Harry joked about it when he caught Haruhi staring at him, but he didn't ignore that fact that his heart sped up a bit when he did catch her in the act. He felt confused, he never really had given much thought about his sexuality. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it. Dumbledore sent you here on a mission. Oh, for the love of- now he's caught ME staring, oh please just don't think about it. Dumbledore needs you focused. You need to be focused. No falling in love on your first day here. Find Gryffindor's heir, find this Horcrux and just go back home. Please, just stop laughing with your friend, it's distracting me. This is going to be a very long trip. Harry looked at Haruhi one more time. Her eyes were extremely, abnormally, overwhelmingly.. beautiful. That was the only word he knew that could describe them. Her eyes were beautiful.
He tried to distract himself. He thought back to the day that Dumbledore had told him about the Horcruxes.
'Professor, how can you be so calm? You've just told me that Voldemort is essentially becoming indestructible and-"
"Voldemort will be defeated, Harry. He will pay for the crimes he has committed." Dumbledore wore a very sad smile. Harry could tell that Dumbledore was keeping something huge from him.
"Then why would we wait? Why don't we just find the horcruxes?"
"There's something I need you to do. Something important."
"Why aren't we-"
"I'm sending you to Japan, Harry. I really wish that I could help you, but I just can't, and I can't tell you why, I'm sorry."
"Japan?!"
"Yes, Japan. You-"
"No professor, I can't leave, this.. this school, this school is my home. You can't just make me leave!"
Dumbledore was silent for a long time. "I need you to find Godric Gryffindor's heir."
"What?"
"Voldemort chose artifacts that were connected to the founders. You need to find something important that belonged to Godric Gryffindor. The first step would be to finding his heir."
"And you're sending me to Japan to find him."
"Yes. Of course, you can visit as much as you like, every day even. But you cannot stay. And... and before you know it, poof, you'll be back at Hogwarts, with Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, like no time has passed at all. Just like magic." Harry let out a small laugh. "And I promise you, this mission that I'm sending you on.. this will bring peace."
"We'll see you in the music room, Haruhi." Kaoru said, dragging a fuming Hikaru behind him.
"How are you guys ready to go already?!" She asked, "I'm gonna be late again."
"We'll give the heads up the Kyouya-sempai, he won't lecture you." He said. "Hikaru." His brother followed him angrily out of the classroom.
"It's gonna be Potter-san this and Potter-san that and "Can Potter-san do this with us?" and "Can Potter-san do that with us?" And "Can Potter-san come with us?" "
"Maybe it will be. Maybe it'll be "Tono this, and Tono that. Or "Arai-kun this" and "Arai-kun that". Maybe even "Kyouya-sempai this" and "Kyouya-sempai that." Kaoru joked.
"Why would you say something like that?!"
"He's not the first person to show an interest in Haruhi, right?"
"Obviously."
"And he's not the only person to show an interest in Haruhi, right?"
"Yeah.."
"Then why are you getting so angry?" Kaoru still smiled sweetly. "Haruhi will always be our best friend, right?"
"..Right."
"So what does it matter if she spends some time with the exchange student?" Kaoru felt that he needed someone to get that into his own brain too. In a small way, how childish and obvious Hikaru was being was beginning to irritate Haruhi. He wasn't the only one who was allowed to like Haruhi and be close to her at the same time.
"Do you need help getting around town?" Haruhi asked.
"I do need help getting home... I haven't been here very long." Harry admitted.
"Where do you live?"
Harry pulled out a piece of paper with an address on it, and gave it to Haruhi.
Haruhi gasped. "No way, we live in the same complex!" She handed the slip of paper back to him. "It's a takes a little while to get there, but there's a bus route that will take you to the street it's on. I didn't know the guy that moved in next to me was a student at Ouran!"
"I'm sorry I'm following you everywhere today."
Haruhi shook her head. "It's fine, it's fine. But if you don't mind me asking.. Why are you living there?" 'I don't know a polite enough way to ask why someone as wealthy as him is living in the middle-class district.' She thought.
"In an apartment, you mean? Well.. uh.. it's just me."
Haruhi looked at him. "Just you? You moved to another country by yourself?"
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah."
"I'd be too scared to do that." Haruhi said. "You're quite brave, you know." Harry gave her a small smile in response.
Haruhi noticed what the time was, and began rushing to get her things together. "Being a bit frantic, aren't we?" He asked jokingly. She was rapidly shoving her things into her bag.
"I have.. somewhere really important to go to." She thought for a moment, then got an idea. "Would it trouble you too much to come with me? We can go home together after I'm done. What do you say?"
Harry's heart began to beat very quickly. The thought of him and Haruhi walking home during the sunset raced through his mind. "Where is it you need to go again?" The two of them left the classroom, earning a few turned heads from Haruhi's fangirls.
"Just a ... club.. thing."
"Really? A sports club?"
"No."
"Black magic club?"
"Funny, but no."
"Then what?"
"It's um... it's called a "Host Club". I have a pretty large debt to pay off, and being part of the Host Club helps with that."
'How does a 15-year-old rack up a huge debt?' Harry thought. "What's a-?"
"Um.. Haruhi-kun?" A girl asked. The two of them looked at her.
"Yuki-san! Can I help you with something?" Haruhi asked kindly.
"Um.. I was just wondering.. Will you... will you..." Her friend nudged her in the shoulder. "Will you be at the Host Club today?!" She asked, blushing wildly.
"Yes, Potter-san and I are going there now."
"Ah, yes, Potter-san," Yuki bowed to Harry nervously. "Then, Haruhi.. would.. would you mind if I... um..."
"Yes?" Haruhi asked, genuinely oblivious.
