"Where do you find time to even take these pictures?"
Two weeks into joining the Host Club and Izzy was nearly dismayed to admit that she was actually popular among the girls. Many years from now, when she's older, she'll deny actually enjoying her time hosting. But there was no denying how much of an impact she made. She agreed to only host three days out of the week but even on the days when she wasn't needed, she still found herself attending Club. When she hosted, she was paired with Haruhi but when she was a guest, she usually found herself with Mori and Honey.
"Renge," Kyoya answered easily as Izzy peered into his laptop screen. She'd been completely unaware, but not surprised, that the Host Club had their own website. Fumiko mentioned it in passing and Izzy was completely horrified to see her pictures posted to the website.
"Right, of course," Izzy murmured, eyes flickering. "I don't recall consenting to having my pictures all over this website. Isn't that some sort of violation?" she mused, knowing Kyoya would have some sort of snarky answer for her.
"You consented when you joined," he answered with his usual air of superiority. Izzy only rolled her eyes but continued to study the smaller section dedicated to her. It really unnerved her that Kyoya and Renge could easily get their hands on just about anyone's records.
"I find this disturbing but not surprising," Izzy mused in good nature. "Is it absolutely necessary to know my height and weight? That seems a bit excessive."
"You only say that because you don't want anyone to know your weight," Hikaru grinned impishly at her. Izzy turned to him, frowning irritably.
"It's useless information," she rolled her eyes and stood up, dusting her skirt of any imaginary dust and crumbs that could have gathered. "Well, that's enough insanity for the day, yes?" she asked, although they had the impression that she wasn't really asking for permission to leave first. "See you later," Izzy quickly took her leave before she could be stopped, knowing the group would find one way or another to involve her in their after school shenanigans. It was already enough that she was officially a member of the Host Club. She paused at the grand staircase, frowning and rolling the thoughts over in her head.
Izabera, the Big Sister type. This is not what her parents sent her to Japan for, she laughed softly. She hadn't even made time to visit with her grandparents for quite awhile, now that she thought about it. Maybe she should—
"Oh, good. You haven't left yet," Haruhi offered a polite smile as she hurried to catch up to the taller brunette. Izzy half turned to face the younger girl, smiling all the while. The two had grown close, having spent a lot of time together now that Izzy joined. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes?" she prompted, starting down the staircase. Haruhi followed behind her.
"There's a new bookstore that opened in my neighborhood. I know you're used to more lavish stores but I thought you might like it," Haruhi said in that endearing but straight-forward way of hers. One thing the girls really seemed to adore about Izzy was her bookish ways. They called it charming but Izzy wasn't stupid enough to believe that. Girls who were 'bookish' had no time for boys, meaning the Host Club members were safe from her.
Which Izzy found stupid because if she was supposedly the big sister type, wouldn't the Host Club members be considered her brothers?
Anyway…
"That sounds nice," Izzy replied pleasantly. "When?"
"Sunday afternoon?"
"Sure," Izzy nodded, cementing the plans. She actually liked the idea of spending time with Haruhi outside of school. She stopped at the doors, knowing her car was waiting outside for her. She constantly offered Haruhi a ride home but she always politely refused. "I'm assuming the others don't know," she asked with a hand on her hip. Haruhi shot her a sardonic look, causing Izzy laugh. It was a genuine laugh, for once, full of mirth and amusement. "Stupid question," she said in between chuckles. "Sunday afternoon sounds great. Your address, please?" she prompted at the front doors, peeking out to see one of Morimoto's luxury cars waiting for her. Haruhi handed over a scrap of paper with her address printed clearly. Izzy mused at her perfect handwriting, taking the offered scrap. "This will be fun, I look forward to it."
"Try not to be too flashy," were Haruhi's parting words, causing Izzy to flush. She didn't think she was flashy but maybe Haruhi saw her differently? Determined, Izzy set off for the car.
Izzy found herself picking through her closet Sunday morning. "Flashy, she says. Do I dress flashy?" she mumbled to herself while tapping her cheek. "I don't think I do…" The brunette frowned, she always thought she had a more laid-back style compared to her friends and peers. She was kept up to date on the latest fashion thanks to Vivi but she never came off as trying too hard. Izzy let out a long hum, doing a full circle to study her clothes. "I'm overthinking this," she decided after a long moment. "It's not like this is a date or anything," Izzy rolled her eyes at her behaviour. She did another sweep of the walk-in closet, muttering to herself all the while. She finally decided on a pair of ripped jeans and a Ca' Foscari U sweatshirt that she swiped from one of her brothers. It was gray and slouched off of her shoulder in a fashionable yet tasteful way.
"That took longer than necessary," Izzy muttered while coming out of her closet. She brushed her hair, taming the curls somewhat before giving up. Izzy hurried from her room, calling her for Aimi as she did. She requested the family's driver to take her to Haruhi's house, remembering to ask to be driven in an older model of their cars. The car ride was a long one, causing her to sigh gratefully when they finally arrived. She climbed out the backseat, thanking the driver when he swung the door open. "I'll call when I'm ready to go home, Andou-san, thank you."
She watched as Andou drove off, nearly jumping when a voice interrupted. "Well, I guess that's not as flashy as I thought it would be."
Izzy whipped around, glaring at Haruhi. She was dressed in her usual fashion, a light blue dress over a pair of jeans. "I'm not flashy," Izzy insisted, approaching the younger girl. "You know, with the way everyone talks about you being a commoner, I expected you to live in a shack," Izzy laughed, motioning to the building that she assumed was Haruhi's apartment.
