Mami's inner thoughts

Flashback

People saying the same thing at the same time.

I don't own anything but my own characters.

For the first time since I started at Ouran, I came to school with a smile, on a Monday no less! I felt lighter; the weight of shouldering my stress was gone thanks to my newest friend. Tamaki and I ended up spending the rest of the weekend texting each other, with him coming over again the next night for dinner. He had invited me over tonight with the promise of providing some traditional French cuisine. It felt good going to school knowing I had friends to look forward to. Maybe Monday's aren't that bad.

"Did you have a good weekend Kusumoto-senpai?" My gait faltered at the voice. Kyoya was leaning against one of the pillars. He stood up gracefully and tucked the little black notebook he was previously reading from into the jacket pocket of his uniform. The familiar smile didn't reach his eyes. Despite that I kept the smile on my face, still riding the high of the weekend.

"It was very nice, thank you. Please call me Mami, Kyoya-san, there's no need to so formal when we'll be working together."

"Of course, Mami-senpai." Again with the fake smile. "That's actually want I wanted to discuss with you. Would you meet me in Host Club after the last bell? There are things we need to discuss about this arrangement"

"Of course." He said a polite goodbye and headed off into the 2nd year wing. I watched his back and couldn't help but wonder how Tamaki and him became friends. I was pulled out of my thoughts by a hand grabbing my arm in a vice grip.

"Looks like the konketsujiis still trying to get close to those above her social status." My heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice. Matsuura Chiharu. Her long brown hair laid flat against her back, a sneer on her face was almost as fierce as the look in her eyes. Her lackeys flanked her on either side, their arms crossed with similar looks of disgust. They were all in 3D class and were the main source of my harassment. From what I had gathered from other students whispering and their comments toward me, they were all from families of local yakuza and they hated that a 'half-breed' was in a higher class than them. Unfortunately for me, my family didn't hold enough influence to discourage them, so their harassment has been slowly escalating.

I twisted my arm out of her grasp and without a word and tried to walk away. The two lackeys quickly blocked my pathway.

"Chiharu-senpai was talking to you."

"No one walks away from, Chiharu-senpai." I clutched my bag tighter and tried not to show how nervous I actually was, it would only encourage them.

"No, let the dirty half-breed go. We have some surprises planned for her later. She'll know her place soon enough." Her smile sent shivers down my spine. I wasted no time pushing past them and racing to the safety of my homeroom. I take back what I said about Mondays.

"Mami-senpai, you're late." Haruhi looked up from her book as I made my way closer the same spot we had lunch previously. "What happened to your dress?" She eyed the large dark paint stain on the front.

I cautiously looked outside the classroom after the first bell. Chiharu's threat had me on edge. My next class was just three doors down so I had waited until the last possible minute to leave the safety of the classroom. There was no one in the hall. If I walked quickly I would still be on time. Something wet hit me in the chest, making me stop in my tracks.

I blinked a couple of times before I registered what had happened. Brown paint was slowly dripping down clashing with the yellow of my uniform. The girl, who had jumped out of the doorway, sneered at me.

" Chiharu-senpai was right, that is a much better color on you." Well this is definitely a step up from her shoving me into the wall or tripping me.

"Oh sorry, I spilled some paint in art class so I tried to clean it up, it didn't work out too well." I lied easily with a small chuckle.

"You should be more careful, senpai. Mix some dish soup with warm water, that should get it out." She scolded me before turning back to her book.

"Thanks, Haruhi-chan." My stomach was doing flips again. I felt guilty lying to my friend but this was my problem not hers. This wasn't the first time I had been bullied. It happened every once and a while, I was always the new girl, I either had an accent or didn't speak the language a lot of the time, or I just stuck out like a sore thumb. Not really fitting in anywhere. I found that most of the time the bullies would get bored if I didn't react.

"How was your weekend, Haruhi-chan?" She shrugged.

"It was okay. There was a great sale on beef this weekend." A small smile graced her lips. She got this dreamy look in her eyes before her thoughts went elsewhere and she remembered something. "I have dancing lessons all this week though."

"Tamaki-kun was telling me about it. It seems like it's going to be a grand party."

"Will you be coming, Mami-Senpai?" I looked down at my hands, picking at a cuticle.

"I don't think so, I don't really like crowds." She just nodded with an understanding look on her face. If she wasn't bribed with the ootro, I'm sure the younger classman would be spending the next weekend studying.

