"Kaa-san, I wanna join your club," Nozomi whined, causing Kyoya's brow to twitch.
"My answer will stay the same," Kyoya said as he leaned back in his desk chair.
"You owe me one, Kyoya," Nozomi reminded him. "You gotta let me be a part of the Host Club."
"I don't recall," he denied.
"You'd agree if I told you I could be the Host Club's photographer and you wouldn't have to pay me." She followed up with a knowing smile. "I also got dirt on you that I'd be glad to tell the others."
'I was going to keep it to myself, but to hell with it,' Nozomi thought as she watched Kyoya straighten his posture and eye her like they were doing business, which they actually were.
"What are the conditions I should be aware of?" Kyoya asked.
"There's a photo shoot every two weeks and I release the monthly cosplay photo book, I decide the poses, and I'm allowed to take photos when activities are running." Nozomi listed, counting off with her fingers. Then she put her hand on her hip. "That work for you?"
"I have my own conditions," Kyoya said as he pushed up his glasses. "You must supply the equipment yourself, and pictures of our guests are prohibited."
"Yes!" Nozomi cheered, pumping her fist in the air.
...
"Move a little to the left, Haruhi," Nozomi instructed, holding the camera up to her eye.
"Is this good, Nozomi-senpai?" Haruhi asked after in the desired position.
"Hold the pitcher a little lower," She instructed, lowering her hand.
Haruhi adjusted her grip on the water pitcher, placed her other palm underneath and lowered it. "Is this what you want?"
"Yeah, that's perfect, Haruhi," Nozomi approved.
Nozomi requested Mori to rest his hand on the sword attached to his belt, and Honey to squat next to the sofa that Tamaki took over, he was instructed to lie on his side.
"You two look good!" She complimented the twins.
The right corner of Nozomi's lips lifted after she focused the camera on Susumu. "Susumu, move closer to Kyoya."
Susumu knocked elbows with Kyoya. He sent Nozomi a nervous look. "Isn't this too close?"
'Not close enough,' Nozomi thought, she held back a grin.
"It will be fine," Kyoya whispered to Susumu, his eyes looking down at him.
Susumu gave Kyoya a kind smile. "Okay."
Nozomi gave them all a thumbs up. "We're ready!" She took the picture.
...
A young boy turned the handles attached to the set of double doors. He then stumbled back and fell on his derrière after he was greeted by the sight of gentlemen dressed in Arabian outfits.
"Oh, it's just a kid," Hikaru said.
"Not only that, it's just a boy," Koaru added.
The blonde-haired young man was seated on a couch, surrounded by his fellow hosts.
"What's wrong, little boy? Did you come to my palace in search of something?" Tamaki asked.
"Are you the king of this place?" The boy asked Tamaki as he stood up.
"Come closer, lost one." Tamaki beckoned the young boy over to him with a wave of his hand. "What was it you just called me, little boy?"
"The King," he repeated.
"The King! Yes, I am the King of the Ouran Host Club! Long live the Host King!" Tamaki shouted happily.
"Long live the King!" Nozomi cheered as a grin spread across her face.
"I'm an Elementary Fifth Year, Takaoji Shiro," said Shiro. "I want the Host Club King to take me on as an apprentice!"
...
Nozomi had her eyes through the camera lens as she scoped the room. She adjusted the focus. "Shiro-kun is a little too close to Tamaki. I can't photograph him like that."
"Don't you think it's weird he's making the kid observe him up close like that?" Haruhi asked.
"There is a theory that people are considered more beautiful the closer they're viewed," Kyoya said. "Tamaki seems to live by that theory."
"Well, let's leave them alone." Kyoya turned his eyes away and wrote in his notebook.
"You naughty girl, you've drawn me to the forbidden fruit," Tamaki said to his guest. "Dearest, you're the mermaid who's brought light into my lonely sea. My mermaid princess." He delicately cupped her chin.
"I remind you of a mermaid?" She asked.
"You look more like the carp that swim in my pond at home," Shiro said. "I'd never give false compliments like that."
"Carp!?"
"Oh don't listen to him. He's just a kid. You know how kids are, they can't help but be honest." Tamaki attempted to console her.
"Honest!?"
"But that's just his opinion and I wouldn't say you look like a carp. And even if you did look like a carp, you'd be the most beautiful carp of them all." Tamaki attempted again, but he failed miserably for a second time when his guest pushed him away from her.
"So I am a carp!"
"That's not what I meant-"
Her feet took her outside of the club room. "Tamaki, you're an idiot!"
After his guest ran out, Tamaki turned and growled at Shiro.
