Chihiro perked up the moment she heard the front door close. "Izzy?" She called calmly while holding a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. Seconds later her niece came shuffling into the living room. "Welcome home dear," Chihiro smiled kindly and Izzy saw where Fu got her beauty. "Mami-nee is on the phone," She held the phone out to her.
Izzy grinned widely and hurried to join her aunt on the couch. "Hi, Mama," Izzy greeted, happy to hear her Mother's voice. With how busy her sudden move into Chihiro's home, she hadn't the chance to contact her family back in Italy.
"Izzy Busy-bee!" Masami greeted excitedly. "Finally! I've been looking forward to hearing from you the moment you stepped on the plane! Papa and the boys are going stir-crazy without you, it's quite hilarious if I'm being honest," Masami chortled. Chihiro patted Izzy on the shoulder before getting up to give her some privacy. "Chichi tells me today was your first day," Masami sounded like she was smiling ear to ear on her end of the phone. "How was it? Do you like Ouran?"
"It was fine, Mama, Ouran is fine. It's just...it's different, is all. I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything."
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. It will get better, I promise. On the bright side, at least you know how to speak Japanese. I only knew how to say hello and ask where's the bathroom when I moved here with your father," Masami reminded her. Izzy snorted, recalling that story perfectly. It was one her parents loved to tell and suddenly a wave of homesickness washed over. She suddenly remembered just how much she missed her family. She sighed softly and picked at an errant strand of hair.
"I miss you, Mama. I miss you all."
"Oh, Bee, we miss you too. We miss you so much but try not to dwell too much on this. I want you to enjoy this time spent in Japan. Have you seen my parents yet?"
"Not yet, I figured I would settle in a little more. I spoke with Obaa-san on the phone when I made it to Auntie's house," Izzy told her. She was a little surprised that Masami's mother seemed so kind when she finally met her that Izzy could hardly believe Shinobu disowned her own daughter.
"Ah, make sure not to wait too long to see them," Masami hummed almost distractedly. "Sorry Busy-Bee, I've got to let you go. I have to get back to the office."
Izzy pouted and slouched into the couch. "Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Give Papa and the boys a kiss for me. I love you."
Masami said the same back and then Izzy leaned over to hang the phone up. She sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. For a moment she didn't move from the couch before letting out a long sigh for the second time. She slid off of the couch to the floor, wrestling with her skirts. She grabbed her bag and began slowly pulling out her books. While some subjects were the same, such as Mathematics and science others weren't, such as Japanese Literature and History.
Izzy groaned just looking at all the new material. She decided to work on the Japanese Literature homework first, given that she knew the language but she just knew the History was going to give her some problems. By the time Fumiko returned home, Izzy was finishing up the last of her math homework. The brunette groaned and dropped her head against the coffee table. "That's not very ladylike," Fumiko pointed out while coming into the living room.
"Don't start with me," Izzy groaned, muffled but Fumiko only smiled. She settled on the couch, crossing her legs and neatly folding her hands against her knee. Izzy could just feel her cousin staring at her so she reluctantly picked her head up to glance behind her shoulder. "What?"
"Well, at the Host Club today—" Fumiko began but Izzy groaned again and dropped her head back down but Fumiko was determined. "They're very excited to meet you," Fumiko sung, watching Izzy's shoulders stiffening.
"You told them about me?"
"Well, some of the third-year girls were talking about the new girl with the wild hair," Fumiko began to explain. Izzy rolled her eyes and began to thread her fingers through her hair. It was not wild—what is wrong with them—it was curly. "Ayame-chan told them your hair isn't wild and that you're my cousin. The girls apologized, of course but Tamaki-kun insisted that they meet you."
"Well now I just have to come," Izzy rolled her eyes sourly. Fumiko was smiling widely while Izzy glared irritably. "And what's all this fuss about my hair? Some of those girls had their hair fixed into these obnoxiously big curls."
"Those are ringlets and they're the style right now. Your hair isn't styled into ringlets, it's just naturally curly."
Izzy huffed and ran her fingers through her so called wild hair again. She really had no intentions of attending this Host Club with Fumiko and her friends but now she would have to, no doubt about that. She couldn't just not show up, not since they knew of her and wanted Fumiko to bring her along."You're insufferable," Izzy grumbled quietly. Fumiko giggled, not taking any offense to Izzy's words. They had no actual bite to them, she just sounded weary. Like she was dealing with her rowdy brothers. Fumiko was all too used to this. Their lighthearted banter was called to a close when dinner was announced.
