Author's note: Welcome to chapter 6, Dear Reader! I'm still in shock that Puck and I have gotten so much wonderful feedback. And I'm beyond thrilled about it! You're all amazing, thank you for reading!
As always, I own the rights to NOTHING Ouran-related. Comments and PMs are always welcome, and much appreciated! Please, let me know what you love, what you hate, suggestions, way I can improve... Anything!
Enjoy the latest installment!
-The next day-
True to their word, Robin spent most of the day doing a great deal of nothing exciting. They helped feed the animals, paying special attention to the extremely-pregnant Windsong. They couldn't shake the odd feeling they had about the mare, but couldn't figure out what caused it. She was in perfect health, wasn't acting skittish or strange, and gave no outward signs of anything amiss. They shrugged to themself. After giving her a thorough grooming, they wandered out of the barn, enjoying the sunshine.
They stopped their meandering to gather the fresh eggs from the small chicken coop, deciding to bring them to the kitchen themself. Once the eggs were washed and put away, they grabbed a few snacks and headed back out into the garden. Stretching out on a blanket on the grass, they nibbled on some fruit and re-read one of their favorite books, quickly losing themself in the epic fantasy world.
The calm was only broken hours later. Their phone went off, Haruhi's ringtone shattering the quiet and causing them to shriek in momentary alarm. Quickly recovering and laughing at themself, they answered with a grin.
"Hey kitten, how'd it go? ... Oh yeah? ... ... God, tell me someone got pictures! ... Cissy is such a dolt... ... Seriously? Jesus, no way. ... Ohh, yeah, that makes sense. ... He did what?! That pervert! Want me to break his hands? ... Aww, you're no fun. ... Aye, that's true enough, I suppose. ... Well of course I'll be there. I wouldn't skip out without a good reason. ... No way, it was a perfectly good reason! ... You're so mean, Haru, no fair. ... Yeah, alright, see you tomorrow."
-A few days later-
Robin looked at themself in the mirror and made a rude face. They still weren't sure about this cosplay. At least it's not as hectic as Cissy's or the gingers'. Thank God it's not meant to be as revealing as theirs, either. How's a person supposed to do anything productive with Mori-senpai's chest on view like that? They shook their head roughly, dispelling that particular thought with force, and turned back to the mirror. Their kimono was a solid bottle green, with a silver obi. A faint, nearly-invisible pattern of shamrocks and sakura blossoms covered the very bottom portion of the kimono, which made them grin slightly to themself despite their vague discomfort.
They took a matching bottle green ribbon and tied their long silver locks into a low side-swept tail. Then they added a small, iridescent sakura hair clip to the opposite side. Taking one last deep breath, they left the change room to join the other Hosts. And promptly regretted it, as Tamaki's shrill squeal echoed through the room.
"Magnificent! Absolutely marvelous!"
"Button it, Cissy."
He rushed off to mope in his corner, much to the delight of the twins. The duo gave Robin thumbs-up and dashed over to torment the pouting blonde. Robin groaned quietly and rolled their eyes. It was going to be another long day in Host Club. Why did I agree to this bullshit, again? They sighed softly and wandered over to apologize to the melodramatic Frenchman. Again.
Several hours later, the last of the girls had finally trickled out. Robin yawned and stretched, rolling their neck. Then they noticed the twins speaking with a new girl, and Tamaki hurrying over as well. Their jaw fell open in shock when the girl smacked him in the face and proceeded to fling insults at him. Nice! You tell him, lass!
As the hyper girl introduced herself, squealing and babbling happily about her "beloved fiancee, Kyoya", they rolled their eyes and shook their head lightly. This Renge person seemed beyond obsessed with some silly dating game, and had deluded herself into thinking Kyoya was the real-life version of the main character. Like anyone would wanna date that Snape-wannabe.
After finally managing to get themself out of the kimono -it had really been too long since they'd worn one- they returned to the room just in time to see the twins teasing Haruhi. Apparently, Renge had tried to bake cookies. They watched quietly as Tamaki scolded the first-years, only to get bluntly rebuffed by Haruhi. As always.
A little tremor of apprehension raced up their spine suddenly, and they mentally slapped themself before turning their attention back to the little otaku. Lukewarm? Dark side? Are we video game characters now? They tried very hard to be invisible as Renge demanded everyone change their images, save Kyoya, who was "perfect" of course. But alas, the idiot King tripped over them as he stumbled past, mumbling about being a "lonely prince" or some such nonsense. Renge's eyes lit up at her new target, and Robin swallowed thickly.
