CHAPTER SEVEN: AS OF NOW, YOU ARE A HOSTESS
THIRD PERSON
Kato ends up being deemed the Rebel – especially after nearly kicking the shit out of Tamaki for his comment earlier. Reve is named the Self Confident, a more feminine version of the Cool Type, and Moriko is left with being the Angelic type, which is ironic considering that she was one of the ones laughing when Kato almost kicked Tamaki. She only failed due to the quick thinking of Hunny and Takashi. Nevertheless, they were all ready for the club to begin. At least, they thought they were. Yet as Moriko finds herself at a couch surrounded by a group of males, all of whom are acting as if she can't take care of herself due to being the Angelic type, she regrets ever coming into the Music Room in the first place. She knew that word would spread fast, but she is (slightly) impressed with how quick word got around about female hostesses being in the club. She doubted that she would even have one customer the first day – having close to five at once is almost hard to keep up with. Her head spins with each of them talking at once, each trying to out do the other. She can't even think for herself – nevertheless keep up with Kato's cursing over the mental link or Reve's berating snide remarks.
Just be quiet, she sends that thought out over the mental link, as strongly as she can, but it gets drown out by the bickering between her 'sisters.' Her head throbs, a painful headache starts to form that only gets stronger by the minute. She needs a break. She needs just a moment – just one moment – of peace. She abruptly stands, taking some of her customers off guard as they briefly reel back from her, looking at her with startled eyes.
"Let me get some more tea for all of you," she offers a bright smile that makes the boys shine. All of them are quick with their take your time, you lovely when you smile, aw how cute, comments.
She waits until her back is to them for the smile to drop from her face. The club has hardly begun and she is already tired as she makes her way to the tea cart set up on the other side of the room. She's glad no one can see the way she rubs her temples with a sigh. She needs some fresh air. She needs to feel dirty earth between her toes. She needs the quiet thoughts and peaceful air of nature. She's always wanted to visit Ouran's garden, from what she hears it's something to behold, and she wishes that she could just ditch the club and loose herself with the scent of flowers – real flowers whose roots she can feel hum beneath her feet, not the ones that are desperate to be free from confined pots and planters, suffocating from a lack of sunlight.
"It's pretty hard the first day."
Moriko jumps at the sudden appearance of Haruhi, yet Haruhi merely smiles as they begin making her own set of tea for her guests. They doesn't pause in their actions as they continue to speak.
"You get used to it after a while, and I'm just not just talking about the guests either."
Haruhi turns and glances over their shoulder toward the others hosts, a soft smile on their face that makes Moriko flush. She watches Haruhi watch the others with a sense of wonderment. There's something in Haruhi's expression that she knows all too well. It's the same sort of look that she shares with her sisters. It's that glance full of love, that sense of they're absolutely crazy but they're my crazy, that look of that's my family all right.
"I know that they can all be a lot to take in," Haruhi's voice is soft, "But they all mean the best."
They give a quiet chuckle and turns to Moriko. Moriko could bask in the warmth and light that comes from the other, it's beyond friendly and welcoming. Butterflies stir in her gut as Haruhi wishes her the best and leaves to tend to their guests. Moriko stares after her for a moment, her face a deep shade of pink, and wonders how often Haruhi visits the tea station.
Kato regrets a lot in her life, some being sins she cannot atone for, yet at the moment she regrets ever making that deal with Moriko. She is sure to make that, along with the fact that she finds this whole thing to be ridiculous and pointless, very clear over the mental link. Arguing with Reve over it while maintaining what she is doing has become as natural as breathing. Keeping as true to her word as she can to Moriko, she does her best not to snarl too much at the very few guests that she's managed to attract – she had more during the beginning to the club, but they were quick to find someone else to flaunt over. Apparently quite a few of the males are a bit intimidated by her. And they have every right to be, Kato huffs as she leans back in the seat.
"You look pretty strong for a girl," one of the guys comments, grinning as if it's supposed to be a compliment. Kato can't remember his name – to be fair, she didn't pay attention to any of the names that were given to her. But his physique suggests that he's on one of the sports teams, or at least works out frequently. He's quite larger than her and most of the other males – aside from Takashi, who she notes is watching the interaction carefully as if he suspects that she's going to do something.
Human men. Typical. Kato gazes at him sharply, "I am not 'pretty strong' for a girl. I look 'pretty strong' because I am."
The guy who made the comment stares Kato down. She doesn't budge, staring at him as if she's daring him to continue. Unfortunately (for him), he takes the challenge as he grins madly and leans forward, planting his elbow on the table in front of them. The others eye each other a bit more cautiously. Kato doesn't seem nearly as fazed as she returns the grin – though her smile causes the guy to almost falter and causes an unease among most of her guests. She grabs his hand in a strong hold that takes him off guard. She is vaguely aware of Reve's warning that comes through the mental link, a reminder to be human. She takes it upon herself to remind Reve that acting human doesn't mean she still can't beat him.
The guy at least doesn't seem as confident anymore and she, more than anything else, wants to end this quickly – to just slam his hand down as if it's nothing. But she knows that if she did that, she'd get a good chewing out from Reve. Besides, it doesn't hurt to have a little bit of fun. Her grip tightens briefly, just enough to send him a message – I'm stronger than I look and I am holding back. Judging from the way he swallows nervously, he got the message loud and clear.
