiro looked uninterested as Tamaki maneuvered him to a nearby table. "What a weirdo. Guess Shingo's right about him, this guy's an idiot," he thought to himself. Sighing, "All well, let's just see if he really is a genius when it comes to charming girls. I mean, even Shingo can be wrong sometimes, right?"
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"I stand corrected."
"Oh, Tamaki-sama, you have an apprentice," a customer of the 'king' squealed, "He's such a darling."
Tamaki's eyes watered as he said, "Yes, the poor child came to me and begged me with pleading eyes to accept him. Who am I to turn him away," he said as he grasped the girl's hands.
"What do you mean by 'begging'? You make me sound like some kind of a dog or something," Shiro whined to himself. He rolled his eyes as he listened to Tamaki call the girl a beautiful mermaid and some lines from some cheesy romantic movie. 'Why are you lying for?" Shiro asked out loud, pointing to the girl. Getting bored, he decided to entertain himself by tormenting the blonde just as he is tormenting him. "She looks nothing like a mermaid…more like a carp. Are you blind or something?"
Shiro smirked as the girl ran out, crying her eyes out, and Tamaki calling out to her. "Why am I not surprise that Shingo is right, yet again," he muttered, shaking his head.
The twins, who were watching, laughed as they surrounded Shiro. Hikaru patted Shiro on the head, ruffling his hair. "Cute little brother you have, dono," he said.
Kaoru's once amused eyes began to lose their shine. He grabbed onto his brother's sleeves. "Hikaru, do you prefer him as a brother over me?" he asked, like a small child in an unfamiliar foreign place.
Hikaru looked scandalized as he quickly grabbed hold of Kaoru. "Don't be stupid. Why would I want another brother when I already have you," he said.
Shiro watched with wide eyes as the twins cooed each other's name as they leaned close to kiss, much to the girls' excitement. "They're gay…they have the same face…OH MY GOD!" he shouted in his head. He felt faint as he took a step back, bumping into possibly the only sane person in the club.
"Shiro-kun, you okay?" Usagi asked, carrying a silver tray with a heavy looking tea set. She chuckled as she offered him a cookie. "It's okay. Those two just act like that to get customers. How's Tamaki-sempai's apprenticeship going?"
Shiro moaned as his posture drooped down slightly. "He's pathetic. How am I going to charm women with his dumb examples?" he muttered. He turned to Usagi as he said, "Bunny-nee, can you…"
Tamaki and the twins immediately intercepted them. "Usagi, why don't you let Shiro take the tea set?" the twins said. Without even waiting for a reply, Tamaki took the tray and pushed into the fifth grader's hands.
"Be careful, Shiro-kun, that tray is heavy," Usagi warned.
"No kidding," Shiro muttered. The minute Tamaki had let go, Shiro just dropped the tray onto the floor. CRASH! The tea pot was destroyed, sending the beverage inside it all over the floor with the remnants of the broken porcelain teacups all around it. Snacks were crushed due to the impact it had with the floor.
"That will be another thousand dollars, Usagi," Kyoya said, writing it in his binder.
"Why is it that every time I get close to getting rid of my debt, you three always seem to be able to make it come back up even worse," Usagi said, glaring at the three guys, who felt torn between squealing how cute she looks upset and trembling in fear of her anger.
Shiro looked around and spotted a large fabric folded up nicely on a table beside a window. He grabbed it and began to clean up the mess he made. "This is cleaning up pretty well," he said softly.
Kyoya's glasses tilted in the light, making it hard to see his eyes as he watched what was happening to the cloth. "And just what do you think you're doing, using our new specially ordered curtains?"
"What are you, some pint sized demon?" Tamaki shouted, "It's bad enough we got Shingo occupying that job."
"That thing was too heavy for me to carry, stupid," Shiro yelled back.
"Ssssshhhhhhiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrooooooo!" Hunny shouted. He hugged the boy his height as he smiled childishly. "Do you want to eat some cake?"
Shiro stared at Hunny as a dark shadow overtook his face. "How old are you?" he asked, "You look like you should still be in grammar school, so what's with the high school outfit?" Hunny, getting scared of Shiro's attitude, hid behind Mori. Shiro, getting scared of Mori's large build, began to throw dishes at the human shield as he yelled about a giant.
Getting annoyed, Tamaki ordered the twins. "Grab him and cage him," which they hurried and did. Good thing, they had sent Usagi out on an errand, otherwise she would've had their heads.
Shiro stared and then blinked as he sat there in a cage. He grabbed the bars and shouted, "What the hell? Let me out!"
The host club lounged about on the sofas, drinking their teas and eating the snacks Usagi made. "We have no time to be playing games with you, kid," Tamaki said, sipping his tea, like the gentleman that he is (notice the sarcasm). "We're very busy so why don't you find somebody else to play with you?"
"I'm not playing around. I really do need to learn how to charm girls," Shiro said determinedly, "It's you who's not being serious about this!" He turned around with his arms crossed over his chest and a pout on his lips as he muttered, "I can't believe that they thought he's a genius when it comes to charming girls."