Izzy felt like a zombie the next morning. She stayed up way longer than she meant to the night before, studying as much as she could. She rubbed her face, trying hard to rub the grogginess away. "You look dead," Ayame commented, twirling the end of her braid around her finger. Yuna tried not to giggle but failed miserably.
"Aren't you a little too old for pigtails?" Izzy grumbled sleepily. If Ayame and Yuna insisted on being friends, they were going to have to get used to her dry and cutting personality. Just because she and Fumiko were related didn't mean they all had to be friends.
"At least I know how to handle a brush," Ayame shot back. Fumiko and Yuna glanced in between the two girls, wondering if sparks would fly. To their shock, Izzy's tired face broke out into a grin. She playfully elbowed Ayame but didn't reply and Fumiko was sure that was the first time someone actually got a little mouthy with her cousin without Izzy verbally beating them up.
She folded her arms across her chest and smiled down at Ayame, clearly impressed. "I know how to handle a brush," She sniffed primly. "It's not my fault you girls don't have any volume."
Ayame laughed as Izzy huffed. "Did Fumiko-chan tell you about yesterday afternoon?"
"Of course she did."
"So you'll come today," it didn't sound much like a question.
Izzy rolled her eyes. "You three are a force to be reckoned with. You remind me of my brothers."
"Well, as long as I get to be Franky," Fumiko hummed. Out of the brothers, Francesco had always been the one to get along easily with everyone. When Masami first met Alphonse's rowdy sons, Franky had given her the least amount of trouble.
"No way, Yuna is more like Franky. You're like Vinny, a troublemaker."
"Does that make me like the third brother?" Ayame piped up, distracting the two from their senseless bickering. The two paused and eyed Ayame thoughtfully before seemingly nodding to each other.
"You seem like Alonzo."
"Lonny has the best sense of humor but he tends to talk too much," Izzy hummed thoughtfully. Ayame silently gaped at the taller girl and then huffed. She did not talk too much! Before she could protest, the warning bell for class started. The foursome separated with Izzy going off by herself to get to her first class. She hurried down the hallway, trying to remember if she was going the right way when she made a sudden sharp turn. Izzy collided into something hard and let out a grunt when she hit the floor. Instantly she held her face, wondering if her nose was bruised and if she somehow managed to walk into a wall.
"Oww," Izzy groaned, fingers rubbing her nose soothingly. "What in the...was that a wall?" She asked while cringing. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes as her nose continued to throb.
"Oh! Takashi, look, you knocked a girl down!" a sugary sweet voice exclaimed. Vaguely it sounded familiar and she likened it to that of a seven-year old child. But that was ridiculous because this was high school and why would there be a seven year old child running around? Suddenly a small and unnaturally cute face popped into her vision when she finally opened her eyes. Izzy blinked, her brain too frazzled by the dull throb in her nose to realize someone was talking to her. Big honey-brown eyes blinked back at her as they continued to talk to her. Izzy blinked hard and tried to shake the dizziness away.
"—you okay?"
"Uh…" Izzy stuttered, finally realizing that the sugary voice belonged to Honey-chan, the so called third year that she shared many classes with. Wow, he was really small, now that she was sitting on the floor at his height. And what a sight she must have made, sitting in the middle of the hallway with confusion slapped on her forehead. "I think so…" She finally managed to piece together, hands dropping to her lap.
"Takashi didn't mean to knock you down," Honey babbled, clearly ignoring her obvious confusion. Takashi didn't mean to knock her down? Wait a minute, she walked into a person? And not a wall? It certainly felt like she walked right into a wall. "Why don't you help her up, Takashi?"
A shadow suddenly fell over her as Honey backed away. Izzy's eyes widened drastically when a new figure crouched over her. She leaned back, caught off guard by just how handsome this newcomer was. No boy should be this handsome, she found herself thinking. "..sorry," He apologized, deep voice strumming quietly. Izzy frowned, put off and disturbed by his attractiveness. She realized that he and the small blond were probably waiting for her to say something and not just stare dumbly at them.
