I own nothing but my own characters. Ouran High School Host Club belongs to Bisco Hatori.
Mami's inner thoughts
Multiple people saying the same thing
"You'll all be working with partners."
With just those six words, any anxiety that had left me over night had returned tenfold. The classroom bustled around me, people were shouting over each other making sure they got the partner they wanted. Desks were moved together, chairs moved closer.
"Kusumoto-chan, did you not hear me?" Hayashi-senpai, the stern English teacher, asked. My face felt like it was on fire as those around me laughed behind their hands. I mumbled an apology before looking around the room, secretly hoping that I had wasted enough time finding a partner and there would be no one left to pair up with. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't so lucky. There was just one person left. He sat in the back corner of the classroom, as far away from the windows as you could get. A large black cloak covered his entire body, the hood masking his face. The only color that was around him was a small yellow puppet shaped like a cat that rested on hid hand.
Well, at least I'm not the only weirdo in class. I got up and moved a free desk closer to him. He turned to look at me, moving the puppet at the same time. Dark eyes and slanted cat eyes stared as a grin appeared on his face.
"Nekozawa Umehito and this is Beelzenef." Both he and the puppet bowed their heads in greeting. I returned the bow awkwardly, not really sure how to properly respond to a greeting from a hand puppet.
"H-hi, I'm Kusumoto Mami."
"Alright class, I hope you picked your partners wisely, you'll be working together for the rest of the year on various projects. We'll be working heavily on public speaking." My heart dropped. Not only would I have to work with another person but also I would have to speak to the whole class in English. I hated talking to large groups of people unless I had an animal to carry the conversation. Without that safety blanket, I was a stumbling mess.
"However, today you will just be going over each other's introduction essays I asked you to write last week."
Nekozawa and I sat in an awkward silence as the rest of our classmates chatted around us, talking about the various things they had chosen to write about. He fiddled with the puppet on his hand as I silently gave him my essay. The assignment was simple, we just had to write about one of our childhood memories, I had chosen to write about the weeklong camping trip Ojiisan and I went on in the Amazon rainforest.
Nekozawa's essay was about casting his first curse and honestly, it was fascinating. Not only was it a beautifully written piece, he could have been writing about the history of calculus and I would still want to read it. But it also made me nostalgic for my family in Mexico. My great aunt was the village's shaman. She would use similar rituals in healing practices, perform cleansing rituals and even told fortunes. His essay made me wish I had paid more attention to her stories growing up.
"Nekozawa-san, you're an amazing writer." I said, placing the papers down on the desk. Compared to his essay, mine must of have looked like a fifth grader wrote it. He grinned again, his dark eyes peaking out from under his hood.
"Are you interested in black magic Kusumoto-san? Would you like to join the black magic club? Every new member gets a free Beelzenef doll." He was obviously very excited that someone was expressing interest in something he clearly loved. Beelzenef fidgeted faster on his hand. I recognized the movements because I was doing the same thing with my locket.
"I might visit sometime, Nekozawa-san." I felt like we started an odd kind of kinship in that moment.
I glanced up briefly before carefully putting the finishing touch on my sketch. The Ibis chicks had grown so much in just a week. The cherry blossoms softly shook in the breeze just adding to the relaxing environment. I tilted my head back, closing my eyes, enjoying the serene quiet of the pond.
"Oh, I'm sorry Kusumoto-senpai. I didn't know anyone would be here." Opening my eyes, I glanced to the side. Fujioka was standing there alone, bento in one hand and his bag in the other. "I was just looking to for somewhere quiet." I couldn't help but notice the look of annoyance that flickered across his face. I couldn't blame him. I felt like I was still trying to recover from the last time I was around the host club and that was nearly three days ago.
"It's okay Fujioka-kun, you can join me if you like." I offered him a smile and gestured to the open spot next to me. There was something about him that made me feel comfortable. He returned it and sat down.
"You can call me Haruhi, Kusumoto-senpai." His smile was so soft.
"Only if you call me Mami." He nodded and we settled into a comfortable silence. I continued to make notes and observations of the Ibis while Haruhi read from his English book. Looking up from my notebook, I saw him staring at it.
"Those drawings are very good, Mami-senpai." I could feel my ears getting warm, a little uncomfortable with the compliment. I thanked him and offered him my notebook so he could get a closer look. He flipped through the pages, turning each on carefully, reading every detail on the pages. The attention he took with each page, touched me. No one had ever taken such an earnest interest in my work before. "You really love animals. These truly are wonderful."
"Thank you." We sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. I turned to the freshman. "Haruhi-kun, you're the scholarship student that everyone is talking about right?" He nodded before I continued. "How did you end up with the Host Club? No offense, but they don't really seem like the kind of people you'd choose to hang out with." Haruhi was quiet and down to earth. He struck me as the kind of person that would much rather be spending their time in a library than chatting with girls.