"I'll do the count," one of her other guests – a female one – jumps up with a giddy grin. Her loud deceleration gets more attention from the other guests, causing a few of them to gather around to watch in curiosity.
Kato scoffs at the comments that whispers that go through the crowd about how she can't possibly expect to defeat them, that she's kidding herself for even trying. A few of the comments made by some of the girls catch her attention – 'I hope she teaches him the lesson he deserves,' 'I hate that creep, if she can defeat him do you think she'll teach me how to do it too?' Her grin turns a bit more vicious at some of the more explicit comments about what exactly this guy has done to some of the girls.
She was going to go easy on him, but as one of the girls started the countdown and it reaches zero, she has made the decision to bring him down a few pegs. She can feel him pushing against her hand with all of his might, but she doesn't budge. She lets out an exaggerated yawn, stretching out her free hand.
"Is that really all you got," she taunts, "I can't believe your team has won anything."
He pushes harder, growling at her comments as the crowd begins to whoop and holler. She grins viciously, unsurprisingly unimpressed with his strength. She waits a bit longer before she finally slams his hand down – hard. He lets out a yelp and falls to the fall, yanking his hand to his chest in a vain attempt to comfort it. For a moment, everyone is silent.
She's not sure which girl started to cheer first, but it doesn't take long before a majority of the crowd had joined in. She basks in the victory, pride causing her to puff out her chest. Reve lets out a shrill shriek through the mind link.
What the hell do you think you're doing?!
It takes almost an hour before Reve finally breaks off the mental link with the others. She wants to be able to communicate with them, should anything go wrong, yet she cannot take those comments from Kato any longer. Her little 'stunt' doesn't really help her headache either. Her patience, and her control over her physical form, is wearing too thin to deal with the cat. If she argues with the other girl any longer, she is sure that her form will start to fade away at the edges. She wonders how she could have ever thought of that angry, mangy, argumentative kitty as anything other than annoying. But wouldn't you just love for her take her anger out on you, a voice whispers in the back of her mind. Her heart picks up its beat and she swears she forgot how to breath, pounding you until your physical form fades into her as it clima – She shuts that part of herself down before it can spiral out of control again.
She wonders what's wrong with her today, what has changed between them – between her and Kato – that all of a sudden these feelings, these all too human feelings, are just rising up to a very dangerous level. She closes her eyes briefly and she can see with too much clarity, the first time she saw Kato, really saw her. Her dad said that God himself had poured gold into Sofia's eyes and as a child, believed him. Over time, she has realized that because he had loved her so dearly, that to him, that statement was nothing but the truth. She understands that much better now. The first time she had saw Kato, she met those eyes and unlike her stepmother's, Kato's eyes shined so brilliantly that she didn't think God had melted gold. No, God had poured the softer parts of fire into her eyes. Soft enough that there is a beauty and warmth to it, but it's strong enough to burn.
But when did that change? When she did she start to think of those eyes staring into her own with an intimate glare? When she did she start to dream of those hands picking her up and bringing her so close she can feel her warmth? She doesn't know. She has a near perfect memory and still can't pinpoint exactly when, and why, this all started. She had hit puberty before she had met Kato, she can't blame all of this on the hormones of growth. Maybe she can blame it on neglecting her personal desires for too long. Maybe this is all because she needs sexual release and it's manifesting itself in strange ways. Maybe her brother is wrong and it is solely sexual attraction.
She takes a deep breath and brings herself back to focus. Her customers – clients? Guests? - still haven't said too much to her. They are just sitting there with blank, awed looks on their faces. The ones that meet her eyes look away with flushed cheeks and muttered apologies. She wonders why she just had to get the most awkward bunch on her first day, but she supposes it's better than having ones that won't shut up. Her eyes flicker to Kyoya. He's supposed to be the male equivilant of her 'type.' Yet his guests don't seem awkward at all, they're all dripping with the eagerness of young crushes, flickering their eyelashes at him with hope. He smiles at them, but it seems that she's the only one who can see that it doesn't reach his eyes.
For a moment, he does look over at her. Unlike his guests, she doesn't blush or smile. She doesn't shyly wave at him or flutter her eyelashes. She meets his gaze coldly and evenly. She doesn't back down. She reaches out and gently nudges at his mind, wondering what it is that he is truly thinking – she knows that it's not of his guests. His eyes have a way of saying that he knows too much, that he knows more than anyone in this room. She knows that can't be as true as he believes it to be, but something still doesn't settle right. She knows that despite the club's antics being a cover for anything that unseal that may slip through, that if anyone could see them for what they are – what they can be – it would be him. There's an almost mutual understanding that passes between the two of them, as if he understands that he doesn't faze her in the slightest. He nods briefly, something that can pass of as a gesture of greeting, but she knows the truth. It is his way of telling her that, for now, everything between them is okay. That he isn't going to strike, that he doesn't see them as a threat.
But that doesn't change the fact that they're likely on thin ice. One wrong move is all it will take for him to question things too much, for him to push for answers that he doesn't need to know.
She needs to watch herself with him – they all do.