"Ah, it's fine! It was my fault, really. I wasn't really watching where I was going and I was walking way too fast," She held her hands up, waving them as if she was warding him off. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to literally run into you," She continued to babble, hoping he would back away. Instead, he reached forward to seize her by the wrists. Wordlessly and just as swiftly she was pulled to her feet. The world was practically spinning as she tried to get a good grip on reality. The vertigo was almost enough to make her feel sick but she pushed that aside when she had to crane her head up to look at the boy.
"Jesus, you're tall," Izzy uttered thoughtlessly. And that was saying something coming from a girl that stood at 5'10. She was tall for a girl, having been told several times that she shouldn't wear heels while growing up. She was used to intimidating boys being their height or even taller. "Wow, I'm sorry, that was rude," Izzy blinked once she realized what she blurted out.
From down below, Honey giggled cutely, causing Izzy to look down at him. "We have some classes together, don't we?" He asked and Izzy could have sworn big flowers bloomed around his face. She blinked hard and chalked it off as an effect from her earlier vertigo.
"Um, yes," the brunette nodded, curls bouncing around her face. "I'm Izabera," She introduced herself. Although she was certain that if they did have classes together, Honey probably already knew this.
"I'm Honey!" He exclaimed sweetly and Izzy fought the urge to tell him she kind of figured who he was. This school was weird but she doubted there was any other stunted eighteen year olds running around. "And this is Takashi but everyone calls him Mori," He motioned to his very tall companion.
Izzy was sure that Honey was also a nickname everyone called him. "Oh, well, if that's the case, you can call me Izzy. Or Bera, either one is fine," Izzy tried to smile politely.
"Can we walk you to class, Berry-chan?"
"Mmn?" Izzy made a strangled noise in her throat as Honey snatched her hand up in a freakishly tight grip. Did he just call her berry? Like the fruit? Again, confusion was slapped onto her forehead but she couldn't do anything but follow after Honey and Mori.
"You're from Italy, aren't you Berry-chan?"
So he was definitely calling her Berry. She supposed it sounded similar to Bera and she wondered if it would make a difference if she corrected him. Something told her that it wouldn't and he would insist on calling her that. "That's right, Venice," Izzy replied, wondering if it was really necessary to hold hands. She doubted Honey would actually let go, if his death grip was anything to go by.
"So far! Is Japan different from Italy?" Honey took a sharp turn and Izzy would have fallen had it not been for his grip. "Is it really true that you live on the water?"
"Mm!" Izzy nodded, taking in the semi-familiar surroundings. "Very different and yes, we live on the water," She answered with a weak smile. She didn't understand everyone's astonishment that the City on Water wasn't just some urban legend. Honey babbled some gibberish that she couldn't really hope to follow. She looked between him and Mori, frowning in confusion. Mori didn't seem bothered at all with the hyperness so she figured this was something that was to be expected.
Honey's excited babble only ceased once they finally reached the first class of the day. Izzy sighed in relief, somehow they managed to get there on time. It wouldn't do her any good to be late on her first day. To her surprise, she shared several classes with Honey and Mori and wondered how she'd miss either of them the day before. It was nice to see a friendly face among her uninterested classmates.
She was having a pretty good day when she was stopped on her way to lunch. Truthfully she wasn't in any rush to join Fu, Ayame and Yuna in the second years' dining hall. She was positive they couldn't wait to murder her with talk of this infamous Host Club. All through her classes, she heard the other girls whispering and tittering about the damn club. She couldn't get away.
"Ah, excuse me," a well manicured hand suddenly popped into her field of vision and caused her to come to a quick halt. Izzy could only blink at the other girl, frowning lightly. She was shorter than Izzy but still noticeably taller than most of the girls. Honey blonde hair was coiffed perfectly while dark brown eyes stared her down. The girl was smiling pleasantly but Izzy could not be fooled.
Izzy recognized this girl from a couple of her classes and if she recalled correctly, her name was Ozawa Hisa. "May I help you, Ozawa?" She asked politely despite wanting to be far from this girl. Something about her rubbed her the wrong way.
"Maybe," Hisa nodded thoughtfully. "Some of the girls and I were just wondering if it's really true that your Father is in the Italian Mafia."
Izzy's smile could have frozen Hell.
"Hm," Izzy made an amused noise and continued to smile at Hisa. "Why am I not surprised?" She sighed as if she was dealing with a fussy child. Hisa's gaggle of girlfriends twittered behind the honey blonde, giggling as if she told the funniest joke. "I suppose you don't know much about Italy despite it being a very simple thing," Izzy began to speak with sugar coated words. "Allow me to educate you and shed some light on the feeble brain of yours."