"I broke a vase after I accidently stumbled into the host club room after looking for a quiet place to study.I'm hosting with the club to pay off my debt." I must have looked worried because he hurriedly continued. "I don't mind. A debt is a debt. It's my fault the vase broke so it's only fair I pay it back myself. Besides, its kind of fun talking to the girls."
"Haruhi-kun, can I ask you kind of a personal question?" Haruhi shrugged. "Is that why you're pretending to be a boy?" I instantly regretted asking. "I'm sorry! That's too personal! It doesn't really matter, you can be a boy if you're a boy. You don't have –" She lightly smacked the back of my head, snapping me out of my panicked rambling.
"It's okay Mami-senpai. Biologically, I'm a girl. It doesn't matter how people see me though. Boy? Girl? It's not important. It's what's inside the person that's important." She smiled sweetly. I understood why the girls liked her. Her doe like eyes tugged at the maternal instincts, making people want to protect her. Plus it just made her down right adorable. "How did you figure it out?"
"Your features are more feminine than the typical male, your mannerisms and your voice also helped." I paused for a second before continuing. "So you're keeping your true gender a secret so you can host and pay back your debt?" She nodded. "Well, you make a pretty boy so I think you're secret is safe. I mean, it's safe with me."
"Thanks Mami-senpai." She said with a small laugh, probably at my rambling again, before we went back to enjoying each other's company in a comfortable silence. Today was actually turning out to be a good day. Maybe not everyone at Ouran is bad.
I stood outside the doors to the third music room. I had watched the herd of girls enter minutes before, I should have just gone in with them. It would have been less awkward than just staring at a closed door.
My heart and mind were at war. I wanted to help my new friend but also didn't want to cause any unnecessary attention to myself. After I was forced to help out the host club, the few people that still made comments said behind my back were now shoving them in my face. They didn't like how seemingly close I was with the legendary host club, despite me trying to tell them it was a mistake. Then again, what if it wasn't worth it? I was hopeful that I could finish my last year of school without having to switch half way through but there was still a possibility that my parents would be called away on business again and drag me along. I don't want to leave Ojiisan alone though. Maybe-
"So you think she knows how to use a door, Kaoru?" I jumped with a small yell, and glanced to my right, coming face to face with the auburn haired teen with a wicked grin on his face.
"Maybe she forgot, Hikaru." To my left was a similar face with the same grin. One of the boys wrapped an arm around my shoulders while the other wrapped his around my waist before I could respond.
"Let us help you, senpai!" They spoke in perfect unison while opening the doors. "Look what we found." All eyes were on me; my stomach started doing flips and face felt like it was on fire. There were too many people here and nothing to distract me from that fact. It didn't help how close the twins were either.
"Welcome back, Kusumoto-san." Ootori walked up, black notebook in tow. He had his host club smile on as he greeted me before turning it to something slightly more sinister as he looked at the twins who were still hanging off of me. "Hikaru, Kaoru, you're late."
"We were just helping, Mami-senpai." Kaoru offered with a shrug.
"She looked lost so we helped." Hikaru said wrapping one of my curls around his finger. I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. I should have left when I had the chance.
"Hikaru, Kaoru. You have guests waiting." The boys let go of me with a huff. "Who would you like to designate as your host today, Kusumoto-san?" Kyoya's voice was calm and he was polite enough not to point out how much of a mess I was.
"Haruhi." I somehow managed to squeak out, my heart still pounding. He wrote something down in his notebook before gesturing to the open space near Haruhi. I scurried over, burying myself in the plush chair.
"Thank you for coming, Mami-chan. You didn't have to." Haruhi said quietly, leaning over toward me. Relief washed over me, she was happy I came.
"I wanted to help." We shared a smile.
"Mami-Senpai! It's so good to see you in the Host Club again." Suoh rushed over, putting an arm around my shoulders. "I see you've taken a liking to our natural host, Haruhi." My ears starting getting hot again before Haruhi saved me.
"Senpai, leave her alone. Don't you have your own costumers?" She went back to talking with the other girls, serving all of us tea, ignoring Suoh who was sulking in the corner after she ignored him. I sat silently, sipping on my sweetened tea. Haruhi didn't force me to join into the conversation, which I was grateful for. Instead, I found myself falling into the habit of observing people.
