"The bill for the uniform is going straight to him, Haruhi."
"Kyouya-senpai..."
"Unless, of course, you'll like to pick up the tab for him." Why did Kyouya-senpai had a sly grin on his face?
"...I'll do it." Exactly what I've predicted, thought the Shadow King.
"HUH?!" The twins and Tamaki couldn't believe their ears. Haruhi was willing to be in debt AGAIN because of a junior? The tearing blond grasped Haruhi's hands tightly.
"Haruhi, tell Otosan: Why are you doing this?"
"Tamaki-senpai, stop it!"
"Haruhi, has your obsession with otoro left you with a fever? What are you thinking," cried the twins.
Their chatter soon died down when the curtains parted. Kira Yamato stood before them, with roses blossoming around him in spite of his unease.
"Yamato-kun, Haruhi will help you pay for the uniform." The junior gave the girl a surprised look.
"Why, Haruhi-sempai?"
"Well, I'm a commoner too. Also, I was in debt to the Host Club last year..."
"Which means that she's used to owing the Club money. Anyway, isn't it better that you can take home your first pay cheque instead of spending it on the uniform?" The rest of the Club sweatdropped. Kyouya was indeed their merciless Shadow King. Anyway, while changing, Yamato had been thinking.
"Hani-sensei, are you related to Haninozuka Yasuchika-kun?" The loli-shota host hesistated for a moment. Kyouya added "Definitely dense" to Kira's profile.
"Hai. He's my younger brother." Despite his sad expression, Hani was proud of his brother's achievements, even though the two were not yet on speaking terms.
"EH?!?!" Haruhi felt it necesssary to explain the situation for the new-comer.
"Yasuchika-kun's not on very good terms with Hani-senpai, ever since Senpai joined the Host Club." Yamato remembered the day's Math lesson. His classmate had been evidently uncomfortable whenever Hani-sensei spoke, and Morinozuka Satoshi had been glaring at the blond to make him listen attentively. Guessing where Kira's thoughts were heading, Mori coughed.
"In case you're wondering, Satoshi's my younger brother." This time, Yamato's mouth fell to the floor. The energetic, talkative Satoshi had such a quiet brother? Haruhi whispered into her fellow commoner's ear.
"You get used to weird stuff here at the Host Club." Kira nodded his agreement.
"Well then, Yamato-kun, let me, the Host Club's King, teach you some tricks on hosting!" It was deja vu again for Haruhi as Suoh Tamaki showed the intricacies of using your little finger to reduce noise when you put a glass on the table. The "gazing up while having your head lowered" routine was also taught. Soon...
"Gentlemen, let us prepare for the ladies. I'll be awaiting your performance, Kira Yamato-kun!"
The Host Club's now open for business...
"Why did Kyouya-senpai put us together on my first day, Haruhi-senpai," whispered Kira nervously. Haruhi couldn't help but giggle at the boy's situation. Her mind returned to her first day as a host. At least, a joint hosting with Yamato was different from hosting with the twins; for one, he didn't play silly games. The two groups of guests had their gazes wandering between the two "natural rookies".
"Yamato-kun, are you a foreigner," asked a curious guest.
"Well, not exactly. My father's Japanese, but my mother's from Europe," replied the host politely.
"Yamato-kun, why did you join the Host Club?"
"..." Kira knew that he could not reveal his true reason for joining the club. His father's small transport company was struggling and he had wanted to work part-time to help his family. (Of course, he didn't really care about Ouran's rule of no part time jobs for students.) Haruhi sensed the unease in her partner...
"Would the ladies wish to have some more drinks?"
"Yes, please!" The boy heaved a sigh of relief as the fangirls squealed at Haruhi's "cuteness". Meanwhile, the rest of the Host Club had noted their latest member's progress.
"Two natural rookies together... Nice one, Kyouya-senpai," said Hikaru. Kaoru noted his brother's slightly sarcastic tone. If Kyouya had detected it too, he didn't talk about it.
"The fact that Yamato would work well together with Haruhi is to be expected. If we are to pay him more for his services to the club, we should help him with his client base," explained the vice-president. Regardless, Hikaru gave Yamato an unpleasant glare. Kaoru shook his head. Something bad's going to happen...
After Host Club hours...
The two commoners were placed in charge of the clean-up...
"Haruhi-senpai, arigato."
"Why are you thanking me, Yamato-kun?"
"Just now, you helped me with the guests. I really appreciate it."
"I know how it feels like. I was in your shoes last year." Haruhi smiled at her junior. Hitachiin Hikaru couldn't resist clenching his fists. He wanted to... His brother interrupted him.
"Hikaru, do you wish to be slapped again?" The Karuizawa incident last year came back to Kaoru.
"But..."
"We're second-year students now. Violence wouldn't solve anything." Kaoru's right. The elder twin decided to let it go, for now.
"Takashi, Hika-chan's jealous of Kira-chan, no?" As always, Hani realised what the problem was in an instant.
"I guess so."
"Tamaki?" Kyouya wanted his president to decide whether they should step in now.
"Yamato-kun's a member of the Host Club. I'm sure Hikaru's not so reckless as to hurt a fellow host. Let's wait and see." And that was final. Of course, the two commoners were completely oblivious to all these as they chatted away while doing their clean-up...
"Well, looks like we're done. Ja, see you tommorrow, Haruhi-senpai!" Haruhi's face blushed slightly as the brunette left the music room. Turning around, she was then surprised to see that Hikaru's face was absolutely livid.
"Hikaru, is something wrong?"
"... Nothing!" The twin forced himself to be calm even as he tried hard to walk out (not storm out) of the music room. Kaoru smiled nervously at Haruhi as he followed his brother. Haruhi shrugged her shoulders. Little did she realise that she was currently in the eye of a storm...
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!
-Trivia: In the anime, Hikaru was voiced by Suzumura Kenichi, who voiced Shinn Asuka in Gundam SEED Destiny, and Haruhi's voiced by Sakamoto Maaya (Lunamaria Hawke). In the early drama CDs, Hikaru was voiced by Hoshi Soichiro, who's also the voice of Kira Yamato, while Kaoru was voiced by Kenichi.