People talking at the same time
Mami's inner thoughts
I own nothing except my own characters.
I straightened the brightly colored brochures for the tenth time in about five minutes. All around me people were fluttering about enjoying the beginning of the cultural exhibition that Ouran was hosting. Several different school uniforms mixed with the yellow and blue ones of Ouran as bonds and ideas were being exchanged. Kyoya had come to me with the idea to offer the rehabilitation center's services to other clubs and schools. It was hard to argue against it. The partner ship with the Host Club had already brought in more donations in the last few months than what we would typically receive in a year. Kyoya had shown me a spreadsheet of his plan to help expand the program to other clubs and schools, with a small finders fee going straight to the Host club account of course. If everything went according to his plan, this would be a huge opportunity for the center.
What I didn't realize is that he was going to leave all the legwork of gaining new accounts to me. Supposedly, all the hosts were going to be busy with the extra business being brought in from our neighboring schools. Luckily, the animals did most of the attention grabbing; I just had to simply answer any questions. Isca, the rhinoceros hornbill that had taken a liking to Mori that fateful day in the Host Club, loved all the attention and the fresh papaya that came with it. I stumbled horribly over myself with the first few interested clubs but as the day went on, my practiced speech got a little better. It was winding down to the end of the first day and I had already had three clubs that were interested in having an animal demonstration come to their club.
"Look, Benibara-sama!" A girl with a short brown hair pointed excitedly at Isca. Isca shook out his wings, nearly hitting me in the face, ready for another treat. She was the shortest of the three girls that had just walked up. They were all wearing the same maroon and white school uniform. She clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Imagine having live animals in our performances."
"Hmm." The tallest one placed a hand on her chin in thought. Her green eyes studying the brightly colored bird and before shifting over toward where I had a couple of cages set up show casing a couple of giant flying squirrels and a giant skink. "Many of our fans do love animals. It would certainly bring a new dynamic to the stage."
"It could be what we were looking for to bring the Zuka club to the next level, Benibara-sama." The girl with long light hair that fell in gentle waves around her face; smiled up softly at the tall girl. With her hand still on her chin, the one I assumed to be Benibara, nodded her head.
"I think you may be right, Hinagiku-chan, Suzuran-chan."
"Oh, um, I have a brochure here if you're interested." I handed all three of them the brochure. Make small talk, Mami. Try to keep them interested! "I'm Kusumoto Mami. My family runs the center so I can help you with any questions you may have." I gave them a shaky smile, hoping they wouldn't notice how nervous I actually was. Benibara took my hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of it, I could feel my face flush.
"Oh, how rude of us young maiden. I'm Amakusa Benio, but you can call me Benibara. I'm the president of the Zuka Club from St. Lobelia."
"Maihara 'Suzuran' Chizuru. Vice president."
"Tsuwabuki 'Hinagiku' Hinako, proud member of the Zuka club." With a flourish they all bowed. Benibara glanced through the pamphlet I had given her just moments before.
"Do you have any animals with experience of being on the stage?"
"Well, maybe, well, no." I sighed, frustrated with myself for getting flustered. I took a deep breath before continuing again, a little calmer this time. "We mostly just do educational experiences, the animals at the center aren't really trained to be in a performance. The only reason Isca hasn't flown off is because I'm bribing him with papaya." Isca nipped at my ear at the mention of the fruit until I offered up another slice.
"That's too bad." Benibara frowned, disappointed.
"There's always the Girls' Tea Party, Benibara-sama!" Hinako said.
"Imagine how adorable the girls would be holding one of these cuties." Chizuru cooed at one giant flying squirrels.
"We've had a lot of success with the club we're working with now. The club has had an increase of attendance and repeat clients and we do allow our clients to handle some of our more friendly animals." I offered. "Here." I placed Isca on his perch before securing him in his cage. I spoke softly to the squirrel as I lifted one of them out of the cage. I offered him to Chizuru. "Would you like to hold her?" The longhaired girl nodded and cradled the squirrel in her arms before smiling up at Benibara. Benibara's cheeks flushed.