"And you! Just who are you, and why didn't you make yourself known before?!"
Bollocks. Ah, well. Might as well go for it. They hitched one shoulder in a shrug, then sauntered over, offering the girl a feral little grin. They lightly grasped her chin and tilted her face up, catching her eager gaze as they spoke playfully.
"Forgive me, a mhuirnín, I was far too entranced to say anything earlier. Watching the way you handled Tamaki was... thrilling."
They winked slyly, grinning at the blush and slight tremor from the honey-blonde at their words. They ran the back of their knuckles lightly down her pink-tinged cheek as they continued.
"My name is Robin Kelly, but you, mo bonphrionsa, can call me Puck."
"Ohh... You're nearly perfect! So exotic! So romantic!"
She squealed and clasped her hands to her heart, smiling broadly. Robin felt another little shiver of something that could almost have been fear. They took a single step backward, keeping a keen eye on her.
"But you need some trauma, as well. Some dark back story."
They snorted out a laugh and shook their head.
"Doll-face, my past is tragic enough without you embellishing it."
"What? What do you mean by that?"
They shook their head again; they weren't about to tell this crazy otaku about all that. Especially when they hadn't told their friends yet.
"Nothing to worry over, just thinking out loud."
Over the next couple of days, Renge drafted a script, brought in a Hollywood movie crew, had sets built, and God-only-knows what else. Robin could only watch in awe and no little shock. Tamaki and the twins had just finished up their rain-drenched scene, and they watched from their position for their own cue, pointedly ignoring the way they shivered in the tepid rain.
Haruhi ran past Tamaki and blindly struck a tree, sliding down the trunk to cower and hopefully catch their breath. But no such luck could be had. At the sound of footsteps, Haruhi whirled around, eyes widening as the third-years approached.
"You can't run away forever. I'm gonna show you what happens to anyone who crosses me."
"Don't do it, Mitsukuni. You should have realized by now that whenever you hurt others, you're really just hurting yourself."
"I didn't ask you for any advice. Want me to put you over my knee again?"
Honey turned back to the first-year scholarship student.
"It really pisses me off when people don't know their place."
Robin leapt from the tree they had been perched in, a snort of derision splitting the air. They straightened and stood between Honey and Haruhi, sneering down at the third-year.
"Leave Fujioka be, Haninozuka-senpai. He's done nothing to you."
"No one asked your opinion, you freak. Get lost, or you'll get the same as him."
They two glared silently at each other, tension mounting as neither backed down. Which lasted for all of seven seconds before Honey's eyes grew large and watery. He broke down an instant later, flinging himself at Robin and Haruhi with a little wail. He hugged them both tightly, apologizing profusely.
"Cut! Stay on-script!"
"I can't! I can't be mean and say such hateful things to Haru-chan and Robin-chan!"
"Awww. Don't be upset, Honey-senpai. It's just part of the script, Haru and I know you're too nice to really act that way."
They glanced around to make sure no one was too close, then grinned at Honey. Lowering their voice, they leaned in just a bit.
"Although, you could totally put me over your knee any time you want."
The little wink and teasing tone of voice dried up Honey's tears instantly. He burst into surprised laughter and blushed hotly. A quiet chuckle behind them caused them to yelp and whirl around, only to stare in shock Mori's sly little grin. Their cheeks colored in embarrassment, and they grew flustered, stammering and attempting to apologize. But Mori just nodded lightly and patted them on the head. A relieved sigh fell from their lips, and they let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding, barely registering the twinge of pain under their ribs.
The trio made their way over to where Haruhi and the twins were gathered. The first-years had evidently been talking -rather, complaining- about the script, and they caught the tail-end of the conversation.
"-trays Kaoru as the pitcher?"
"Yeah."
"Pitcher?"
Robin snickered at Haruhi's confused innocence, then paused to study the twins for a moment. They nodded after a second or two, grinning mischievously at the gingers.
"That's easy. It's because he totally is."
The completely gobsmacked look on Hikaru's face caused them to burst into bright laughter, ending with them gasping for breath after a minute. The hot-headed twin scowled and grumbled the whole time, but Kaoru seemed almost...pleased. They continued to giggle as Renge called Haruhi over to film a new scene, but their mirth was cut off as a shiver of apprehension danced up their spine.