"Hello Kyoya-san, I hope you weren't waiting long." I rushed up to the raven-haired boy after closing the third music room door behind me. Kyoya glanced up from his notebook. He immediately quirked eyebrows in a silent question as he eyed the ugly brown stain on my dress. "Oh this? I tripped in art class and spilled paint on myself. So what do we need to discuss for the Host Club?" I tried to change the topic as quickly as possible. His eyes made me uncomfortable. It was like he could see into my soul. Luckily, he didn't question it; he set his notebook down and instead turned to his laptop that sat ready on the table.

"First, I want to ask if this is something you think you'll be able to do." He moved his cold eyes from the screen to mine. "It'll be no use to discuss anything further if you don't think you'll be able to host."

He was giving me a way out, I wasn't surprised that Kyoya had taken noticed of my uneasiness around people; I was surprised that he would be concerned about my feelings. Or maybe he was just concerned about wasting valuable time on this pet project of Tamaki's. I thought I would be happy to have an escape. I wouldn't have to worry about Chiharu and her lackeys, in fact, agreeing to do this would probably make it worse before it got better. But, I felt my heart sink at the thought.

"I'll be okay." I couldn't bring myself of look him in the eye. "I want to help Tamaki-kun out." I was surprised at how truthful I was being, not only to him but also to myself. I could feel his gaze on me for a few more heartbeats before it vanished.

"With the frequency that the Host Club will be using your families services, I was hoping we could come to an agreement. As we will be using your services frequently, two to three times a week, I think a discount could be reached." I motioned for him to show me the numbers on his laptop, which he slid over to me. I felt some of the uneasiness from before fade.

"How does the club make money?" I asked, taking my time looking over the well-organized portfolio.

"We host auctions of various items from the hosts, as well as selling photo albums."

"We could hold auctions for the customers to request a specific animal every few weeks. 3% of those profits should be enough to cover my expenses." I slid the laptop back over toward Kyoya, thankful that I had some business experience under my belt from opening the rehabilitation centers with Ojiisan. "I'd waive the transport and instructor fee. The only thing that would have to be covered would be caring for the animals."

"2% should be enough to cover that. And we'll encourage the guests to donate to a charity of your choice for that day. And I won't charge you for the cosplay rentals."

"Wait, I have to cosplay with you?"

"You'll be a member of the Host Club when you're doing the animal encounters. As I've said before, we strive to make the theme as immersive as possible. That includes you participating in-group cosplay when necessary. You'll also be expected to participate in any outside club activities. It's important that the club be a unified force." His eyes had a spark to them; I could tell he was actually enjoying the negotiations.

"Okay. That sounds fair to me, as long as the minimum is met by the 2%. If not, the club will pay out the difference. Now, I want to have final say on what animals are brought in. I'll try to accommodate any requests I get but I get veto power for any animal I deem too dangerous. I'm sorry but trying to bring an adolescent tiger into a small music room is not going to happen." Kyoya's eyes showed a brief flash of annoyance before he pushed his glasses up, blocking my line of vision.

"I agree, Tamaki doesn't always think things through."

"Also I'd like to request that there be no more than three animals in a single day, I can do four on occasion but I can't do anymore unless I get some help."

"We can just alternate what hosts will have animal encounters, that won't be a problem." He typed on his computer briefly before looking back at me. "I would like to continue to have a meeting this time every Monday to discuss that weeks animals." I nodded in agreement and he typed some more. "Anything else before we sign this business contract, Mami-senpai?"

"I would like the Host Club's help in advertising any events that the rehabilitation center or animal shelter may put on. I'll participate in the outside club events as long as I don't have to come to the club if I'm not doing an animal encounter." I waited while Kyoya typed away on his laptop.

"That sounds reasonable." I couldn't help but grin.

"You've got yourself a deal, Kyoya-san." We put the finishing touches on the business contract. We discussed briefly the animals I would be bringing in for the first official animal encounter. Kyoya had already figured out which hosts would be hosting the animals first in order to bring in the most profit. He seemed excited at the prospect of being able to sell photos of the hosts with cute animals. I glanced at the clock. I had about five minutes before everyone else showed up.

"Oh before you leave Mami-san." He pushed his glasses causing the signature glare. "I hope you know how to dance." In my thought process of gaining the ability to get some rest from the host club during the week, I had forgotten about the dance. I hung my head, silently cursing myself for being so careless.

"Mi-chan, what happened to your hand?" The small blonde looked at my bandaged hand as if it hurt him to see me hurt. I gave him a light smile and continued walking with him and Mori toward the cafeteria. They had showed up at my classroom after the lunch bell rung, insisting that I join them for lunch.