Hisa's eyes narrowed but Izzy continued to speak. "You see, while the Mafia is very much alive and well, the mob generally operates in Sicily. Now, if you knew your geography—and clearly you don't—you would realize that Sicily is in Southern Italy while I'm from Venice. Do you know where Venice is? Of course you don't, you wouldn't have asked me that silly question. Venice happens to be in Northern Italy."
Izzy was still smiling despite Hisa's acidic glare. "Is there anything else I can help you with? No? Well, if you'll excuse me," Izzy skirted around her classmate and continued to lunch. She felt as if she handled her temper pretty well, she smiled widely. One thing Izzy would not tolerate was disrespect towards her family. Wealthy or not, no one had the right to badmouth her Father just because of some stupid Italian stereotype.
"What's that smile for?" Fumiko noticed her cousin first. Izzy only sat down next to her. "Did something bad happen?"
"Something bad has to happen to make me smile? I can't smile just because?" Izzy asked with an amused look. Ayame chuckled across from the cousins.
"I just met you yesterday and I can already tell you don't smile just because," Ayame pointed out with a mischievous grin. Izzy instantly began to pout.
"You three are a rather mean bunch."
"I didn't say anything, Izzy-chan."
"Guilt by association, Yuna."
This time Yuna pouted. "A classmate stopped me on the way here to ask if my Papa was in the Italian mafia," Izzy began to explain her amused smile. "I think I might have embarrassed her with my reply but to be fair, she asked for it."
"Ah, you're right, Fumiko-chan," Ayame hummed. "Your cousin is quite sadistic."
"I told you."
"Do I really have to come? I really should be studying…"
Fumiko adamantly ignored Izzy's words and continued to drag her down the halls. Of course, she knew that if Izzy really didn't want to come, Fumiko wouldn't be dragging her anywhere. Izzy could be freakishly strong if she wanted to be. "You studied all last night! You can afford a break, Izzy," Fumiko pointed out. Izzy only let out an exasperated sigh and frowned. Ayame and Yuna followed closely behind, finding the whole thing quite funny.
"There's about a million other ways I could spend this break but somehow you think talking to a bunch of boys is ideal," Izzy muttered sullenly. "Not only that but I have to pay to talk to them? Why can't I just talk to you?"
"Because I'm not a Host."
"No but you are psychotic."
Fumiko expertly ignored Izzy's dry wit. "I think you'll enjoy it, Izzy-chan," Ayame piped up from behind her. "I suggest designating Tamaki-kun!"
Yuna frowned thoughtfully. "I don't...I don't think Izzy-chan would very much like that…"
"What? What's wrong with her?"
"Why does it have to be something wrong with me?"
"Because everyone likes Tamaki-kun."
"I feel like you're lying but okay…."
Yuna chuckled softly and shook her head. "I suggest designating Haruhi-kun, he is a lot more...ah...normal, compared to the other Hosts…"
"This is sounding more and more bad with each thing you girls tell me," Izzy stuck out her tongue in distaste. "Honestly…" She muttered in bemusement.
"Here we are!" Fumiko stopped suddenly and Izzy nearly ran into her. "The Host Club," She grinned widely as Izzy frowned with her free hand on her hip. Fumiko suddenly shot her a meaningful look. "You'll behave, won't you?"
"Oh, would you just open the door?" Izzy scowled, fed up with the antics and reached around Fumiko to throw the doors open. The Club room was light brightly, causing her to squint slightly. A swarm of rose petals momentarily blinded her. "Did they...they throw rose petals at us?" Izzy asked sourly while picking a errant petal out of her curls. She frowned and eyed the petal in mild annoyance.
"Fumiko-chan!" a lanky blond suddenly came bounding towards them. Behind her, Ayame began to coo and sigh but Izzy tuned that out to watch the tall blond interact with her bright-faced cousin. "We've been waiting for you!" He shouted rather jovially in her face. Izzy didn't see what was so appealing about screaming into someone's face but to each's own, she supposed. He suddenly noticed her, eyes snapping over Fumiko's head and causing Izzy to flinch back suspiciously. "Is this your cousin you told us about yesterday?"