"Compared to the house you live in, it probably is a shack," Haruhi shrugged indifferently.
Izzy snorted and folded her arms across her chest. Honestly, she could probably fit the apartment complex in Chi's house. She didn't mention that to Haruhi, keeping the thought to herself. "From the outside it looks nice."
Haruhi didn't reply, opting to set off down the street. Izzy easily followed, her longer strides making it easy to follow. "The bookstore isn't far," Haruhi said, glancing at Izzy. "You're probably used to being driven around."
Izzy folded her arms behind her back but shrugged a shoulder. "Walking doesn't bother me. We don't use cars in Central Venice."
"No?"
"We don't have streets in the heart of Venice. We just get around by walking or using vaporetto—water buses. Ironic since my family is an automobile company," Izzy explained, sticking close to Haruhi. The busy hustle and bustle of Tokyo reminded her a lot of Venice and that put her in a good mood. They spent their walk with Haruhi asking questions about her family and Italy. "—my Papa is grooming Franky to eventually inherit the company and Alonzo is in school for law. It's fitting because he never shuts up and likes to argue you down. Vinny is going for Accounting and Financing," Izzy explained almost animatedly, using her hands to aid her in her storytelling. Talking about her older brothers always put her in a good mood.
"What about you?" Haruhi asked as they turned down the street. She could see the new bookstore coming up.
"Oh, I'm not sure. I'm sure they'll send me somewhere to get a business degree or something similar along those lines."
Haruhi frowned at Izzy's blasé attitude. "Is that what you want?" she asked after a long pause. Izzy gave her a funny look, head tilting to the side. It's almost like she didn't fully understand Haruhi's question. "What would you like to study? What interests you?"
She half expected some rehearsed line from Izzy about the family business and having some small part in it. "Well...I've always liked architecture…" the older brunette confessed almost sheepishly. "Venice is a city of Old and the architecture has always fascinated me. Even coming to Japan and seeing the buildings here are fascinating," Izzy explained, eyes darting around the cluster of buildings.
Haruhi was positive that this plain shopping district wasn't as interesting as the more grand buildings that Izzy was actually used to but she didn't say anything. Izzy's face was light up like a Christmas tree as she looked around, looking like a tourist. "But I'm not sure how Papa would feel about me doing that," Izzy's bright expression dropped into something more somber. "And now there's all this talk about me inheriting Morimoto Automobiles," Izzy rolled her eyes at the thought of it. "So I'm not sure what the future holds for me next year."
Haruhi didn't press for more information despite her slight curiosity. It was plainly obvious that Izzy wasn't fond of the idea at all. Most of the kids at Ouran seemed aware and fine with the idea of being groomed for taking over their family's business when the time called for it. Izzy seemed exempt from that. The girls finally come a brightly painted building, 'The Book Bar' in big quirky letters slapped onto the storefront. Once again, Izzy's face light up. Haruhi only glanced at her, waiting for the teenager to bounce in place.
She never did but Haruhi wouldn't tell anyone if she did bounce in place.
Izzy smiled widely once the stepped inside, the smell of ink and parchment setting her at ease. The inside of the building was a lot bigger than she expected and there were books everywhere. On the second floor is where the bar was situated, the smell of fresh coffee mingling in with the books. "I like it," Izzy declared firmly, smiling all the while. "Books and coffee. What's not to like?" she asked, eyes searching the place. She clapped her hands together, knowing she'd spend an impressive sum of her parents' money today on books.
Izzy's smiles were genuine, unlike the glass smiles she wore during school hours. These smiles were bright, reaching up to her eyes and turning the hazel into liquid gold. They weren't carefully painted to her lips like a fine China Doll. Here, in this little second-rate bookstore, she wasn't Isabella Giovanni, last child and only daughter to Giovanni Industry. She wasn't even Giovanni Izabera, oldest and unwilling heiress to Morimoto Automobiles.
She was just Bera. Or Izzy, whichever nickname was preferred at the moment. Just a seventeen year old girl who loved books and coffee. Just a girl dressed in a raggedy old sweatshirt and jeans, determined to find good books to read.
Haruhi watched the tall brunette move around the shop, perfectly manicured nails dragging across the spine of books, hands sliding languidly against the railing. She watched as the barista fumbled under Izzy's charming smile to make her drink. She watched as the brunette curled up on one of the comfortable armchairs, armed with a book and a mug of coffee, and lost herself within whatever story stole her interest.
She watched Izzy a lot that afternoon, seeing the real her for the first time. This Izzy talked to herself, to her books and made faces all the while. This Izzy loved coffee, so much that she drank it like water. This Izzy didn't bother with sitting properly, she shifted around constantly to fold her legs up under her or to throw them over the arm of the chair. If Haruhi hadn't met Izzy at Ouran beforehand, she would have sworn that Izzy was just a regular, middle-classed, teenaged girl. But even so, there was something distinctively wealthy about Izzy. Izabera and Isabella, either one, hovered over her shoulders. It was like Izzy just couldn't shake it. Not that Haruhi really expected her to shed her persona completely. It was just nice to peel back Izabera's layers to see Izzy.
Two hours later was when they found themselves finally leaving the bookstore. Izzy was armed with a heavy looking parcel of her purchases and was a bit jittery from all the coffee she ended up consuming. Haruhi's parcel was noticeably smaller and she wasn't bouncing in place, having only one cup of coffee.
