A/N: So, I'm working on this collaborative story with a friend, and some nice, friendly troll, aka soul-sucking, writer-bullying, piece of crap guest(s) keeps flaming not me or the story but my co-author. My words to the person or persons doing this...SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP, the story will go on and I am keeping Serina Bardon as my co-author.
Chapter 2: Specifications and what? (written by Tigyr)
As Kyoya dragged her out of the room, Haruhi could hear the rest of the club members starting to question Tamaki about Kyoya's unexpected behavior towards her.
"What's going on, Boss?" That was both twins asking, she was almost certain of it.
"Tama-chan, are we really going to make Haruhi a host?" The excitement in Honey-senpai's voice almost made her smile.
"I've got it!" They could hear what sounded like a finger snap, then the doors shut and Kyoya led Haruhi to the room right next door. Before she could do anything, Kyoya thrust her inside and then placed a finger over her lips.
"Shh, I want to hear what the blonde idiot has planned for you."
Haruhi pressed close to the wall, trying to listen to Tamaki without much success, and all the while studying the boy in front of her. As she'd previously noticed, he was tall, but not as tall as the one that had accompanied Honey-senpai. His glasses kept slipping down his aristocratical nose, and he would absently push them back up again as he listened to the conversation on the other side of the wall. His dark hair was neatly combed, and she could almost see the faint impression of a chain on the inside of his shirt.
"Finished observing yet?" He drawled, as he led her away from the wall and towards one of the few desks that was in the room.
"Did you find out what he has planned?" she asked by way of answer and he nodded.
"Yes, I'm expecting a text any minute now asking me to make sure we get his hairstylist in here just before club starts. I'll message our guests and tell them that club will start about half an hour later than usual. As it's in your benefit, I won't charge you for the half hour of profits that we will incur."
"That's nice of you," she starts to say, when he interrupts her.
"However, I will have to charge you for the new uniforms we're having made for you. The Hitachiin twins will take care of that part at least."
"What about the other two, Honey-senpai and what's his name again?"
A text message interrupted what he had planned on saying next and he grunted softly as he read the words.
"That was Mori-senpai, he's been dispatched with getting some new eye contacts for you. I don't suppose you have your prescription available do you? Never mind, I'll just look it up. In the meantime, as I was saying the school uniform is 300,000 yen."
"At this rate, I'll never be out of your debt." She muttered and shrank a little bit when he smirked at her.
"Hmm, yes that is a bit of a reach especially for a commoner like yourself. Unless,"
"Unless what?" she asked warily.
His eyes, what little she could see of them through his glasses were a dark shade of gray and they crinkled with mirth.
"So far, only you, myself and Honey-senpai know that you're a girl. I propose we keep it that way as long as we can."
"Okay," she wasn't sure she liked where his train of thought was leading her.
"How would you like to decrease your debt starting tomorrow?"
"Doing what exactly?" She thought for a moment that she saw the calculations running across his forehead.
He smirked and she could almost swear that he could read her mind.
"Not exactly your mind, more like your body language. I'm a bit more proficient than most, but anyway, I digress. As a member of the club, we all have certain clients."
"Is this why you were asking about what type I prefer? What exactly are the types or do I really want to know?"
Kyoya grinned at her and proceeded to tell her about the blonde haired Prince, Tamaki Suoh. "He is the founder of the club and as such the club's president. He's quite popular with a 70 percent request rate. I am Kyoya Ootori, club vice-president. I am in charge of all finances."
"Imagine that," she thought sarcastically.
"And then we have Honey-senpai, the cute one also known as a boy lolita. His full name is Mitsukuni Haninozuka and his cousin, Mori-senpai, Takashi Morinozuka, is the strong yet silent type."
"Let me guess, you're the devilish type?" Her sarcasm brought a faint smirk to his face, and a negative shake to his head.
"Actually, that particular designation belongs to the Hitachiins."
"Funny, I'd have thought that fit you more than it does them."
"Hmm, I would ordinarily agree with you, but apparently I , as you so charmingly put it, fit the bill as the "cool" type."
"According to what manga?" she clapped her hands over her mouth as he gave a wicked chuckle.
"Now that you know all that, it's time to figure out just what your duties will be. Normally I would just send a servant out to get supplies, however, as you are now that particular person, I will just send you a text of what we need and you can pick them up on your way."
"You do realize I don't get a very big allowance don't you?" She was mentally trying to figure out what sort of things a host club could need.
"You'll be earning as you go, providing of course you can get enough customers. I think we should start out at ...hang on." His phone went off yet again and she could sense his impatience at the constant interruptions. This was the 'cool' type?
"Nix that idea, his highness says he wants you to get 100 requests." He said as he completed the call.