The twins laughed. "That's an adorable little apprentice you got there."
"Hikaru, do you wish you had a little brother like Shiro-kun?" Koaru asked.
"Don't be silly." Hikaru pulled his brother into an embrace. "I could search the globe and I'd never find a better brother than you, Kaoru."
Their act made two young girls' faces turn pink.
"Forbidden brotherly love!"
"It is fake love," Nozomi corrected after she took a picture of the twins, to her displeasure.
"They're homos and they're brothers!" Shiro shouted, his hand gripping the edge of the table. "That makes them totally insectuous!"
"I think what you meant to say was incestuous," Tamaki corrected.
"Hey Shiro-chan!" Honey jumped onto Shiro's back. "You wanna have a piece of cake with me? We've got three kinds, chocolate, strawberry, and lime!"
"Hey back off!" Shiro shouted as he pushed Honey off. "What grade are you in anyway? Why are you wearing a high school uniform?"
Before Shiro could get any answers, Mori approached. "Something wrong, Mitsukuni?"
"That's not fair! A little kid like you isn't supposed to have a cool older friend like him!" Shiro shouted. He moved away from Mori and Honey, but in doing so, he bumped into Susumu, who was carrying a tea tray.
"Careful there, Shiro-kun." Susumu said to Shiro after balancing the tea set. "Ah, surprised by how unusual everyone is? I was also taken by surprise when I had heard they did these sorts of things. It took me a while to adjust."
Shiro took a step back as he clutched his chest. "Are you a homo, too?"
Susumu smiled nervously at Shiro.
"Well, are you?!" Shiro stressed.
"Do you think you could help me carry this?" Susumu asked.
"I'll be careful."
"Okay. It's a bit heavy." He handed the tray to Shiro, but Shiro's hands slipped and he dropped it, causing the tea set to shatter.
"It's not my fault I dropped it." Shiro looked up at Susumu. "It's your fault, 'cause you're the one who made me take it in the first place!"
"You said-" Susumu held back, giving up on trying to reason with Shiro. He bent down to pick up the broken shards, but just as his hand reached out for a shard, someone else placed their hand on top of his.
His eyes met with Kyoya.
"Susumu, that's another 100,000 yen." Kyoya smirked at him.
Heat rushed to Susumu's cheeks.
At the sound of a flash, Susumu pulled his hand from under Kyoya's hand and jumped back up, in dire search for their newest photographer. He heard a loud noise, causing him to turn his head, and he saw Shiro trapped in a cage.
"Where did it come from?" Haruhi wondered as she looked over her shoulder. "This is supposed to be a music room, right?"
"This is no way to treat your loyal apprentice!" Shiro shouted. "Now let me out of this cage!"
"Not until you've learned your lesson," Tamaki said before he brought a cup of coffee to his lips and took a sip. "I made you my apprentice because I thought you were serious about becoming a host, but I guess I was wrong."
"I am serious! Totally serious! I want you to teach me how to make a woman happy!" Shiro dropped to his knees as his hands gripped the iron bars. "I'm gonna run out of time. Please won't you teach me?"
"Run out of time?" Susumu repeated, looking in young Shiro's direction.
"You're a host because you like girls. You like bringing a smile to a girl's face. That's why you do it, right? Please won't you teach me to be like you," Shiro begged. "You're a genius at it! You're the king!"
Moved by Shiro's words, Tamaki jumped out of his chair.
"Well, you may be a brat, but I admire your desire to become a host, so I'll teach you!" Tamaki said with enthusiasm. "You know, Shiro, you and I are so much alike!"
"You poor kid," Haruhi and Nozomi said together.
"Then, you'll help me become the kind of host that can make any women happy?" Shiro asked.
"Of course. Making women happy is the sole purpose of being a host," Tamaki said. "If this is what you really want, Shiro, then you'll have to figure out how to use the material you already have."
Shiro looked at Tamaki in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"You see, here at the Ouran host club, our policy is to use our individual personality traits to meet the needs of our guests," Kyoya explained. "For example, there's Tamaki, who is the princely type."
Tamaki, the bearer of the white rose, appeared next to Kyoya.
"There's the strong silent type."
Mori, the bearer of the dark blue rose, stood on the other side of Kyoya.
"The boy-Lolita."
Honey, the bearer of the pink rose, stood in between Kyoya and Mori, hugging Usa-chan.
"The little-devil type."
Hikaru, the bearer of the blue rose, wrapped an arm around the shoulder of his twin brother, Koaru, the bearer of the orange rose, who did the same.