For a moment, Izzy wished that Fumiko would tell him no and that she could take her leave but she knew Fumiko. She wouldn't have dragged her here with the intentions of letting her run off. Seemingly at a loss for words, Fumiko rapidly nodded her head. And then suddenly he was in front of her, producing a white rose seemingly out of nowhere to present it to her. Yuna joined in on the cooing.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Hime!"
"...where did this rose come from?"
"Fumiko-hime has told us all about you." Despite something telling her not to, she accepted the rose anyway. She rolled the stem between her fingers, blankly noting that it was out of season. "It's a honor to have you join us, Hime."
Izzy got the impression that this was the part she was supposed to swoon at him. Instead she only blinked at him. "Izabera, my name is Izabera. Not Hime, not anything ridiculous like that," She stated simply. "Do you grow these roses yourself or have them imported? White roses aren't really common, no?" She asked, clearly unimpressed. Tamaki only blinked at her and then stiffened. He looked behind him to the other occupants of the room, as if he couldn't understand why Izzy didn't immediately swoon. Izzy raised one brow and tilted her head to the side. She glanced at Fumiko. "Can I go home now?" She asked blankly.
"You can't just leave!" Tamaki all but shouted and surged forward to grab Izzy by her shoulders. "You haven't designated a Host yet!"
"If they're anything like you, I think I'm better off…."
"Izzy!" Fumiko chided as Tamaki seemingly broke. Izzy watched with detached curiosity as Tamaki melted into a puddle to the floor. "She didn't mean that, Tamaki-kun! Get a hold of yourself," Fumiko insisted as Izzy took a careful step back. Girls came flooding towards him, offering an endless amount of compliments to soothe his shattered pride.
"Right…." Izzy backed towards the door. She'd only been in there for barely five minutes and yet she felt like she'd seen enough. There was no way she was going to be charged to have a conversation with a person as ridiculous as Tamaki. "Well this was fun but I think it's time for me to make my exit, have a nice day…" Izzy gave a fleeting wave. She was suddenly caught by two pairs of hands. Izzy made an indignant noise as the hands slithered around her waist. She came face to face with a pair of twins. Izzy blankly noted that they looked rather devilish.
"I'd say she just broke a new record today."
"I think so too."
"But my, my, she is rather tall, isn't she?"
"Very! How tall are you, Hime?"
Izzy huffed at the silly nickname and rolled her eyes. She felt their hands flattening against her waist and she almost slapped them away. But if she did that, she knew Fumiko would have a fit and the others girls would be absolutely scandalized that she'd actually swatted at their beloved hosts. "I hardly think that's any of your concern," She replied flatly instead.
Fumiko visibly popped out of the crowd of girls that surrounded Tamaki. Izzy figured he was the most popular one, why, she had no idea. He seemed kind of like a moron to her. "She's 5'10!"
"Fumiko!" Izzy scowled at her younger cousin, finally letting her frustration break across her face. "You're a traitor!" Izzy growled around the two boys. Fumiko only smiled before hurrying after Tamaki and his parade of girls. It seemed as if he momentarily forgot about Izzy's new presence. That was just fine with her, the sooner she got away from these devil twins, the sooner she could leave!
"She's our height~."
"Even taller in heels. She'd be perfect to model some of Mom's new creations…"
Again, Izzy huffed with her arms folded across her chest. She quickly shook the twins off. "I'm not a model so I won't model a thing. Now, let me go so that I can…"
"Berry-chan!"
The bubbly exclamation seemed to cause everything to pause as Honey suddenly came darting towards Izzy. He jumped at her, catching her around the waist and effectively knocking her right out of the twins' grasp. "I didn't know you and Fumiko-chan were cousins!"
Somehow Izzy managed to catch the airborne blond and swung him around to keep herself from falling over. Despite her annoyance, her plump lips pulled into a smile as she looked down. "Ah, well, I think it's right to assume no one knew we were cousins. Different last names and everything," She pointed out. A sour woman, she was, but Izzy was sure no one could resist Honey's cute charm. Herself included.
"I knew," a smooth voice interrupted, causing Izzy to look up. He was taller than her, perhaps by an inch, which still kind of surprised her. His hair was dark and detached light brown eyes regarded her from behind sleek glasses. Izzy only stared at him. "It's nice to finally meet you, Giovanni-Hime," He greeted coolly.