They were halfway back to Haruhi's house when a cold feeling settled over Izzy's neck. She paused in the middle of her very animated retelling of a fight between her three brothers as the feeling nearly overwhelmed her. Her eyes began darting around the neighborhood, feeling like someone was watching her. "Senpai? Are you alright?" Haruhi asked once she noticed Izzy looking around. With all the coffee she consumed during their outing, she figured maybe it wasn't sitting right with Izzy. The taller brunette didn't answer immediately, too focused on finding out what had her so uneasy.
"It's just…" Izzy trailed off, doing a full circle. "I felt like someone was watching us or something," she took one last look around her before shrugging. "I'm probably just being paranoid or something," she decided after not finding anyone behaving suspiciously. "Come on, let's go."
The feeling of being watched slowly left Izzy the closer they got to Haruhi's apartment complex. She had to put her odd feeling on the back burner because incidentally, the Host Club stood outside of Haruhi's building. Izzy wasn't all that shocked to see them, watching them with a quirked brow with a hand on her hip. "Did you tell them about today?" Izzy inquired, watching in amusement as Tamaki and the twins bickered over Haruhi's possible whereabouts.
Haruhi let out a heavy sigh. "No, but they do tend to just show up regularly and unannounced," Haruhi replied blankly.
"That's...not surprising at all," Izzy replied after a moment's pause. "Perhaps I should go then? I would hate to intrude," the taller brunette pointed into the opposite direction, perfectly fine with waiting on a bench or something for Andou to come for her.
The shorter of the two shot her a poisonous look. "Don't be ridiculous. I invited you first and you only want to leave so that you don't have to deal with them," she pointed out blankly. Izzy's polite smile shattered instantly, replaced with a sheepish expression.
Before Izzy could say much to Haruhi's statement, Mori turned and spotted them. "Oh, we've been spotted," Izzy hummed wryly, raising her hand to wave at him. She was a little surprised when he raised his hand to wave back. "How long until everyone else notices?" she mused coyly, still waving. Evidently, not long because Honey glanced into their direction. Delighted to see both Izzy and Haruhi together and outside of school, he jumped from Mori's shoulders to dash over to the two of them. It caused the others to look towards them, exclamations of delight following suit once they spotted the two girls.
Izzy took a careful step back as Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru crowded Haruhi, each asking about her past whereabouts. She was tempted to sneak off while they were so distracted but something stopped her. That something being Honey grabbing onto the hem of her shirt. "We weren't expecting you today, Berry-chan," he directed one of those sugary-sweet smiles her way.
"Interesting, I can't say the same," Izzy mused, allowing Honey to scale the side of her body. His weight, along with the weight of her heavy bag of books unbalanced her, causing her to shift him awkwardly. Mori helped her out, plucking her heavy bag a little too easily out of her hands. Izzy tilted her head back, smiling gratefully at him. He blinked down at her, seemingly coming to some sort of realization under her smile.
Odd.
Hikaru broke off from Haruhi, turning to Izzy with a judgmental look to his eye. "Senpai, you're dressed….down," he said, looking at her from head to toe. Izzy was nearly positive that Honey purposely jumped into her arms to stop her from attacking them when they ticked her off. She was sure they discussed ways to keep her from hurting them given how much they tended to antagonize her.
"And your hair is obnoxious but you don't see me giving you the stink eye," she shot back acidically, smirking at the mean look Hikaru sent her way. "And hasn't anyone ever taught you guys that it's rude to show up to someone's home unannounced? Not very princely, is it?" she asked, nearly laughing when Tamaki gave her a look of utter distraught.
"At least try not to rile him up already," Kyoya intoned blankly, not in much of a mood for more of Tamaki's moping.
"But it's so easy," Izzy chuckled, watching as Kaoru grabbed Haruhi's bag. It wasn't to be polite and relieve her of carrying it, it was so he could rifle through it. Izzy thought it was a little rude but Haruhi didn't put up a fight nor did she protest.
"Books? Is that all you girls do is read?" he asked with an upturn of his nose. Izzy and Haruhi both looked at one another, Haruhi rolling her eyes while Izzy simply laughed.
"Well, it does this funny thing where it stimulates the mind," Izzy replied with an impish expression, reaching over to tap at Kaoru's temple. "Useless, I know, but some of us still appreciates this lost art," Izzy mused with a soft grin. She pulled her hand back when Kaoru swiped at her, settling it under Honey to fully support his weight.
"While this is all very tender, perhaps we should move this meeting indoors?" Kyoya spoke up before Kaoru could fire back some snide comment. "We're beginning to attract attention," he informed them, motioning to the people milling around and openly staring at them.
"Beginning?" Izzy asked with a snide tilt to her voice. Izzy was going to point out that no matter where the group went or what they did, they always attracted attention. It was beginning to weigh on her because she was never one for attention despite coming from a large and boisterous family. Haruhi snorted but trekked on towards her apartment, the gaggle of boys plus Izzy following behind. The older brunette was a bit uncomfortable, feeling almost like she was intruding even though Haruhi made it clear that that wasn't the case. But still, Haruhi made it perfectly clear that she was to not sneak off, so along Izzy went, still cradling Honey in her arms.
Haruhi's home was small and simple but very homey. Izzy let Honey down and slipped out of her shoes, following Haruhi into the kitchen. She noticed her parents weren't around but chose not to comment, knowing it was none of her business. She helped the younger girl bring the tea into the living room, settling down in between Kyoya and Mori. Izzy didn't bother paying much attention to the conversations that took place at the table. Unless they spoke directly to her or in the twins' case—picked with her—she mostly stayed quiet. She was satisfied with observing the group outside of school, having shed their Host Club personas.