"And the cool type. It's all about variety," Kyoya, the bearer of the lavender rose, continued. "And now our group is complete with the addition of Susumu, the nice guy, and Haruhi, the natural."
"The natural?" Haruhi, the bearer of the red rose, repeated, pointing at herself.
"I guess it suits me," Susumu, the bearer of the peach rose, agreed, as he stood in between Haruhi and Kyoya.
"And the Host Club's photographer," Nozomi, the bearer of the yellow rose, cut in, finding a place on Tamaki's right side.
"It would seem that right now we have a perfect blend of characteristics, so it's going to be difficult to find a new type for Shiro," Kyoya finished his explanation.
"If you go by his age, he should be the boy-lolita type," said Hikaru.
"But Honey-senpai's already got that covered," Koaru disagreed, as he shook his head.
"Is he going to replace me?" Honey asked with hurt in his tone.
Nozomi folded her arms and scoffed at their attempts. "You can do a better job than that."
"Is that all you got?" A voice asked before there came the sound of a powerful motor.
"What's up with this place? It's supposed to be a music room!" Haruhi shouted, as she, including all the boys and Nozomi, watched Renge come up from the ground, posing ridiculously on a rising platform.
"Sorry to interrupt gentleman and lady, but what's with the lack luster character analysis?" Renge sighed. "I must say, I'm quite disappointed. I thought I taught you better."
"All right then, Miss Manager, how would you work Shiro into our collection of characters?" Tamaki asked. "He can't be the boy-lolita because Honey's already got that covered."
"You just don't get it, do you?" Renge snapped. "Now listen up! There are plenty of girls out there who have a thing for younger boys or boys with baby faces. These girls would be considered Shota fans. Now Shota can be a very broad category, so it's important to know that the genre can be broken down into many different smaller sub-categories."
The group payed close attention to her explanation. "For example, Shota fans with an interest in lolita boys would favor a boy like Haninozuka-senpai, but this little boy is I had to pick a character for him." Renge pointed at Shiro. "Yes! He'd be the naughty boy type without a doubt!"
"The naughty type?" Shiro repeated, as the cage was lifted.
Renge spent a large amount of time training Shiro to become the naughty-boy type. The hosts helped in the training process, while Nozomi and the Fujioka siblings watched in worry for Shiro. Susumu put a fist on his mouth when Shiro fell on his face, as instructed by Renge.
Tamaki clapped after the training was over. "That was outstanding. I never knew you were such a great coach, Renge."
Renge laughed.
"I've had enough of you people!" Shiro suddenly shouted. "This is so stupid, none of this is ever gonna help me make her happy."
Nozomi blinked, her mouth opening slightly. "Who's her?"
"Wait, Shiro," Tamaki called out to Shiro, who was running away. "We haven't taught you how to apply the techniques you've learned yet!"
"I swear younger boys are good for nothing. I went to all that trouble to coach him, and he quits." Renge went back underground.
"I can't believe he ditched us because he didn't like the lesson, what a selfish little brat," Tamaki grumbled.
"There aren't many people who would enjoy that kind of lesson," Haruhi said.
"Did anyone to pay attention to what he said? Shiro said he didn't have much time," Susumu recalled. "What could he have meant?"
"He also mentioned a her," Nozomi added.
Haruhi put her foot in to the discussion. "I think that, maybe, it's a girl."
Tamaki looked back at where the young boy had once been.
...
"All right men, it's time to initiate our mission," Tamaki announced.
"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.
Honey tilted his head. "What mission?"
Nozomi hung her head. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"I've assessed the situation. We'll infiltrate the elementary school," Tamaki said, before turning his eyes to them. The hosts, except for Susumu who was reading a book off to the side, looked at the three with evil glints in their eyes. "You three are going in."
...
"How did we let them talk us into this?" Haruhi whispered.
Nozomi huffed. "I should have bolted immediately."
"It'll be okay, Haru-chan, Nozo-chan. It was so easy to sneak in," Honey said. "And wearing this uniform, I really look like I'm in elementary school."
"I get why they wanted you wear an elementary school uniform. It totally makes sense 'cause of your height, and you fit right in here," Nozomi said.
"What I don't understand is why they made us dress up in these middle school uniforms," Haruhi said.
"This skirt is too short," Nozomi complained, trying to tug the mini skirt lower.
"Why did we even bother with disguises?" Haruhi grumbled. "We stick out like a sore thumb."
"Oh there's a reason, a damn good reason," Tamaki whispered from a crack in the door.
Honey guided the girls down the hall. "This way Haru-chan, Nozo-chan!"