"Hi Kyo-chan!" Honey continued to dangle from Izzy's waist. Izzy didn't seem to mind or to care for whatever reason, keeping his shoulders clasped under her hands.
Izzy raised one fine brow, suddenly having an odd feeling about this particular host. "Kyo-chan?" She asked slowly, as if amused. He simply nodded towards Honey before turning his attention back to Izzy.
"Ootori Kyoya."
"Ah, well, I would introduce myself but you seem to already know who I am, Kyoya," Izzy replied smoothly. Hisa suddenly popped up in her line of vision, causing Izzy to groan. Since when was it ideal to surround herself with people she didn't like? And when did Hisa decide that it was okay to talk to Izzy anyway? It didn't take a genius to figure out that the honey blonde wasn't fond of the brunette.
"Kyoya-kun," Hisa stressed, leaning into Izzy with her hands on her hips. The taller brunette only frowned. "You seem to forget honorifics, Giovanni-chan."
"I didn't forget anything, Ozawa," Izzy stated blankly. "We don't use these type of honorifics in Italy."
"This is Japan, not Italy, Giovanni-chan."
Hisa was really starting to bug her, if the twitch of her eyebrow is any indication. "That's okay!" Honey suddenly exclaimed. Her waist felt heavy and a for a moment Izzy wondered how she forgot about the human being dangling from her waist.
Abruptly Tamaki popped up once more. "That's right, we have to respect Izabera-hime's slow transition to our culture," He said loud enough for the other girls to hear. The girls began to twitter excitedly among themselves. Izzy resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. She doubted any of the girls actually cared about her transitioning between two totally different cultures.
"Honey-chan," Izzy shot a look at Hisa. "Could you please get down? It's rather difficult to move around with you hanging from my waist."
Mori was suddenly there, easily picking Honey from her waist. He lightly scolded Honey for jumping on her and Izzy opened her mouth to thank him for the assistance but was drowned out by the four girls that surrounded the two third years. Hands clasped together, they cooed, chirped and swooned at the duo. Izzy could only muster a thankful but exasperated smile before Kyoya stole her attention once more.
"I'm sure that Fumiko-hime explained how our club works, Giovanni-hime," Kyoya spoke smoothly and friendly but something unnerved her about him. "Who would you like to designate? Is there a particular type you are inclined to?"
"Type? I'm afraid Fumiko left something important out. And speaking of her, how did you know we're related? We don't have the same name.."
Kyoya's glasses glinted ominously and he smiled, although Izzy was certain she'd prefer it if he stopped smiling at her. Something was just off about this boy. "I know everything that I need to know about you," He stated in a dark voice. Izzy made an odd noise because what the hell did that mean? Unfortunately, Kyoya was already on to the next topic. He was rapidly explaining the different types, starting with Tamaki's Prince Charming type all the way to Haruhi's natural type.
"This is disturbing," Izzy muttered as she considered who was the most normal out of the entire group. Tamaki was excluded immediately along with the twins who were named Hikaru and Kaoru. There was no way she was dealing with a pair of devil twins. Kyoya was also exed out of the equation, she didn't like that smile of his. Which left her with Honey and Mori, who were basically a package and the natural Host, Haruhi. Kyoya was kind enough to point out the Natural Host to her. Izzy knew she didn't understand a lot of the Japanese culture but she was almost sure that Haruhi was a rather feminine name.
Izzy noticed Hisa making her way over to the group of girls that were trailing after Mori and Honey. Not in the mood to deal with the honey-blonde any more than she already had to, Izzy made a quick choice. "I suppose Haruhi will do," She finally relented with a sigh. Kyoya offered another smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and maybe that's what bothered her. It was a polite smile but he didn't mean it. She slowly left his side, only stopping once to wonder where the hell Fumiko had gone.
"Hi," Izzy offered a kind smile, hands folded behind her back. Haruhi looked up at her, probably a little caught off guard that she was so much taller than him. "Mm, I'm not exactly sure how this works but Yuna insisted that you're the most normal one in this room and I think I need a little normality."
Haruhi offered a very sweet smile and motioned to the plush couch. "I guess you could say I'm the most normal one…" He trailed off thoughtfully. "Would you like some tea? Cookies?"
Izzy wrinkled her nose at the cookies. She wasn't one for sweets, only indulging in them every now and then. "Tea is fine," She answered politely.