Not much happened until Izzy insisted on washing the dishes. Haruhi protested the notion but Izzy waved her off, reminding her that someone needed to keep an eye on the Host Club anyway. She purposely ignored one of the twins making a remark about how her hands would wrinkle and hid away in the kitchen. She made sure her ponytail was secured tightly, readying herself to clean the few dishes that accumulated thanks to them when she heard shuffling behind her. The brunette glanced over her shoulder, ready to shoo Haruhi away only to pause with raised eyebrows. "Oh, Mori, I wasn't expecting you," she blinked, tilting her head back at an awkward angle.
"Let me see your hand, Izabera-chan," Mori lifted his hand up, palm facing upward. Izzy continued to blink at him, slowly turning towards him with a thoughtful look. She leaned the back of her waist against the sink, tilting her head to the side.
"Bera," she enunciated slowly, frowning all the while. She wasn't sure why but everyone used her nickname but Mori and it bothered her. "Everyone calls me just Bera at this point. I'll give you my hand if you call me Bera," she bartered, forgetting that once upon a time, Mori made her rather nervous. Him calling her by her full name while everyone else used nicknames seemed a little too intimate to her. It was like if she called him by his full name when it was rarely used by anyone except Honey.
More stared down at her, face betraying nothing. But Izzy held fast, her infamous stubborn nature coming into play. A grin overtook her mouth when Mori finally consented, nodding along to her demands. "Let me see your hand, Bera," he easily went along with her demand. Izzy nearly shivered at the deep baritone of his voice but batted the feeling away, holding up her hand in confusion. Mori reached forward, engulfing her much smaller hand in his own. She marveled at the difference in size, noting that his hands were rough from what she assumed was because of kendo.
Before she could even ask him what this was about, Mori tightened his grip on her hand and jerked the sleeve of her sweatshirt up to her elbow with his free hand. Izzy's jaw unhitched, hanging open with a slight 'pop'. She didn't know why she was so surprised by his boldness, he'd done the same thing before. The bruises that once littered her skin had mostly faded thanks to Izzy obsessively icing her wrists down every afternoon. Just like she assumed, Chihiro began to take notice of Izzy constantly wearing long-sleeves around the house. Now they were mostly gone, just leaving behind discolored silhouettes. If someone didn't know to look specifically for them, they wouldn't be noticed.
Or if you were Mori and just took it upon yourself to just snatch sleeves down. She understood that he was the 'Wild' Host and tended to act on impulse but this was just ridiculous. What was worse was that she knew it was no point in trying to tug away. He wasn't hurting her but his grip was on her hand was firm.
"Um," she blinked up at him. "May I have my hand back?"
Mori released his grip on her hand only to snatch the other one up, repeating the process of studying the faded bruises. Deciding to just let him have his way, Izzy patiently waited for him to finish his assessment. When he was done, he gently dropped her hand back to her side. She folded her arms across her chest, wary that he would snatch her hand up again. "Satisfied?" she asked with a lone brow quirked. Mori stared down at her, studying her features a little too hard for her liking. She wanted to take a nervous step back but she was already pressed into the sink. She cleared her throat, hoping he would stop grilling her so hard. "You could have just asked," she reminded him, fidgeting under his gaze.
"You would have said no."
Izzy flushed hard, frowning indignantly. "How can you be so sure?"
Mori shrugged casually, "because you always say no."
If it was possible, Izzy's face would have darkened even more. She frowned and looked away, having no proper comeback for that one. "I guess you have an answer for everything as well," she said with a slight huff. "Well, you see that it's fine now, now off you go. You'll attract someone's attention and somehow washing dishes will turn into some odd misadventure about the less fortunate," Izzy made a shooing motion, suddenly quite aware of just the two of them being left alone in the kitchen.
Instead of heeding her orders, Mori lifted a large hand, casually setting it on the crown of her head. Izzy only blinked, speechless once more as Mori ruffled her hair in the same affectionate way he ruffled Haruhi or Honey's hair. The motion caught her completely off guard, words clogging her throat. Mori didn't seem to take notice, carelessly jostling her perfectly styled ponytail out of place before stalking out of the kitchen. Izzy watched him go, reaching up to slowly fix her hair as best as she could. Perturbed and still rendered speechless, she turned back towards the sink. The brunette rolled her sleeves up to her elbows and focused on washing the dishes for Haruhi. It didn't take long and she found herself returning to the Hosts sooner rather than later. It seemed like they were planning something, not paying her any mind when she sat back down with them.
"What's going on?" she asked after a long moment of quietly observing them. Tamaki turned towards her first, beaming in that way only he could. It didn't annoy her, only amusing her. Her amusement showed by the easy smile that graced her lips.
"The Host Club will be taking a trip on Saturday after classes," he told her with an excited tilt to his voice. Izzy raised her eyebrows at the notion, silently asking where. She wasn't even going to try to talk her way out of attending. She was, after all, an official member of the Host Club. Sometimes she wondered how that even came to be. "We're going to an indoor water park!" he revealed, nearly bouncing in excitement. Izzy let out a long breath, masking it as an interested hum. An indoor waterpark meant she'd have to wear a swimsuit. It wasn't like she was self-conscious of herself but it probably wouldn't bode too well with the girls, even if she was a part of the Host Club. She was much too tall and full-figured.