"Isn't she the cutest?" The three gushed over Haruhi.
"Check out Nozomi-senpai's legs." The twins admired Nozomi's slender legs with smirking faces.
"Haruhi looks like a little doll!" Tamaki blushed.
Susumu's arms crossed over his chest. "That's enough. Please stop looking at them in that way."
"We were actually considering having you in Nozomi's place," Kyoya said to him, causing Susumu to shoot him a surprised look.
Susumu laughed nervously. "I wouldn't be able to pull it off with my height."
Kyoya put his eyes on Susumu right before he said, "It would have been interesting to see you dressed up."
Susumu looked away, trying to hide the warmth on his face.
Meanwhile, Honey lead the ladies to Shiro's classroom. "This is it, Shiro-chan's classroom. When I was in elementary school, this was my classroom, too!" Honey ran off.
Haruhi brushed her hand on a desk. "There's nobody here."
"So, the kid's classroom is empty, is it?" Tamaki said.
"This sure takes me back," The twins said, walking into the classroom first.
The boys flooded into the classroom, one trailing after the other.
"I wonder if doodles are still on my desk," Koaru said.
"Doubtful. The school changes out the desks every year," Kyoya said.
"Let's check out the cafeteria after this," Hikaru suggested.
Koaru nodded. "I want to see the old gym."
"Good idea, Koaru." Tamaki said, smiling.
Haruhi saw Nozomi was getting annoyed, her hand balled into fists. Haruhi, herself, was visibly annoyed.
Nozomi shook her fist at the boys. "I'm sure you perverts were enjoying the view!"
The twins whistled innocently.
Susumu suddenly heard footsteps. "Someone is coming." He, Haruhi and the rest of the group, crouched down, using the desks as cover.
"If the teacher finds us-" Koaru started.
"We'll have a hard time explaining why we snuck in," Hikaru finished.
Nozomi put a finger to her lips, shushing the boys. "Shut up."
"Just keep your lips zipped." Haruhi mimicked zipping her lips. Not each gentlemen copied her, only the three young men, Tamaki, Hikaru and Koaru, who were blushing due to cute young brunette.
Susumu poked his head from the doorway, watching whoever it was walk pass the classroom. As he was doing that, Nozomi spotted a wall of framed pictures. She turned and swept her hand, motioning for Kyoya and Honey to follow her.
He signaled to his sister it was all clear. Haruhi nodded before turning to the other boys. "It's all right. He's gone," Haruhi informed them. "But you guys, we came here to get the scoop on Shiro-kun, so what do you think we should do now?"
"Well, here's something interesting," Kyoya said, once he'd taken a look at the pictures on the wall. The rest of the Host Club walked over to them.
"What did you find?" Haruhi asked.
"Look at this." Nozomi pointed to a picture of Shiro seated at a piano with a little girl watching him play.
Haruhi looked closely at the photo. "Hey, that's Shiro-kun."
"So he's in the classical music club," Kyoya muttered.
"I'm sure Shiro-kun is great at the piano." Susumu then smiled softly. "He looks so sweet here. He should smile more often."
"Yeah," Tamaki agreed.
...
The Host Club watched an entire scene play out between Shiro and the girl from the picture. She was now seated at the grand piano, playing beautifully. Shiro had a peaceful smile on his face as he listened to her.
"Pardon me, mademoiselle," Tamaki said, as a girl walked out the room. "I've never seen a rose more lovely than you, my dear. Here, this is for you." Tamaki gave a rose to the little girl. "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about that young lady playing the piano. Do you know her?"
"That's Kamishiro Hina-chan," She answered.
"Her name is Hina-chan?"
"That's right, but you better not fall in love with her."
"Why?" Tamaki asked. "Didn't you know? Hina has to move away soon. Her dad just got a new job in Germany, so they have to move there at the end of the week."
"What do you think you're doing!?" Shiro shouted, stomping into the hallway. "I want you idiots to leave immediately!"
Tamaki lifted Shiro off the ground and threw him over his shoulder. "Put me down! What are you doing?!" Shiro's eyes widened slightly when he saw Hina come out into the hallway. "Let me go! Just put me down!"
"It's time to go, gentlemen," Tamaki ordered. He walked away with the host club following him. "Quit thrashing around."
...
Tamaki threw Shiro onto a couch. "What is your problem, you big idiot?!" Shiro shouted at Tamaki.
"I'm sorry, but you're the idiot!" Tamaki shouted back. "You said that you wanted me to teach you how to make women happy, but that's not it, is it? You're not concerned with the happiness of just any woman. You've got your sights set on one woman in particular. You only care about one, and that's Hina Kamishiro!"