"But you're the one I'm indebted to, shouldn't that be your decision? And how are you going to send me a text message? You should realize that I don't have a cell phone." She should have known that her protests would fall on deaf ears.
"You will by tomorrow's club, and as it's a necessity, I will not be adding it to your debt. Unfortunately the uniform will have to be added as you should have made allowances for said uniform when you decided to attend Ouran."
Haruhi could have argued with him but knew by now that it would be an effort in futility. He would just find another way to tack the debt onto her and she was trying hard not to panic in regards to the 8 million let alone another 300, 000. She hung her head as she listened to the list of demands or what sounded like normal, mundane, everyday chores that she would be doing.
Kyoya had been watching her as he spoke, waiting for any kind of reaction. He knew that he was being a bit over the top in regards to the vase; he wasn't known for his kindness after all, but for some reason he was actually quite curious about the girl in front of him. He sighed as his phone rang, but this time, due to the lack of a fancy ringtone he knew it wasn't the club.
"I'm busy, can't it wait?" He knew that he sounded more than a bit irritated, but Tachibana had been with him long enough to overlook Kyoya's moods.
"My apologies, Master Kyoya, but your mother just rang and said to remind you about the family dinner tonight. She had tried to reach you earlier but your phone was busy. I will be arriving at the school within five minutes."
Kyoya glared at the innocent phone as Tachibana hung up.
"Umm, Kyoya-senpai, you had started to mention something about reducing my debt." She picked up her bag of books and waited for his reply.
"Hmm, yes, let's talk on our way out. I have something to discuss with you regarding Tamaki."
He picked up his notebook and laptop and led her to the door.
"Okay ?"
"As you may have heard we have a cosplay going on tomorrow. How would you like to kill 100 yen an hour between now and the end of the week?"
"Doing what exactly?"
"Keeping your identity secret from our blonde king of course."
She stopped temporarily and stared at him in disbelief, "What about the other hosts? I mean, you and Honey-senpai know, but what about Mori-senpai and the twins?"
"None of them are as dense as Tamaki is." He stated flatly and put a firm hand on her back as they descended the staircase.
"Make it a 1000. I have a school uniform to pay off too you know."
He raised an eyebrow at her audacity, then nodded slowly, "Very well but now you only have the hours between the time school starts and host club ends."
"So, basically I can kill 8000 yen a day if I can keep that obnoxious person from finding out about me?"
"Essentially yes, I'll call you later to fill you in on more details."
As he escorted her to the front of the school he could see the rest of the club waiting for them and he grinned as he thought of the ways he could manipulate things even further.
"I'll have to take my leave now, Haruhi. Have a pleasant evening."
Tachibana held the door of the limousine open for him and he slid inside. He didn't notice Tachibana stiffen in surprise as the bodyguard looked at the "boys" gathered outside the school. Kyoya rolled the window down, but before he could say anything, Tachibana slipped into the front seat and they drove away.
"Master Kyoya, was that a new student that I saw with your friends?" Tachibana's question would have normally raised an eyebrow, or even a suspicious look, but Kyoya was preoccupied with making out the list of demands he was going to have Haruhi do, to pay much attention to the bodyguard's inquiry.
"Mm? Oh, yes that's Haruhi Fujioka. She just transferred in as the school's new honor student. Did mother say anything specific about tonight's dinner?"
Tachibana didn't immediately reply, but a clearing of Kyoya's throat, brought the man's attention back to his master. "Only that the entire family including your brothers and their wives will be there."
"Oh wonderful." Kyoya's expression darkened as he imagined the night ahead. He bowed his head, gave a silent curse in regards to that evening's meal and continued his plans for Haruhi until they arrived at the family estate.
"So, my dear little honor student, did Kyoya explain that as of today, you'll be a host?" Tamaki glided towards her as he asked the question.
"Actually he told me it would be effective tomorrow." Haruhi replied as she tried to inch away from Tamaki.
"Be that as it may, you need to know that we cater to the finest young ladies that Ouran has to offer. Did Kyoya explain to you the different designations? We have moi the princely type, Kyoya as the cool type, Honey-senpai-"
"He already told me all this, but why are the twins labeled as the devil type? I'd think that Kyoya-senpai would be much better at it." Her interruption made Tamaki hide in the corner, and she could swear that she saw mushrooms growing immediately in front of him.
"That's because the boss doesn't like our sense of humor some days," it's Hikaru and then Kaoru chimed in,"Usually because it's directed at him." They chuckle evilly and Haruhi could finally see why they were called devils. They stared at Haruhi and she fidgeted uneasily.
"Kyoya-senpai said we had to get you a new uniform," it was Kaoru speaking first this time and the other guys nodded in agreement.
"Guess that means we need to get your measurements." Hikaru eyed her up and down as if calculating her size in his mind. They both pulled out measuring tapes and within seconds they were finished. Before she could say anything to either of them, they cocked their heads together as if trying to figure something out.