"I bet you don't have a swimsuit," Hikaru leaned forward in Izzy's direction.
"You're right, for once," Izzy snorted while rolling her eyes. "Why would I bring a swimsuit over from Italy?"
"Because you have to be prepared for anything," Kaoru helpfully supplied an answer. Izzy only shrugged helplessly, having no real reply. "We'll just have to get you a swimsuit."
"I'm perfectly capable of buying my own swimsuit, thank you."
"But you'll just but something boring, Senpai," Hikaru whined childishly, cringing at the thought of Izzy picking out her own swimsuit. It wasn't that Izzy didn't have style—she did—but Izzy seemed just fine with wasting it on boring, unassuming clothes. She was tall with modelesque features but was perfectly fine with swamping herself in oversized sweatshirts and sweaters all the time. It was a tragedy, really.
"I'm not there to impress anyone," she reminded them with nearly a pout.
"But you are," Kyoya decided to step in. "You're a Host, remember? You actually are there to impress the customers."
"Has anyone ever told you that you take this way too seriously?" Izzy deadpanned. Kyoya didn't bother with a reply, turning back to his planning. "Would it make you feel better if I went with Fumiko to buy a swimsuit?" she turned back to the twins, frowning all the while. They shared a thoughtful look, recalling Izzy's bubbly, younger cousin. She seemed to have a certain knack for wearing Izzy down until she conceded to her demands. That was, after all, how the stubborn brunette attended Club in the first place.
They could trust Fumiko.
The twins conceded with a short, "fine."
The rest of their afternoon was spent planning their trip to the indoor water park. Apparently they were taking extreme measures to make sure whatever happened last time didn't happen. Izzy didn't know what that meant but she hoped it wouldn't happen again. It sounded like a whole lot of trouble she didn't have time for.
Eventually the day began winding down and the Club found themselves gearing up to leave. As they waited for their impending rides home, a stray thought hit Izzy squarely in the face. She glanced over at Mori, a thoughtful look in her lightly toned eyes. They were both leaning against the railing in front of Haruhi's apartment, neither one bothered by the silence as they waited. "Oh," she murmured as the thought festered. She leaned over into him, nudging him with her elbow. He was leaning his back against the railing facing Haruhi's apartment while Izzy was bent at the waist against the railing, facing the street. "You were checking on my wrists because of this trip to the water park," she stated rather than asked, feeling somewhat guilty.
"Yeah," he confirmed her thoughts with a heavy grunt.
"You could have just said that in the first place," Izzy pointed out with raised eyebrows. "Instead of all that manhandling," the brunette stated, waving a fleeting hand in a dismissive manner.
"You would have protested more if you already knew about the trip."
"You really do have answer for everything, don't you?" Izzy grumbled, somewhat impressed. "What would you have done if the bruises were still there?" she asked curiously, leaning her chin against her fist. She noted, vaguely, that Honey was nowhere to be found for once. Maybe Haruhi was giving him some sweets or something but it was odd to see Mori without the pint-sized host.
Mori didn't seem at all bothered by her question. "We would have come up with something," he stated casually, not thinking too hard. For reasons unknown to Izzy, she found herself smiling at him. Perhaps it had something to do with her being included, a snide voice whispered from the depths of her mind. She mentally waved the whispers away, paying no mind to it.
"You certainly have the right answers for someone who's supposedly quiet all the time. Interesting," she mused just as a Morimoto town car came to a slow stop in front of Haruhi's building. Andou got out, waving at Izzy. "Ah, time for me to go. I'll see you in class tomorrow, yes?"
Mori nodded, sending her off with a wave goodbye. Izzy sent one last smile his way before slipping into the car, quietly thanking Andou.
"Oh, what about this one?"
Fumiko was a bit too excited when Izzy mentioned shopping for a swimsuit. Izzy was positive that Fumiko already had one but she would never turn down the opportunity to go shopping. So again, she found herself sitting in some expensive boutique on an equally expensive chaise watching as Fumiko picked through the racks of swimsuits. Her cousin was having way too much fun with this trip.
The brunette eyed the strapless swimsuit, frowning softly. "Uh, Fu, I need something with straps. The water is going to weigh it down," Izzy said carefully, gaze momentarily dropping to her chest.
"O-Oh," Fumiko's face flushed hard. Her eyes also dropped to Izzy's chest, laughing nervously as she did so. "You're a bit more blessed than the rest of us, huh?" she twittered with a dark face. "That's the Italian blood," she commented while looking back towards the white swimsuit. It really was cute, with ruffles around the bustline. Izzy only smiled in dry amusement at her, chuckling as she did so.
"Okay, so let's get something with straps, yeah?" Izzy pushed herself off the chaise and approached her cousin, idly picking through the swimsuits. Most of the swimsuits were strapless or not her color or weren't her style. Fumiko obediently followed after her, offering compliments or complaints depending on Izzy's assessment.
Izzy was busily scowling at what Fumiko assumed was a bikini but just seemed like thin fabric and some strings stitched together, when she spoke up again. "It's kind of hard to believe that you really joined the Host Club. You thought it was ridiculous—"
"—It is ridiculous—"
Fumiko kept going, deaf to Izzy's input. "And now look at you. An actual member with your own type. The Big Sister type, it's actually pretty fitting of you. You have a lot of big sisterly qualities, even though you don't have any younger siblings," Fumiko rambled thoughtlessly. Izzy let her, smiling baselessly as she did so. "I mean, you've always been like a big sister to me," Fumiko admitted, finding a polka-dotted one piece extremely interesting. Izzy watched her quietly, her baseless smile curving into a softer, genuine one. "It's nice to see you taking on that role for the Host Club. I think they need someone like you. I mean, they have Haruhi-kun but he's younger than them so they really just baby him."