They followed Haruhi as nonchalantly as possible, wondering why they felt such unease. Renge and Haruhi were standing with two tall and intimidating-looking guys that seemed vaguely familiar. Robin couldn't hear the conversation as they approached, but the bad feeling ramped up immensely. They burst into a run as one of the guys shoved Renge, knocking her into Haruhi. Both girls fell into a pile of set pieces and lighting rigs, causing Haruhi to cry out quietly in pain. With a low growl, Robin pounced on the assailant. They knocked him to the ground and pinned him, clenching his collar in tight fists as they snarled at him.
"Just who the hell do you think you are, cúl tóna? You think it's ok to just shove people like that?"
"Puck-senpai, it's not what you think."
They whipped their head around to Haruhi, shocked by the brunette's words. Before they could answer, however, they were shocked even further. The delinquent beneath them gasped.
"Puck? Puck Kelly? Oh shit, oh shit..."
They let him up, confusion clearly evident on their face as their eyes darted between the thugs and the girls. Haruhi seemed just as confused, though she didn't seem to be injured. Robin breathed a tiny sigh of relief at that, then turned back to the suddenly afraid guys.
"Man, we had no idea that girl was friends with you, Kelly-san! We didn't know, honest!"
A light bulb went on in Robin's brain, and they groaned quietly, covering their face with one hand for a brief moment.
"Let me guess, my cousin's gone around giving out warnings?"
"Yeah. Yeah. We wouldn't have done anything if we'd known you were in on this, man, honest. Don't hurt us!"
They rolled their eyes and scrubbed their hand down their face. Damnit, Red, I'm so kicking your arse the next time I see you. This is bullshit. They sighed quietly and assured the duo that they were safe. For now. The two took off running immediately, and Robin turned back to Haruhi, only to jerk back in surprise when they noticed the entire Host Club had arrived. They gulped audibly, racking their brain frantically for some innocent-sounding explanation. But they needn't have bothered. A resounding crash sounded behind them, and they whirled around to see Kyoya holding a rock. He had broken the camera's lens and effectively taken all the attention off of them.
"I'm sorry, but we can't have record of any Club member engaging in violence."
Well thank Christ for that. They watched quietly as Kyoya scolded Renge for being a pest, then Haruhi and Tamaki trying to convince the silly otaku that Kyoya was not the Miyabi character she had deluded herself into thinking. They shook their head lightly and wandered off, sneezing and then growling. Great, now I gotta deal with getting sick on top of all the other shit. Wonderful...
-Several Days Later-
Robin rubbed their eye and sniffed quietly. They were feeling increasingly lousy, but they had dragged themself to school anyway. Seamus had not been pleased, but they were adamant about not missing class for a simple cold. They just wouldn't tell their darling brother that they were fairly certain it wasn't just a simple cold anymore. They groaned softly and pressed their head against the desk, sighing in relief at the feel of the cool wood against their heated skin.
Despite everything, they really did try to pay attention to their lessons. They picked their head up and kept it up as long as possible, struggling to keep their focus on Sensei. They were just so tired, but there was no way they would allow themself to fall asleep in class, surrounded by people they barely knew. Besides, every time they sniffled or coughed or sneezed -or even breathed, it felt like- there was a sharp twinge of pain.
They finally gave up at lunchtime. Ignoring the students headed to the refectory, they found themself shuffling down the corridor to Music Room #3. They figured it would be empty this time of day, and they could get a little rest there before trying to struggle through the afternoon classes.
It took two tries to open the suddenly-heavy doors, and Robin was briefly grateful that they weren't assaulted with rose petals. They often wondered why that seemed to be so popular. But at the moment, they were just trying to concentrate long enough to make their way to one of the surprisingly comfortable sofas. The sofas that somehow seemed to keep moving farther away... And when did the air get so very thick? Uh oh... Danger, Will Robinson...
AN2: Oh no! What is happening to Puck?! Will they be alright? *evil laughter* Why were those guys so freaked out when they discovered Puck's identity, what warnings did their cousin give, and just WHO is this cousin anyway? Why is Puck so adamant about staying away from hospital-y stuff? Stay tuned for all these answers and more, poppets!