Shiro's eyes widened.
Tamaki put a hand on his pocket. "But I'm afraid, there's nothing I can do to help you with that. Listen, Shiro. I know that I told you it's the job of a host to make women happy, but when you care for someone, you must find the courage to express what is in your heart. You have to tell her how you feel about her."
Tamaki looked Shiro in the eyes. "You didn't come to me looking to become a full-fledged host. You want to be a full-fledged man."
Shiro hung his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. I've run out of time. I just-I wanted to hear her play before she left for good, that's all."
"That piece she played, it's Mozart's sonata in D major for two pianos, isn't it?" In the darkly lit room, Tamaki turned and walked towards a curtain. He pulled it back to reveal a beautiful grand piano.
"Wait a minute. Since when is there a grand piano in here?" Haruhi asked.
"Well this is a music room, after all," Koaru said.
"So why wouldn't it have a grand piano?" Hikaru added.
"It is a music room, after all," Kyoya said.
"Instruments are stored in music rooms," Nozomi added.
"It is a music room," Mori said.
"It's always been there. We've just had it covered up," Honey said before taking a forkful of his cake.
Susumu did not like to draw or read in the dark, so he simply listened to Tamaki play the piano. A peaceful smile came to his face as he was swept away by the music.
...
When little Hina opened the door, the hosts were there to greet her. "Welcome, Princess. We've been waiting."
"I present to you Shiro Takaoji's piano recital," Tamaki announced, he guided Hina over to Shiro who sat at one of the two grand pianos.
Tamaki pulled out the other seat for Hina. "If you please, Princess."
"Let's play together, Hina," Shiro said, his smile returning.
Hina blushed and smiled. "Okay!"
Shiro blushed, before looking down at the piano keys, then he started to play alongside Hina.
"We did a good thing," Tamaki said.
Haruhi looked up at Tamaki. "He loves with all his heart, so I guess that's one more way Shiro takes after you, huh senpai?"
Tamaki smiled down at Haruhi. "Why yes, I'd say so."
Susumu smiled. "When I see love like that, I can't help but feel happiness inside my heart."
"Have you experienced it before?" Kyoya asked.
"To be honest, I never tried to fall in love." Susumu lifted his eyes when he felt a slender hand drape over his shoulder.
"It is said love comes from the most unexpected places," Kyoya told him.
"It might not happen to me."
Kyoya took a hold of Susumu's chin, lifting his eyes to meet his own gray eyes. "It might."
Susumu felt warmth rush to his cheeks and Kyoya smirked.
Susumu shut his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, Kyoya moved away and pulled out his notebook. Susumu put his hand on his heart.
...
"So you've been exchanging e-mails with Hina-chan everyday now that she's in Germany?" Haruhi asked as she poured the tea.
"Yeah, more or less," Shiro answered. "I like her, but she can get pretty jealous for an elementary school girl. She'd be upset if she knew I was with you ladies, so let's keep this our little secret."
"Oh! Oh, isn't he the cutest?"
"I wish I had a brother just like him."
"Naughty boys are the best."
"I could kiss you." The two guests that sat on either side of Shiro kissed him on both cheeks.
"You brat, what are you doing?! Those are my guests!" Tamaki shouted at Shiro.
"Well, it looks like they've found someone they like better." Shiro snickered. "It's so easy to steal your customers. I think there's a new host king in town."
Susumu stepped in to refrain Tamaki from lashing out in anger.
Koaru sighed. "I thought he'd make it through without exploding this time."
Hikaru shrugged. "We should have known he was going to blow up sooner or later."
"I guess Shiro-kun is a lot like Tamaki. He's messing around with the ladies," said Nozomi.
"I get the feeling that Senpai was also a spoiled brat when he was a kid," Haruhi said, causing Nozomi to snort.
"I was not a spoiled brat! I was nothing like him when I was a kid!" Tamaki protested. "I was a sweet, innocent, precocious adorable child! Do you hear me!?"
...
Nozomi was looking through her collection of photos she had developed when Kyoya walked up to her.
Nozomi covertly gave the photos to Kyoya and he tucked them into his notebook.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you." Nozomi took Kyoya's hand and shook it, as she grinned. Kyoya pulled his hand away.
Kyoya pushed up his glasses. "This will be kept between us."
"Sure, Kaa-san, if it means I never miss the action." Nozomi held up her camera, and she adjusted the focus. "I'm off to take more." She waved farewell to Kyoya as she walked away.
Kyoya gazed fondly at the half body shot of Susumu.