"It does bring out your feminine beauty! Imagine all the smiling faces of those lovely young maidens" She spun around dramatically before slamming a hand on the table. "Sign us up, Mami-chan."
Benibara placed a finger under my chin and brought her face close to mine before asking if I was the one who was going to be showing the animals. Her smirk that had formed on her face as I blushed quickly disappeared as I managed to squeak out a no.
"I'm already contracted to another club but I assure you that all the handlers are well trained." Then to my surprised, they booked a spot for next week right away instead of just waiting to get more information like the other clubs had. They left together, Hinako's mouth was going a million words a minute about how excited she was as Chizuru simply smiled and nodded along. At least hanging out with Tamaki so much as better prepared me for such dramatics.
I sent a quick text update to Kyoya, telling him the exciting news of the first customer and the news of the other potential clubs. As I finished, I saw an angry looking Haruhi stalk by. I scramble out from behind the table to catch up to her. She was still mumbling to herself by the time I caught up.
"It was a really nice pencil too."
"Everything okay, Haruhi-kun?" She stopped walking and sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"The boys just got on my nerves." I began to lead her back to my table to I could get cleaned up but still listen to my young friend vent her frustrations.
"What did they do this time?"
"They stole and sold my favorite pencil!" This was probably the most animated I had ever seen her get. "Did you know they took money from the guests?"
"Well, yeah. Did you think I just agreed to give the center's resources away for free? That's not a very good business strategy." Haruhi sighed a bit calmer than she was just moments before.
"They didn't have to steal my pencil though." She grumbled helping me pack away the contents of the table for the next day. As we were folding up the tablecloth together, my phone chimed.
"Sorry, that's probably Kyoya-san." I dropped one corner to grab my phone. I felt all the blood drain from my face.
Other P.O.V.
"We have to come up with a plan!" Tamaki paced back in forth in front of his fellow club members, running a hand through his hair.
"I don't want Haru-chan to leave!" Honey sniffled, wiping some tears away from his face before taking his favorite pink rabbit from his cousin.
"We might have a problem, Tono." Hikaru called out from the window.
"Mami-sempai is talking to the Zuka club." The boys all rushed over to the window. They had a perfect view of all the different tents that were set up in the courtyard showcasing different clubs. It was pretty easy to spot Mami underneath the tent that proudly displayed 'Kusumoto Rehabilitation Center'. Around her were three figures in the distinct uniforms of the Lobelia. Even from this distance they could see the blush that spread across Mami's face as Benibara got closer to her.
"Get your hands off my sister!" Tamaki shouted, trying desperately to get Mami's attention. "Mommy, what if they try to steal Mami away from us?"
"Hmm." Kyoya hummed to himself as he read the message that Mami had just sent him. "It looks as though the Zuka club is going to be a customer of the center as well. Mami just told me they booked a time slot already." Everyone froze and stared at the unofficial mom of the club.
"I don't want Mi-chan to leave us!" Honey cried, tears falling down his face.
"You don't think she'd want to go, right? She looked pretty uncomfortable with them." Kaoru asked as he looked at his brother.
"She's uncomfortable with everyone." Hikaru pointed out, after all that was their favorite game to play with her.
"She has a contract with the Host Club, Tamaki. It's not like they can pay that off like they can with Haruhi's debt." Kyoya pointed out calmly. Tamaki slowly dropped his hands from where they had been tangled into his hair.
"You're right. Mami isn't going anywhere. She wouldn't leave us for a bunch of girls." He said triumphantly as he took as seat on the couch next to the twins.
"That's not what I said at all." Kyoya pointed out but was ignored by Tamaki yet again.
"Let's just focus on keeping Haruhi at Ouran!" At the same time as his declaration, his phone went off. His face dropped as he read the message.
"What's wrong, Tama-chan?" Honey asked pulling at the bottom of Tamaki's blazer.
"Mami canceled dinner."
"So? What's so weird about that?" Hikaru asked with a shrug.