Tamaki's ears perked up when he heard the words 'genius…charming girls'. He disappeared from his seat and reappeared in front of the cage. "Good eyes for those who said that," Tamaki said, swishing his hand through his hair. Shiro jumped and screamed. "Very well, I'll assist and won't stop until you're an expert!" He pointed with confidence to the sky.
Shiro just sighed and dropped his head down. "Where's Bunny-nee when you need her?" he muttered.
Tamaki ignored his comment and went on with his speech, not noticing that Shiro is paying him no mind. "You should definitely fit the category of a 'wild child'," he said, "For Lolita customers, who prefer Hunny, you can attract them as a much wilder and darker side. Scraps on the cheeks and knees can help bring it to effect."
Shiro blinked as the twins began to put bandages on his knees and drew X's on his cheeks. He heard everyone tell him to run. He rolled his eyes as he muttered, "Yeah right."
When the three main troublemakers saw that he wasn't cooperating with them, they gave him a 'light' push, causing Shiro to fall in front of a passing girl. When she knelt down to ask if he was all right, they told him, "Say your lines."
Shiro rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand as he looked away. "I'm fine…" he muttered, ending up shouting, "NO THANKS TO THOSE IDIOTS!"
But it got the right response from the girl as she squealed how cute the boy was. Tamaki and the twins raised their thumbs up. "That's the way to do it!" the three exclaimed.
"They're just making fun of me," Shiro muttered. He glared angrily at his fists. "I don't have enough time, you jackass!" he shouted, getting up. Without anyone stopping him, he ran out of the music room.
Hikaru and Kaoru stared at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "What a weird kid," they said to each other.
Tamaki just hummed in thought. "I wonder why he seems so pressed for time," he said, tilting his head to the side.
"You should worry more about yourself before others, Tamaki," Kyoya warned, walking away with his nose in the folder.
The three usual troublemakers looked around to see the other two trying to get away from them as well. "What's wrong?" they asked in unison.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THREE DO?" Tamaki and the twins jumped in shock and slowly and in fear turned around to see Usagi glaring at them like she was going to tear them apart. "I leave for a few minutes to find out that instead of helping Shiro-kun like you said you would, you upset him! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?"
"Wait, Usagi! Calm down!" the twins said, waving their hands in defense, "It's not our fault!"
Tamaki nodded his head. "They're right. It's not," he said.
"Dono was the one who drove him away," the twins added, hoping it would take Usagi's anger and direct it away from them.
"NANI?" Tamaki shouted, "Why you two little backstabbers…"
"Tamaki-sempai, what did you do!" Usagi shouted, glaring at him. "I don't care what you do, but you're going to fix it…RIGHT…NOW!"
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"What does helping Shiro-kun have to do with me wearing this?" Usagi sighed as she looked around the corner. Hunny was standing right next to her, wearing the elementary school uniform, which suited him nicely. Usagi, on the other hand, was wearing the middle school uniform. "What's the point of wearing this if we're in the elementary department? I stick out like a sore thumb." All around them, the children looked at her in shock as whispers of why there was a middle school student in their division, or for those who recognize her, why was she there, disguised as a younger child.
Hunny grabbed Usagi's hand and dragged her down the corridor. "It's this way, Usa-chan!" he cheered.
Somewhere behind them, the rest of the host club was peeking out with the usual idiots gushing about. "That skirt looks great on her. Let's try something else next time," Tamaki said with the twins vocally agreeing and Mori just nodding his head.
Usagi was sulking in her mind when she felt a tickling sensation in her nose, almost making her want to sneeze. "I swear, those guys did this on purpose. What am I? Rika-chan(2)?" she muttered.
"Usa-chan, I found Shiro's classroom!" Hunny said, bursting into the room. He glanced around as he amused himself. "This use to be my room too." He picked up a recorder he found lying on a table and inspected it.
"I wonder where everyone is." Usagi reached into a pocket and pulled out a schedule. "Let's see, he should be in…"
"PWEET!" Usagi jumped up and quickly turned around to see Hunny playing with said recorder. "Hunny! Shhhhh!" she said, trying to shush him. "If a teacher sees us like this, we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
The door opened, causing Usagi to freeze up, thinking it was a teacher. However, the minute she heard the other club members talk about their memories in elementary school, Usagi narrowed her eyes and sighed. It just seemed like the more time she spends in the host club, the more she is loosing her temper easily. She hasn't acted like that since her mother passed away. While she wasn't very happy about that, her father was very pleased to see her loosen up, not just around her friends and family, but also in school. It's just like everyone was against her; her father is thrilled while her friends are amused with the stories she told them.
Usagi lifted up her head when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She peeked out slightly and saw a teach checking out the corridor to look for any child that might be skipping class. She looked frantically at the host members, who were too busy reminiscing to notice. She waved her hands out like a bird flapping its wings to get their attention.