Haruhi was simply talking to the girls, giving them the occasional genuine compliment making them all smile and blush. Suoh had a flare for the dramatic. He was like a Bird of Paradise doing an elaborate mating dance but it looked like he enjoyed what he was doing and all of his compliments seemingly came from the heart. I think he genuinely found every girl beautiful. The twins were clinging to each other making all the girls around them swoon with brotherly love. Hikaru, I assumed remembering which way his hair was parted when they had dragged me inside, was more dominate, louder and brash. Kaoru followed his brother's lead but he seemed to think things through a bit more than his twin.
Ootori wasn't acting as a host today apparently. He sat alone at a table, typing away quickly on his laptop, a cup of tea sat next to him untouched. Honey was on his fifth slice of cake since I had entered the room, I couldn't help but smile thinking about how he would give Ojiisan a run for his money. Morinozuka sat quietly next to him, almost like a bodyguard. The girls squealed when he bent down to wipe Honey's face clean.
"Kusumoto-sempai?" I snapped back to reality and looked at the girl to my left. Her long dark hair fell in gentle waves around her face. She smiled at me sweetly, calming the sudden rush of anxiety. "When will you be bringing more animals to the host club? I loved getting to see an actual monkey up close."
"Oh, um..."
"What a brilliant idea princess!" Suoh suddenly appeared behind the couch the girl was sitting on. She blushed as he gave her a kiss on her hand in thanks. He just as quickly made his way on top of the table, somehow avoiding all of the delicate china that lay on the table. "The host club will have animal encounters featuring Mami-senpai!" Suoh pointed dramatically at me. A few girls in the room clapped in agreement.
"Unfortunately, that's the end of our club activities today. I do hope to see you lovely ladies here tomorrow." Ootori interrupted Suoh's declaration with such ease. I couldn't help but wonder how often the dark haired boy had to do this. The girls were slowly making their way out of the room, I quickly gathered my belonging and went to join the crowd, hoping to make an escape, only to be stopped by the twins grabbing my arms.
"Not so fast Mami-sempai."
"Tono needs to talk to you." They forced me back on to the plush couch. Ootori waited until the last guest had left before pinching the bridge of his nose. From what I had gathered he was the kind of person who liked to be in control of everything that was going on in the club. Which must have been hard given Suoh's impulsive personality.
"Tamaki, what did I say about making decisions without talking to me first?"
"But Kyoya." Suoh whined dramatically, falling to his knees begging to his classmate. "You can't deny it's a good idea. It's what the guests want."
"Don't I get a say in this?" I mumbled mostly to myself. Unfortunately the blonde heard me and practically flung himself at my feet.
"Mami-senpai, won't you help us to make girls happy with the magic of animals?" He grabbed my hands, as his violet eyes seemed to bore into my soul.
"Mi-chan, you should do it! Then we could have cake together!" Honey joined me on the couch with a bounce, also looking up at me sweetly. Between the two of them it was getting harder and harder to say no. My stomach twisted at the thought of disappointing the two boys at my feet.
"I don't really have a choice do I?" I could barely hear myself over my heart beating in my ears. At this rate, I'm going to die of heart failure.
Suoh grabbed my hands, pulling me up from the couch, and swung me around in a circle. Honey joined the celebration, jumping around us chanting about eating cake with a new friend. What am I thinking? My own 'fan club' was not going to like this. Not one bit.
Author's note
First off, Thank you all so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews. It made me so motivated to push through my current writer's block. Now, I know I said I'd leave it up to the majority for which pairing I went with (Tie as of when this is posted) but I've made the decision to make the official pairing Mori/Mami. Years ago when I first started thinking of story that's who I always imagined Mami ending up with. I have a new found love for Kyoya so I was tempted to pair him up with my OC but I don't think it would be as of a good relationship as Mori/Mami. I don't feel like Mami would challenge Kyoya enough, the only time she shows some backbone (at least for now) is when the safety of animals are involved. Otherwise, she's just an anxious mess. I do have another story brewing staring my favorite Shadow King but I'm not going to start that until this one is finished. I'm sorry if this decision upsets any of you but I hope you continue to like the story anyways.
Also I realized Nekozawa was in class 3B so I had to give him a bigger part in the story. I took some liberties with his character by also giving him anxiety in a classroom setting. I can't believe he would be comfortable sitting in a bright classroom for the majority of the school day. Plus he'll work into the story later as well. While, I'm not personally Mexican. I did live in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood where there were shaman shops on the corner and my neighbors frequently talked about going to see these healers for everything from talking to their dead relatives to getting assistance in pregnancy. While this may not be the case everywhere, I'm writing about what I know. (Don't worry, Mami isn't suddenly an expert in Black Magic, she just has passing knowledge of it.)
Please continue to review and let me know what you think! The next chapter is probably my favorite one that I've written so far but that's just because I have a soft spot for Tamaki. Stay tuned and thank you all once more for the support!