Haruhi nodded and set off to make the cup of tea. Izzy studied the younger boy, noting how large his brown eyes were. He had a rather soft face and small but plump lips. "Kyoya-senpai says you're from Italy," Haruhi suddenly prompted, breaking Izzy out of her thoughts. "Northern or Southern?"
"Oh, Northern Italy. Venice, actually."
"The City on Water, I've always heard it's quite a sight."
Izzy shrugged one shoulder and reached for the tea, nodding her head in thanks. "I suppose so. It loses the appeal when you've grown up there. It's beautiful to foreigners but to me it's just home. Simple home. You really should visit though."
Haruhi chuckled and shook his head. "There's no way I could afford a trip like that," He commented simply. He didn't sound irritated or anything by it, just stating facts. Izzy's face scrunched up in thought.
"No? You've never been? Why is that?"
"Haruhi-kun is here on a scholarship!" one girl, a peppy brunette, offered brightly. Izzy blinked owlishly and for a moment she felt as if they were waiting for her reaction.
"Oh, interesting. I didn't know Ouran had a program like that. Are there any requirements you have to follow even after receiving the scholarship?" Izzy leaned forward towards Haruhi, oddly interested. Despite being of the wealthy, her three older brothers had several scholarships when they were in college. She remembered how often they would stay up studying to maintain their grades. A dark look crossed Haruhi's face that Izzy knew all too well. "I know that look, my brothers looked like that all the time in college," Izzy laughed pleasantly but it came out sounding hollow to Haruhi.
For what it's worth, Izzy could admit that she enjoyed Haruhi's company. He wasn't a complete moron like Tamaki nor was he was he devilish like the twins. Kyoya gave her an odd feeling, seeing as how he seemingly always knew when she was thinking ill of him. She was positive that she would have enjoyed Honey and Mori's company had it not been for Ozawa Hisa. But that still didn't change the fact that something was off about Haruhi. Izzy wasn't sure what it was but she knew there was something about the young Host.
Of course she couldn't just come out and randomly accuse Haruhi of something being wrong. She didn't necessarily care, it was just an observation she'd made during their time together but her curiosity was piqued. Too bad she had no intentions of seeing Haruhi again. Besides, even if she did come again, her odd feeling wouldn't change.
Tamaki attempted to speak to her but she swiftly left the Hosting room before the poor blond could get a word in. Izzy made her way to the entrance of the school, patiently waiting for Fumiko. Now that she'd given in to her cousin's insistence on coming to the Club, she would be left alone.
Fumiko appeared, beaming excitedly. "What did you think, Izzy? Wasn't it wonderful?" She buzzed as the two made their way outside and towards the Moriomoto town-car waiting for them. Their driver greeted them politely and opened the door for them. The two slid into the backseat of the car, kindly thanking him for waiting for them. "Well?" Fumiko pressed, taking notice that Izzy had yet to answer her question.
Izzy leveled her cousin with a blank stare. "Sure, Fufu, wonderful," She replied dully. Fumiko's smile dropped and she rolled her eyes. She leaned back into the seat and folded her arms across her chest. Izzy watched the entire spectacle with only a quirked eyebrow. "Don't slump, Fu," She prodded at her shoulder. "It's unbecoming of a woman, what would Aunt Chi say if she saw you right now?"
"She would understand and agree with me that you're being too harsh," Fumiko huffed around a pout. "You really didn't enjoy spending time with Haruhi-kun? He's so nice and you looked like you were enjoying yourself," Fumiko pointed out in accusation. Izzy took a deep breath and rolled hers, almost as if she was dealing with a fussy child.
"He was very nice, actually. I did enjoy talking with him, he's very charming and friendly," Izzy admitted quickly. Yes, she thought the entire concept of the Host Club was rather idiotic but Haruhi was a nice young boy to talk to. She was a little surprised that he was only a first year, he seemed rather mature for his age. But then again, anyone would seem mature standing next to someone like Tamaki.
The partition slid down, alerting the two to their driver. "I've been asked by the lady of the house to inform you that Shinobu-sama insisted on Izabera-sama visiting today," He said quickly.
Izzy threw her head back and groaned loudly. Just great.
TeeBeMe: Hey guys. Short chapter, I know but it'll get longer and also pick up soon! Really hoping you guys will like the rewrite. Favorite, follow and review!