"Oh, I was helping to cook breakfast this morning and the knife slipped. It's a minor cut, nothing to worry about." Honey looked at me for another second with a frown on his face before it disappeared and he talked about what sweets he was going to have for lunch. In reality, the cut was pretty bad and my hand was throbbing slightly. The nurse said I was lucky I didn't need to have stitches. I had done my best to avoid Chiharu and her gang yesterday, unfortunately I was reward with razor blades being hidden in my desk this morning. Eventually, they would get tired and find some other person to torture; it's just a matter of time.

I could feel eyes on me as I followed them into the cafeteria. Chiharu started to make her way toward me but stopped when Honey bounced back to me, grabbing my undamaged hand, pulling me to the table. Her eyes darkened but she sat back down. Never taking her eyes off me. I tried my best to not look in her direction and smiled at the other hosts in greeting. Haruhi looked relieved to see me and shrugged the twins off of her shoulders, ignoring them completely.

"I didn't know you were so clumsy, Mami-senpai." She eyed the bandages causing all eyes to turn to me.

"I was just a little distracted making breakfast. I'm just nervous about today." At least this time it was only half a lie, I was incredibly nervous. Today was the first day I'd be presenting animals for the host club officially. Between the stress of the club, the dance and the bullying, I felt like I was going to pass out. Tamaki rushed over, wrapping me into a tight hug.

"Don't worry, Mami! You're going to be wonderful and all the girls will be so happy to see what friends you have brought us!" I laughed and pulled him off of me. His overwhelming positivity was comforting; he had enough faith in me for the both of us.

"You'll be great, Mi-chan! You know everything about all the animals." Honey cheered. Mori ruffled my hair with a slight smile, nodding in agreement. A rush of confidence filled me, they were all counting on me and they all believed in me. Most importantly, Ojiisan believed it me. He had gotten so excited when I told him about the deal I had made with the Host Club. I felt even more determined to focus on making this the best Host Club yet. I brought out Ojiisan's book and my bento from my bag and engrossed myself in studying over his notes.

"Thank you, I've got it from here." I waved the workers out of the third music room and surveyed the cages. I flipped through the paperwork and paused. I can make this work. We just need to switch some things around.

"Kyoya-san. I need to do a minor change in the animal arrangements." He turned his attention from his laptop to look at me. The glare off his glasses hid his eyes from view. The rest of the hosts were sitting nearby, the room all ready prepared for that days activity. "The original animal that was going to be with Tamaki was sick so they sent a replacement. I have to put that one with Haruhi and ask that the rest of hosts keep their distance while I have the animal out of the cage."

"And why can't Tamaki host with it?" Kyoya asked in tone that suggested that he wasn't happy about the last minute change.

"Ami-chan has some behavior issues but she'll be fine as long as I place her with Haruhi." I fidgeted with the papers in my hands. Honey looked at me, head tilted to the side.

"Do you know that Haru-chan is a girl, Mi-chan?" I slowly nodded. The tear stained face of Tamaki quickly replaced the small blonde's grinning one.

"You knew and didn't tell me?"

"To be fair, you didn't tell me either." Tamaki dramatic threw himself into the corner, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was looking at him. The twins quickly went over to harass him, saying that I figured it out quicker than he did. Haruhi wasn't kidding when she said they would be dramatic.

"You do realize you have to keep this a secret, Mami-senpai?" Kyoya's voice was cold but he had a smile on his face. I nodded, honestly too scared to do anything else. Tamaki had told me about Kyoya's secret police. "Good, I'd hate to add to Haruhi's debt for loss of revenue." The brunette frowned and mumbled about how unfair that was under her breath. "Tamaki, club is about to start can you please compose yourself?"

"But Mommy, my sister knew about my daughter and didn't tell me!"

"Sister?" Hikaru appeared on my right wrapping an arm around my waist while another arm made it's way around my shoulders.

"I guess that makes you our Aunt." Kaoru said from my left, his grin matching his brother's.

"And our new toy." Kaoru ran his hands through my short dark hair almost as if he was assessing it.

"Did you get gum stuck in your hair too Mami-senpai? Though you do have a more feminine cut than Haruhi."

"And you're skin tone is so much warmer than our usual models." Hikaru brought my good hand close to his face before rubbing his cheek to my palm. I could feel my ears getting red from all the attention. Hikaru and Kaoru shared a grin over my head.

"Say, Mami-sempai. Do you have a dress for the dance yet?" Kaoru twirled one of my curls around his finger.

"I-I was just going to wear something from my closet." Hikaru clutched his chest and dramatically leaned on me.

"Can you believe this, Kaoru? Wearing a dress for a second time." He clucked his tongue as his twin shook his head.

"Like she's a commoner." Haruhi muttered under her breath.

"Let us find a dress for you!" I was at a loss for words as their faces got closer to mine. I simply nodded, hoping that would be enough for them to back off.