"Haruhi tries his best," Izzy said carefully, snorting as she did so. "They're a handful."
"You seem to handle them just fine."
"It's really just Tamaki and the twins. Kyoya has his face stuck in his laptop—doing God only knows and Haruhi is pretty normal. Honey can be controlled with some sweets and Mori usually behaves when no one is scheming," Izzy instructed mindlessly, batting Fumiko's hand away from the polka-dotted one piece. "They're good boys when Tamaki and the twins aren't coming up with some sort of ridiculous plot."
Fumiko nodded along to her words, smiling as she did so. "You're a good big sister," she decided after a minute. Her voice suddenly dropped to a soft whisper, somewhat nervous about Izzy's reaction to her next words. "I think they need you."
Izzy flushed at the words, turning away sharply from her cousin. "I like old-fashioned swimsuits," she said after a silent pause, trying to change the conversation. The Host Club did not need her. They were getting along just fine before she came and they'd continue on long after she left. She was just something different, something to pass the time with her startling temper and distressed reactions to what they deemed as normal. She was entertaining and they could exploit her while she entertained them.
"Like the retro ones from the 1950s? Oh, Izzy those would look great on you. Maybe Kaoru and Hikaru can even curl your hair like they used to do!"
"Slow down, Fu. It's just a trip to a water park, not a photoshoot. I'm not Sophia Loren," Izzy reminded her, patting her cousin on the shoulder.
"But the Host Club always use opportunities like this to take photos. They sell them."
Izzy turned back to Fumiko, silently staring at her for a full-second with a blank face. "Please tell me you're joking," she insisted after a full minute. When Fumiko sheepishly shook her head, Izzy slapped her forehead. "Why, God? Just...why?"
"Because they're all freakishly good looking."
"What have I wandered into..?" Izzy groaned loudly before stalking away to another rack of swimsuits. "That means they'll probably try to slap makeup on me. Makeup. At a waterpark."
"If it makes you feel better, they'll probably take most of your pictures with Haruhi-kun."
"That...doesn't make me feel better at all. The girls probably won't even want pictures of me so it should be fine, right?"
"I think they'll want your pictures too. I don't think the girls are attracted to you—well maybe some of them are—but they do idolize you."
"Have I mentioned that these girls are a bunch of psychopaths?" Izzy asked in exasperation, coming across a retro swimsuit. They were designed to resemble an American's sailor's uniform with the top being white and the bottoms sat high on her waist and were a pretty blue. To her satisfaction, the swimsuit had thick straps that would tie securely around the neck.
"Oh, I like that one," Fumiko peered around Izzy to look at the swimsuit. "It would look great on you. Although...blue is more of Mori-senpai's color."
Izzy tugged at the material, testing the strength of the fabric. "Mori's color? Does that even matter?"
"Of course it does. Each Host has a rose and a color that signifies them. Mori-senpai's rose is blue and that signifies loyalty in Japanese culture. Honey-senpai's color is pink for joy and trustworthiness," Fumiko explained with a bright smile.
"Huh...you've got that…memorized?" Izzy asked slowly, glancing at her cousin. She was a bit disturbed but she wasn't surprised at this point.
"That's besides the point."
"Right..they didn't tell me if I had a color or not and I didn't think to ask."
"Don't be silly, of course you have a color," Fumiko rushed off to her bag. She rifled through it, smiling when she pulled out a pale blue notebook with 'Ouran Highschool Host Club' printed on the front in big yellow letters. "This is the character bio!" Fumiko said simply, returning to Izzy's side. The taller brunette eyed her warily, frowning as she did so. As stated before, she wasn't surprised but the lengths that the Host Club went to to achieve their fame was ridiculous. Although she wasn't sure who was worse, the Host Club for going to such lengths or the girls eating all of it up.
"You...you just carry that around with you?"
"Not usually," Fumiko replied almost defensively. "They had to update it because you joined so I had to buy this one. You can't be caught with the outdated bios," she explained, flipping through the pages. Izzy only shook her head, truly confused. "Oh, here we go!" she chimed in while closing in on Izzy to show her the bio. Izzy peered down at the pages, frowning all the while. A big picture of her smiling politely was slapped on the left side, which confused her because she didn't even remember taking that picture in the first place. On the right side was a description of her personality, her type and a list of her talents.
"Your rose is green," Fumiko pointed out with a smile. "Green symbolizes a couple of things, actually. It can mean stability, balance and peace," Fumiko explained while pointing to the green rose. "That's pretty accurate, don't you think?"
"Well..I suppose," Izzy agreed hesitantly. "So does this mean I have to find a green swimsuit?" she asked after a long moment, frowning. She really liked the one in her hands.
"No, of course not," Fumiko giggled, patting Izzy on the shoulder. "You can wear whatever color you want. Green is just what you're associated with."
"That's….interesting."
"Isn't it?" Fumiko chirped, slapping the book closed. "You and Mori-senpai have a lot in common. Maybe you two could be a package."
"What kind of package would that be?"
Fumiko shrugged carelessly. "The Big Siblings package!"
"Uh...no."