"Wait, why are you and Mami-sempai having dinner together in the first place?" Kaoru leaned over his twin to look at Tamaki but it was Kyoya that answered, not looking up from his laptop.
"Tamaki and Mami-sempai have been eating dinner together every night since she joined the host club."
"What? No fair, I want to have dinner with Mi-chan too!" Honey whined between bites of his cake Mori had gotten for him. The sweets were definitely helping the small senior feel better. Tamaki ignored them and continued to read the messages that Mami was sending. With each ping, his frown deepened.
"Her parents are in town." Kyoya stopped typing to briefly look up at his best friend.
"That may be something to be concerned about."
"What are you talking about Kyo-chan?" Kyoya hurriedly typed on his laptop once more before turning the screen around to face the rest of the hosts.
"It was just announced today that her family was expanding the company to Australia." On the screen was a new article detailing the new deal that the Kusumoto family was hoping to achieve while in Australia. "We can stop her from leaving to a different school but we can't stop her parents from moving her to another country."
"But she just got here, she can't leave." Kaoru said as Hikaru's face morphed into an angry scowl. It was bad enough that they might loose one of their playthings but both of them? Instantly the boys began talking over each other as the panic of loosing both of their female members became all the more real. The sound of a plate breaking broke through the heightened emotions, causing they all to pause.
"Takashi." Honey looked up at his cousin who was staring down a bit confused at the plate that had just fallen from his hands as he tripped over his own feet. The smaller boy stepped carefully around the broken porcelain, trying not to think about the ruined cake, before grabbing Mori's hand. "Don't worry, we'll figure out a way to keep Mi-chan here." Mori looked down at his cousin before nodding.
"Everyone calm down!" Tamaki declared. "I have an idea! Operation: Keep Haruhi and Mami at Ouran is starting now!"
Mami P.O.V.
"Haruhi-chan, you were told to wait too?" I asked as I walked up to the closed music room doors. Last night Tamaki had sent a serious of texts, most of which were just nonsense ramblings of him being worried about his 'daughter' leaving him. One of them though had told her to wait with Haruhi outside of the music room until they were told to come inside. She nodded as a voice rang out.
"Oh Haruhi, we came back just as we promised!" Benibara waved at us as they continued to walk toward us. She bowed deeply, kissing the back of her hand before taking mine and doing the same. "And the beautiful Mami is here as well, what luck." Haruhi's face was passive and looked disinterested while I could feel my face getting warm yet again. "Did you wait for us?"
"I was told not to come in until you guys got here." Haruhi said calmly.
"I see, and Mami-chan, what are you doing here?"
"Ah. Um…well, I'm sort of a part of the club." Benibara frowned a bit before running a hand through her short hair.
"So this club managed to seduce two young maidens." Thankfully, Haruhi saved me from continued embarrassment by finally opening the clubroom doors. It was hard to describe what happened next. Tamaki and Mori were both dress in elegant suits fitting of European royalty while the rest of the boys were dressed in extravagant dresses and wigs. I covered by mouth, trying my hardest to keep the laughter that was bubbling up inside as the twins and Honey ran up to Haruhi insisting that she call them neechan. Finally I couldn't hold it in any longer as Haruhi and I fell on top of one another in fits of laughter.
"T-this was the plan you were talking about?" I managed to get out between fits of uncontrollable laughter. Just as I thought I had it under control, I made eye contact with Kyoya and double over in laughter again. "I can't believe you agreed to this Kyoya!"
"Just what are you doing?" Haruhi said between laughs as well as we attempted to stand up again, holding on to each other.
"Is that funny?" The twins and Honey said popping up in front of us causing another fit of laughter to course through us. The boys chased Haruhi around for a bit, her giggles filled the room. I clutched my now aching sides and went to wipe away the tears that had formed but a gentle hand on my chin stopped me.
"Here." Using a small silk handkerchief, Mori brushed away the tears. My heart was pounding in my ears, as I stood frozen, staring into his expressive grey eyes. It may have been my imagination or from the sudden dizziness that I felt as all of my blood rushed to my face but I could have sworn there was a slight pink to his cheeks as his thumb brushed over my cheek. The suddenly slamming of the clubroom door tore my eyes away from his.