"We'll have it ready by tomorrow morning," they said together as their limo drove up.
"Haru-chan, Takashi and I have to leave now too, but we'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?" Honey-senpai's question made her remember something that Kyoya had told her about her newest role at Ouran.
"Wait a minute, Mori-senpai!"
The tall dark haired man turned towards her in question and she handed him a piece of paper.
"Kyoya-senpai said you would need my doctor's information, regarding new contact lenses. I hope this will help."
"Thank you." He patted her on the head, slid into the limousine beside Haninozuka and she was left alone with the blonde haired Tamaki.
"Senpai? It's time for me to go. Are you going to stay in the corner until your limo finally shows up?" Her question brought him back to his feet and he made ask if he wanted hug her but she dodged and put a concrete post between them.
He tried one more time to tell her about the club and it's activities, but she started walking the other direction.
"See you tomorrow then." she stated as his limo pulled up to the curb.
She waited until the car had disappeared around the corner, before finally letting out a long sigh. "Dear Mother in Heaven, I've gone from errand girl to the host in this weird club in the space of two hours. What is this world coming to?"
Inside the Hitachiin limousine, Kaoru looked at his twin and asked, "Hey, Hikaru, did that Fujioka fellow seem a bit off to you?"
Hikaru nodded as he sent their mother a text informing her of their intended arrival time and the measurements that they would need for Haruhi's uniform.
"Yeah, it's almost as if," he stared at his twin as Kaoru finished the sentence, "we were dressing a girl."
"Oh, this is going to be fun." They said together and chuckled as their car pulled into their driveway.
Kyoya smiled mirthlessly as he finished getting dressed for dinner. Family gatherings tended to be on the bad side, and he slipped the chain around his neck, needing its familiar weight to help him get through the next few hours. He pulled out his cell phone and sent a text to the Hitachiin twins asking them to get a cell phone for Haruhi. He then went over to his laptop and pulled up Haruhi's contact information. Kyoya intended to call Haruhi's father and get more information from the man as he had a feeling that Haruhi would be like himself, not trusting many people and therefore not forthcoming with valuable information . It could be considered underhanded, but he could live with that if it meant that he could keep tabs on a certain brown-eyed female.
He descended the staircase and entered the family's dining area. He concealed a sigh as he noticed that most of the family was already there, with the exception of his father and mother. Knowing that the family patriarch and his wife will be intentionally late, Kyoya could swear it was just to agitate the siblings more, Kyoya slid into his chair and proceeded to ignore his brothers and sisters-in-law. His sister Fuyumi sat down next to him and politely asked him about his day. He was about to give her his standard reply when he noticed her staring at the chain around his neck. He hid it under his shirt again, and she smiled at him.
"You still miss her don't you?" Her whispered question made him blink at her in surprise. He nodded as he silently questioned how she could possibly know about his friend.
"You smiled more when she was still active in your life. You can always come and talk to me about her if you want to. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone about it."
Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "There is nothing to talk about. She's someone in the past." He whispered back to her. Fuyumi said nothing more, and their parents arrived a few minutes later ending that particular conversation.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka kept his smile on his face and in his voice until they'd finished eating, then retired to his room. He was wondering why Haruhi Fujioka was masquerading as a boy, and then he wondered why Kyoya was insisting on her being an errand boy. The vase had been valuable, that wasn't the issue, it was the fact that Kyoya was not only going to pay for the vase, but then intended to have Haruhi work at the club to pay off the debt. He wasn't sure just what was going on, but he would trust Kyoya to explain things in greater detail to them later. A text message from his cousin Takashi made him smile. He had great faith in Takashi and knew that the younger man would soon figure out Haruhi's identity and then they could discuss how to integrate her into their realm of martial arts.
With the final text messages from the twins and Mori-senpai, Kyoya knew it was only a matter of hours before Haruhi would be transformed into the newest host. He excused himself from joining the others for evening drinks, stating homework for the reason.
Fuyumi watched him go, wondering if she'd ever find out just what had happened all those years ago. He had been almost happy for a few months that summer ten years ago, and then, he'd started going to Ouran Elementary School, being compared to their older siblings and his demeanor had gotten darker since then.
Today however, she could have sworn that she'd seen something different in him. For a brief moment, he had been smiling. Not a fake or "host" smile that he used whenever in the same room with their family, but a teeny, tiny genuine smile. Then he'd remembered where he was and the smile had dissipated.
"Mistress, may I escort you to your vehicle?" It was Tachibana, Kyoya's personal bodyguard. She nodded and allowed him to walk her to her car. As he opened the door for her he muttered, "She's back" and shut the door as he stepped back to the curb. Fuyumi stared at him as she was chauffeured away, wondering if she'd heard him correctly.