With their eyes on her, Usagi used a childhood gesture, when she wanted everyone to stop talking; she held her hand to her lips and dragged it from one end to the other. "Zip it," she ordered. She turned around, not noticing everyone following her lead with flushed faces. She glanced back into the hallway to see that the teacher had passed by their hiding place and was continuing down the corridor. She sighed in relief.
She stepped into the hallway. "Right now, Hunny-kun and I are heading towards the music room," she said. She quickly turned around and glared at the others as she added, "So DON'T even think about following us." She took Hunny by the hand and the two hurried down the long road.
"Usa-chan, how do you know that Shiro-kun's in the music room?" the third year asked.
"Right now it's a required club time and since he's in music major, he should be in the music room," Usagi said. They looked through the window and sure enough, there he was sitting on the window sill.
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A girl with her brown hair tied into pigtails walked over to Shiro. Holding her music folder close, she smiled at Shiro as she asked, "Have you practiced the new piano piece, Shiro?" Shiro shook his head as he just looked at the ground with a bored look on his face. The girl smiled as she held the folder towards him. "I can teach it to you so we can play together. Do you want to use the grand piano?"
Shiro shook his head once more. "No, you can use it, Kamishiro. I'll just listen," he replied, closing his eyes. He didn't even notice the sad look in the girl's eyes as she walked over to the piano. When the notes hit the air, Shiro opened his eyes and watched her play with a soft look on his face.
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Usagi smiled when she saw Shiro's face. "I knew it," she said softly.
"You know her, Usa-chan?" Hunny asked.
"Hina Kamishiro, Shiro-kun's crush," Usagi said. She turned around and leaned on the window. "Hina-chan's moving away to Germany next week so that might be why he's so pressed for time."
"I see, but then there's something wrong with his request," Tamaki said.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Shiro burst out of the room. He took one look at the group standing in the hallway and got angry. "What are you doing here? It's not bad enough that you've played me for a fool, but now you're dragging Bunny-nee into this too!"
Tamaki grabbed Shiro and threw him over his shoulder, hurrying down the hall with his friends following after him as Shiro demanded to be put down. "You listen to me, brat, you never wanted to learn to make women happy, did you?" Shiro, all of a sudden, got quiet. "It was all about her, wasn't it? That girl?"
"What's the point?" Shiro muttered, "Time's almost up, so what can I do?" He dug his head into his arms. "Her playing is nice, but what I really like is watching her play."
When Tamaki finally brought Shiro down, they had reached the club room. He placed the fifth grader beside the seat in front of the piano and sat down. His fingers glided down along with white and black keys as he played the song he heard the girl play on the similar instrument. "While that girl enjoys playing for you, but what you really would make her happy, is if you join her," he said, finishing with the last note.
Shiro looked in awe at Tamaki as if seeing another side of him, but like all things come to an end, it completely vanished when Tamaki declared that they will practice all week until Hina's last day.
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(One Week Later)
"Bunny-nee, have you seen Shiro?" Hina asked the tall blonde, "I haven't seen him all week when we're out of classes." Her hands were clenched together in front of her as Usagi led the younger one of the music room, claiming that there was a surprise for her.
Usagi laughed as she stopped in front of the doors to the music room. "Sometimes, Hina-chan, what you're looking for could be right in front of you," she said, opening the doors.
"Welcome," the male members said. They were all dressed in black and white tuxedoes as they bowed slightly. "Today's main event is a convert by Shiro Takaoji…and you, princess."
Hina's face lit up like a Christmas tree at those words. She looked anxiously at Usagi, who smiled at her and nodded her head. The rest of the day continued with music being played by the two fifth graders.
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(2 Days Later)
"So, you and that girl in Germany write to each other everyday?"
"Sure do," Shiro replied. He smirked at the high school girls sitting around him. "But you know, she's the jealous type, so the time I'm spending with you lovely nee-sans have to stay a secret." He held a finger to his lips. "Okay?"
All the girls squealed. "He called us 'nee-san'!" "He's so cute, I could just eat him up!" Their faces were flushed with delight at the fifth grader.
Shiro just continued to smirk, pleased with the reactions. When he spotted somebody placing a cup of tea in front of him, he looked up to see Usagi bending down, holding a plate of cake for him. His lips softened their features as he smiled gently at her. "Arigato, Bunny-nee," he said. He leaned forward, planting a kiss on her cheek, causing another round of squeals from the girls and a roar of anger from the 'king'.
"Why the hell is that brat still here?" Tamaki shouted. His face turned red with anger when he saw Usagi blush from the kiss. "We already helped him with his problem, so why is he still here?"
"Your attitude sure had changed," Kyoya said. He smiled as he pushed his glasses up. "Well, if he's bringing in more customers, then there's no problem with him being here."
Shiro looked back towards Tamaki and sneered. "What's wrong, 'king'? You're right, entertaining women is really easy." He felt a deep sense of accomplishment as he heard Tamaki ordering him to be thrown out, which nobody did. "True, he may had helped me with Hina, but he still has to pay fro my humiliation," he said to himself, sneering.
(1) mashin means a genie
(2) Rika-chan is actually the Japanese version of Barbie