"You should have told us you weren't going to leave us Haruhi."
"You made us worry over nothing." The twins had draped their arms around their classmate. Haruhi simply shrugged and didn't offer any apology. I thought it was pretty amazing that they would go to such lengths to try and get her to stay. I didn't think too long on it though as Tamaki launched himself at me. He would have knocked me over if not for Mori placing a hand between my shoulders, keeping me steady.
"I'm sorry Mami. I couldn't come up with a plan to get you to stay. Kyoya said that none of them would work!" Tears were falling down his face as he buried his head into my stomach.
"You can't adopt someone older than you, Tamaki." Somehow, Kyoya had managed to get out of his wig and dress and back into his school uniform without me noticing.
"What are you talking about, Tamaki?"
"We don't want you to leave for Australia, Mi-chan." The sad look in Honey's eyes made my stomach drop.
"Oh, so you heard about that." The boys all nodded while Haruhi looked on completely confused.
"What's going on?"
"Mami is leaving us and replacing me with a kangaroo." Tamaki wailed, gripping me tighter.
"Tamaki…"
"She's going to become best friends with it and forget all about me!"
"Tamaki…"
"Or she's going to get bit by one and die. Everything is venomous there!"
"Tamaki!" The blonde finally stopped and looked up at me. "I'm not moving."
"So you're family isn't expanding to Australia?" Kyoya asked, glancing up from his laptop.
"No, they are. I…um... asked them if I could stay. And they said yes." It was a long and awkward meal brought on by myself. I knew what was happening the moment they texted me saying we were going to have dinner together that night. I didn't make it past the salad course before the anxiety got the better of me and I was sobbing hysterically into my lettuce. Through my sobs I told them that I didn't want to move, I wanted to stay here and finish my last year of high school and stay close to Ojiisan and my friends. This was the first time I had ever told them that I wanted to stay in a place. Before I had Ojiisan to keep me company and it was easy to move from place to place because I never had any friends to leave behind. I was surprised when they agreed right away, ecstatic that I had finally made friends. The main reasoning for them agreeing to let me stay in Japan was Ojiisan. His doctors had told them that the move would be too much and they had agreed to let me stay behind to keep him company even before the dinner had started.
"So you're not moving?" Tamaki lifted his head up and looked up at me with hopeful eyes.
"I'm not moving."
"Yay! Lets celebrate with cake!" Honey cheered as he launched himself at me, knocking Tamaki away in the process. Mori's hand on my back once again kept me from falling over. The twins joined in on the hug as well, stepping on the fallen blonde in the process. From over Kaoru's shoulder I could see that even Kyoya had a small smile on his face. "I'm going to get us some cake!" Honey jumped down and dragged the twins away toward the table insisting that he needed help. I couldn't help but smile as I watched all my friends.
"Mami." I could feel my face getting warm again as Mori said my name. I turned around to face him, only to be pulled into his chest. I could feel the muscles through the fancy suit, causing my stomach to twist. No, this is different from usual. It feels like I ate a bag full of butterflies. One hand rested on my lower back as the other cradled my head against him. "I'm happy you're staying." I heard him mutter into my hair.
"A-ah."
"Mi-chan~! Takashi! Cake time!" Honey called out and Mori released his hold on me. He gave me one of his rare smiles before going over to join the rest of the hosts.
"C-coming!" I took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm my racing heart. Once I felt the heat beginning to fade from my face, I made my way over to the table now filled with cake. The butterflies came back full force once I realized the only seat left was between Mori and Tamaki. Focus on something else, Mami!
"Tamaki, do you honestly think that kangaroos are venomous?"
Author's note:
Thank you all for the follows, favorites and reviews! And thank you for your patience waiting for this chapter. I'm going to start ramping up the fluff now that Mami is slowly realizing that she likes Mori. Please continue to review with what you think or with anything you'd like to see, I'm open to all ideas!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and my plan is to get the next one out faster.