"No! This is a good thing! With Mami-senpai around Haruhi will realize she's a girl." Tamaki popped back up again, pulling me away from the overly happy twins, forgetting that he was devastated just moments ago. I glanced over at Haruhi would looked slightly annoyed before ignoring Tamaki's ramblings.

I had decided to start the day with Honey and Mori's guests and I was grateful that I did. Honey had me sit between him and Mori, being between familiar people helped calm my nerves as Honey enthusiastically greeted their first set of guests.

"Mi-chan brought us a friend today!" He grinned up at me, silently asking if I was ready. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I actually picked this one out special for you, Honey-kun." I went over to the nearby cage and pulled out the small dark mammal. I cuddled him to my chest, whispering calming words as I made my way back to my seat. All the girls and Honey were sitting on the edge of their seats, even Mori's eyes shown with excitement. "Everyone, this is Takeo, the amami rabbit." I loosened my hold and let the small bunny look at everyone. His small ears twitched a bit as his even smaller eyes took everything in. Honey was practically bouncing in his seat.

"It's a bunny!" The girls cooed at how cute both the boy and the bunny were. I showed the girls how to hold him and offered to let them take turns. As they took turns holding him, I offered a bit of basic information, told them about our conservation efforts for his species and answered any question they had. It felt really good seeing how excited they were to hold the wild animal. I couldn't help but giggle at how cute Honey looked as he held the rabbit. Eventually Takeo ended back in my arms and the conversation had focused back on Honey.

I looked up, feeling someone gaze. Mori was staring at the rabbit in my arms. I offered him smile and silently held the rabbit out to him. He gently took to Takeo with a smile; his normally stoic face had softened as he scratched between the rabbit's small ears. Takeo looked even smaller as he huddled against the large senior's chest, instantly relaxing in a way I had only seen animals do with my grandfather or me. I debated it in my head for a minute.

"Mori-san, would you watch Takeo while I go work with the next animal?" He nodded his head, eyes still focused on the tiny ball of fur. I went over to the cage sitting near the twins; they had just gotten a new set of guests and were setting up the scene for me.

"I hope our animal guest is cute." Kaoru said to the girls sitting around him, his arm slung over the back of the couch. Hikaru quickly moved one hand to the back of Kaoru's neck, holding his brother's chin in the other.

" It won't be as cute as you were last night." Kaoru looked away, his face tinted pick as the girls swooned over brotherly love. I really picked the right animal for these two jokers. I pulled the brown and black raccoon dog out of his cage. He licked my nose, excited for the attention. I sat in the free seat next to Kaoru before addressing everyone.

"This is Genki." He got similar reactions from the girls that Takeo did. They cooed at how cute he was as he wiggled in my arms. One girl looked at me, amazed.

"Is that a tanuki?" I nodded, and launched into my spiel about him and offered to let them pet him if they wanted, even the twins were excited to see the mischievous folklore in the flesh.

"Hey Kaoru, he kind of looks like Haruhi, huh?" Hikaru held Genki up from under his armpits, placing the tanuki in line with Haruhi's face from a distance. The twins laughed at their own joke.

After a while, I bid them goodbye and put Genki away giving him a handful of blueberries as a reward before heading to the last cage by Haruhi's table. I coaxed the shy cream-colored marten out of the cage and slowly sat down next to Haruhi. The long mammal tried to burrow into my skirts.

"This is Ami, she's a Japanese Marten and a bit shy." I explained but the guests were understanding and kept their distance so she could get comfortable. Eventually she settled down and I let the girls feed her favorite treat of apples, which made everyone involved very happy. I put her back in her cage as the last of the girls left the room.

"Mami-chan! That was amazing! You did it!" Tamaki grabbed my hands and we jumped around in circles laughing. Honey joined in, not wanting to miss a chance to jump around. Kyoya walked up to us silently and pushed up his glasses.

"It was very successful, attendance was at a all time high and the amount of reservations for the next animal hosting broke our previous record. Good job, Mami-senpai."

I can't wait to tell Ojiisan about this.

Author's Note:

Thank you all once again for all of the favorites and follows. It makes me so happy every time I get one. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

To answer the one guest question: Mami agreed to join the club at the end of chapter five after getting guilt tripped by Tamaki and Honey. It's super official now.

All of the animals mentioned in this chapter are native to Japan. I also made it so Mami doesn't have to go to every club day because I don't think she'd be able to handle the club every day at this point. Eventually, she'll willingly go everyday but right now the social anxiety is too much, as we'll see at the dance. I'm going to add a bit of fluff in the next chapter.