Saturday was suddenly upon them quicker than Izzy imagined possible. She figured it was because it was all the girls could talk about for the entire week. She doubted most of the girls would even get in the water, lest they wanted to ruin their manicure, but it wasn't any of her business so she remained quiet. Kaoru and Hikaru approved of her swimsuit. Apparently the high waist bottoms made her legs appear even longer and her waist slimmer. She decided not to tell them that she only bought it because she liked the style. She hadn't been concerned with how she would actually look in it.
"Isn't it so nice? The entire park is closed down for us," Fumiko gushed excitably, shouldering her tote bag. Izzy looked at her, eyelids set low and eyebrows high on her forehead.
"It's amazing what waving some money around can do for a person, isn't it?" Izzy asked rhetorically, fixing her sunglasses to sit on top of her head. "That's a nice swimsuit, by the way. You usually don't go for purple but it suits you," Izzy complimented her cousin, noticing her blush immediately.
"Yeah..I wanted to try something new," Fumiko stated, hands on her hips. "You really like it?" she spun around, modeling the purple one piece. Izzy smiled at her cousin and nodded in confirmation.
"Hey, Bera-senpai!" Hikaru waved for her attention. Ever since she insisted on Mori using the nickname 'Bera', the entire Club seemed to have deemed it appropriate for them to drop 'Izzy' in favor of 'Bera'. It didn't necessarily bother her but for some odd reason, 'Bera' felt like a completely different persona than 'Izzy'. Bera was the big sister type. Izzy was the closed-off girl from Italy who didn't have time for such frivolous things.
Apparently, this 'Bera' girl did.
"Stop shouting," Izzy chided after waving to her cousin. "I'm not deaf, you know. And it's not very princely to shout at a woman," she pointed out as she closed in on the group.
"Good thing we're not the princely type," Kaoru replied cheekily, motioning to Tamaki.
"Fine, it's not very charming," Izzy rolled her eyes. "Don't be so difficult, it's not very cute."
"Oh~?" Hikaru grinned at her.
"You think we're cute?" Kaoru mirrored his grin.
Izzy was not impressed, hand resting on the slope of her hip. "Only when you're being quiet," she replied, effortlessly keeping up with their banter. "Which, unfortunately, isn't often," Izzy shrugged innocently, smiling all the while. Kyoya called her attention away from the twins to remind her of her schedule. She was to spend most of her time with Haruhi for the day. She had a short break to do as she pleased and then she would spend time with Mori and Honey, which surprised her since she mostly hosted with Haruhi.
To prevent Haruhi from getting into the water and revealing her secret, Izzy and Haruhi volunteered to host the girls who couldn't swim or had a fear of swimming. She had no idea why these girls would bother coming to a waterpark if they weren't even going to get into the water but she decided to keep her snooty comments to herself. She was, after all, hosting and no snooty comments were to be made while doing so. All of her sour comments would have to wait until she was alone with the Host Club.
"Senpai, I don't think I can do it."
A half hour after they'd arrived, Izzy found herself in the pool, teaching some of the girls how to swim. Truth be told, she was a little surprised that most of the girls were even getting into the pool. It mostly had to do with Haruhi's natural coaxing even thought she couldn't join them. Instead the younger brunette was sitting at the pool with her feet dipped into the water, watching with their group of girls. "Oh, Suzumiya-hime, how can you be so sure?" Izzy mused, hands held out to the younger girl. "Fortunately, I can do it so I won't let you drown, okay?" she motioned for the girl's hands.
"I think we can trust her, Suzumiya-hime," Haruhi piped up helpfully. More gentle coaxing from the rest of the girls was able to get Suzumiya into the pool. Izzy was surprisingly very patient with teaching the girls how to swim, never losing her temper. They carried on like that before the girls left Haruhi and Izzy for refreshments. Izzy made sure to warn them that if they ate anything, they would need to wait thirty minutes before getting back into the water.
"So," Izzy heaved herself out of the water, plopping down next to Haruhi. "The rumor mill says that you're either afraid to get into the water because of some beach incident," the older brunette waved her hand fleetingly. "Or, you've got some nasty commoner's scar that you're ashamed of showing."
"Commoner's scar?"
"Yes, apparently they're different from a rich person's scar," Izzy replied around a grin. Haruhi and Izzy shared a laugh at that, unaware of the camera shuttering as Renge snapped a quick picture of them together. "Who's idea was it to even have a day at the waterpark anyway?" Izzy asked after a moment of stifling her giggles.
"Ozawa-senpai, I think."
"Ah, no wonder she's strutting around like a peacock," Izzy mused, motioning to the honey-blonde. Haruhi looked in her direction and stifled a laugh, shooting Izzy a look.
"Careful, Kyoya can hear everything," Haruhi reminded her. Badmouthing the girls was generally frowned upon, even if that particular girl wasn't too fond of Izzy.
"He does have freakish hearing," Izzy mused with an impish twinkle to her eye, leaning back on her palms. She was about to continue their conversation when Kyoya motioned for her. She slumped her shoulders and heaved a sigh. "I'm being a summoned," she climbed to her feet and waved cheerfully to Haruhi before setting off for Honey and Mori. "Are you going to spend the entire trip eating snacks, Honey-chan?" Izzy asked immediately in amusement, dropping into a squat next to Honey. "You'll never get into the water at this rate," she pointed out, reaching over to pinch his cheek affectionately. Honey smiled up at her, offering her a peanut-butter cookie. She politely declined, watching in amusement as he devoured the treat whole. His cheeks bulged comically as he managed to shove another cookie into his mouth.
"I think we're all content to sit with Honey-chan and Mori-kun," Hisa swiftly spoke up, smiling tightly. Izzy turned to stare at her, eyebrow quirked as she quietly regarded her. She knew she wasn't supposed to react to any of Hisa's snide comments but Hell if that girl didn't make it difficult.
"Oh, Ozawa-hime, that's barely any fun," Izzy said after a long moment, like she'd been contemplating on even acknowledging her in the first place. Honey shoved yet another cookie in his mouth, causing Izzy to chuckle at the display. She reached up yet again, this time to brush errant crumbs from his face. No one could stay in a bitter mood with Honey around, she was beginning to realize. Even she wasn't immune to his tricks.
"Do you like to swim, Berry-chan?" Honey asked cutely, earning soft coos from the girls. Izzy let him go, rolling backwards to sit next to Mori. She stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at the ankles and smiling contently.
"I do," she nodded serenely. She did a lot of swimming while growing up, mostly to keep up the strength in her legs. Even after she stopped dancing, she still made sure to go swimming at least twice a week. Unfortunately, she hadn't done much swimming since coming to Japan. "What about you, Mori?"
Mori shrugged an apathetic shoulder although it didn't seem to deter Izzy in the slightest. "Why don't you and Takashi race around the pool, Berry-chan?" Honey suggested innocently, reaching for another cookie. Izzy eyed the depleting container of cookies, wondering how he managed to devour so much.
"Race against Mori? The superhuman? How could that possibly be fair?" Izzy raised her eyebrows, glancing at Mori once more. He was bigger and a hell of a lot stronger than she was but she was more lithe and had more experience in swimming.
"There's no way that Giovanni could win against Mori-kun," Hisa piped up once more. Izzy almost glared at her, instead opting to smile tightly at her. No, it was obvious that Izzy couldn't win against him but now her stubborn nature was coming into play. And besides, who even asked her in the first place?
A scathing remark was forming on the tip of her tongue when Mori leaned towards her, knocking his shoulder into hers. She blinked, whipping her head towards him with a tight frown. There was a slight warning in his eyes, causing the bitterness to die back down her throat. "We need more snacks," he pointed out, standing up to his full height. Izzy craned her neck back, hair falling over her shoulders, and quirked an eyebrow at him. She wasn't sure who this 'we' was because it definitely wasn't her and she was positive the girls hadn't been snacking either. She was just about to tell him that when he reached down, hand circling her elbow to pull her to her feet. "Watch over the girls, Mitsukuni."
Honey cutely saluted, causing the girls to swoon. Izzy almost rolled her eyes but was tugged along instead, following after Mori. Something told her that Mori was more than capable of getting more snacks by himself but chose to bring her along to put some distance between her and Hisa. That girl had some weird vendetta against her and Izzy had no idea why. Hisa had been the one to initiate them getting off on the wrong foot with that ridiculous mafia comment she made.
She was a bit surprised to see not only snacks waiting to be handed out but several pitchers of what she assumed was lemonade. "You guys go above and beyond," she muttered quietly, reaching for a serving tray.
"Have you seen your cousin lately, Bera?"
Izzy paused in arranging the snacks to her liken, glancing at her taller classmate. She raised a brow once more, ready to tell him that she saw Fumiko daily, when she realized he wasn't referring to her. "Are you talking about Katsu?" she asked dumbly, reaching for the pitchers. Mori snatched the pitcher up before she could curl her fingers around the handle. He nodded when she looked at him, huffing in amusement when he pointed her attention back towards the snacks. "No, actually. I haven't seen him since the party. He's nothing to worry about," Izzy replied, shrugging her shoulders before lifting the lighter tray of snacks.
Mori followed suit, easily balancing the heavier tray of dish-ware. "Nothing to worry about?" he murmured softly, looking her right in the eye. He rested the tray on his shoulder, using his other hand to reach for her wrist. He wasn't hurting her but his grip on her was firm, reminding her of their odd but short conversation in Haruhi's kitchen. "He hurt you."
"Yes, but it's just Katsu...it's just…"
Just what? Why did she even bother trying to defend him? Her cousin had been completely out of line that night. If Mori and Honey hadn't shown up, whose knows how it could have escalated.
"In any case," Izzy pulled her wrist free, shaking her head. "I haven't seen him since then and I'm sure that will be the last time. I think you scared him," she shrugged her shoulders. She turned sharply after that, flattening her palm against the center of the tray. Mori watched her go, toffee curls bouncing against her tanned back and shoulders. Izzy was turning out to be more stubborn than anyone had realized. It was his turn to follow after her, easily catching up with her casual stride. "Girls," she sung goodnaturedly. "Let's have some lemonade and snacks, yes?"
The girls, except for Hisa, swooned at her display. The honey-blonde stubbornly folded her arms across her chest as Izzy showed off. She didn't understand why the other girls were so accepting of the brunette joining the Host Club. There was nothing particularly special about her. So she could dance and play instruments, so what? She wasn't even that good looking! Sure, her hair was big and curly and sunlight was trapped in her eyes but that didn't mean she had the right to just join the Host Club. Who on earth did she think she was?
"Ozawa-hime," Mori interrupted her thoughts, offering a sweating glass of lemonade. Her nasty thoughts immediately melted away, a smile replacing her blank expression as she took the offered drink. She didn't even mind when Izzy leaned over, offering Hisa a snack as well.
Well, if she hosted quietly, maybe she wouldn't be so bad.
TeeBeMe: Iz is still as stubborn as hell.