"I'd like to..." Yuki looked at the ground. "I'd like to sit with you again, if that's alright with you?!" Her friend smiled, holding back a laugh.
Haruhi smiled at her. "I would like that very much. I'll see you soon then?" Yuki nodded rapidly, walking away arm-in arm with her friend.
"Who was that?" Harry asked.
"Kinomoto, Yuki. She's a customer at the Host Club. She just wanted to know if she could set up an appointment with me today."
"Set a wha-? Wait, what exactly do you do in a Host Club?"
"Basically... we, the Hosts, have to entertain our guests in a... a... a sort of romantic.. kind of way." Haruhi still struggled to describe what she did after school everyday. She didn't realize how provocative she was making the club sound. "The guests have to pay, so it really does help me pay off my debt.
Harry's jaw dropped. Haruhi took no notice of it, since she was just looking straight ahead. 'There's no way that this is legal. None.' "And.. and you're okay with me coming with you?"
"I'll just explain to the President of the Club that you're a special case, so you won't have to pay to come inside. Okay?"
"What?!" Harry yelped.
"What?" Haruhi didn't understand why what she said surprised him so much. Japanese was her native language, and that certain erotic homonym for what she had said was not the same for her as it was for him.
"Oh.. no, I thought you said... so I guess you're pretty comfortable... with what you do.. right?"
"There's not much to uncomfortable about. Except for having to watch the other guys pull their lame tricks to woo the girls. Yuck."
"You watch them?"
"I look at them from time to time. It's hard not to take notice of the others, since we're all in this big room and they're usually trying to draw lots of attention to themselves. It's kind of like a competition for them. To get the most customers. To be honest, I like having small groups instead of being drowned with guests. There's less pressure."
"More than one?!"
"It would take me forever to pay the money back if it was one at a time! Ah, we'll go up these stairs now, and then we'll just take the first left." She said. Harry's movements had become almost robotic with the overload of this shocking information. He didn't even know why he was still following Haruhi if that was what he was going to witness, but he actually enjoyed Haruhi's company and he couldn't help but keep on walking with her.
Hikaru tugged at the various parts of his costume. "Honey-sempai, about this theme.."
"Isn't it great? Kyo-chan said I could pick the theme today!"
"Yeah, but.. I mean... It's just.."
"A good host can entertain his guest regardless of his attire!" Tamaki said.
"Aren't you the one that ordered that Haruhi have a makeover?" Kyouya asked. He was typing particularly quickly on his computer.
"Kyouya-sempai, it's not good to take out your frustrations on the machine." Kaoru said.
"May I suggest a stress ball? Or a hobby?" Hikaru said.
Kyouya didn't look up. "I'm finalizing the requests for even more appointments. I don't know what Haruhi did, but it's earned her many new guests today alone."
"She became the new transfer students' mentor." Hikaru spat. "That's what she did."
"Do I detect a hint of scorn in your voice?"
"He's a wannabe who thinks he's special because he has green eyes. Nobody likes green eyes. Right? They're stupid." Hikaru looked at Kaoru who nodded slowly and patted his older brother's shoulder.
"I wouldn't say that in front of Haruhi. She has a cousin whom she's close with that has green eyes. Nobody knew if something was wrong with him, but he was a pretty healthy baby." Kyouya said nonchalantly.
"Kyouya," Tamaki said. "How exactly.. do you know the color of Haruhi's cousin's eyes? And his medical history from infancy too?" Kyouya did not respond to that, nor any of the other questions after that.
The doors opened to Haruhi, accompanied by Harry- who was almost to the point of his brain frying. The two of them stared at the Hosts. Both of them were equally as shocked and disturbed at what they were wearing. The entire room was turned into an Easter-themed oasis. All of the hosts were wearing rabbit costumes, and the two latecomers had difficulty processing the information. Haruhi just didn't want to wear the costumes, Harry thought he had walked into some horrifying animal costume-fetish world where prostitutes could use the school to do their work. "Everybody.. this is... Potter... Harry. Potter-san, you know Hikaru and Kaoru.. That's Tamaki Suoh. Kyouya Ootori. Mitskuni "Honey" Haninozuka. Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka. Those four are upperclassmen, and yes, Honey-sempai is in fact two years older than you." Harry didn't want to embarrass himself again so he settled with being silent and bowing. Honey, Mori, and Tamaki bowed back to him.
"Keep on doing whatever is it you're doing, because you have a boatload of new guests today." Kyouya glanced at Haruhi and Harry. "I have no objections to him being here for today- for free- as long as it doesn't become a routine, so why don't you go and change now?"
"Are you not changing, Sempai?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Haru-chan, I picked it out special for you!"
There was no way that Haruhi would risk making Honey cry, so she didn't object. "You can sit on the couch for a while, if you'd like. I have to change into my costume before the guests come."
"Right... the guests.. and the costume." Haruhi gave him a sweet smile before leaving for the changing room, which made him blush, again. Harry sat on the couch timidly, averting the gaze of the other hosts. He glances up once, and saw Honey sitting down at the table with an entire cake in front of him. Harry chuckled, thinking that he was going to get sick from eating it, but when he looked up again the cake had disappeared, and Honey was patting his stomach.
Hikaru ignored Harry's presence, and turned his attention to Kaoru. "Honey-sempai really wasn't thinking about functionality, was he?" He asked. He tried curling his hand into a fist, and uncurling it, but underneath the paw of his costume, it just looked like lump squirming around.
"Just be lucky he chose a high-quality kind that won't make us too hot." Kaoru said. "Honey-sempai, why did you chose the Easter theme in the first place? It's nowhere near that time of year."
"I wanted to wear one, and Chika made a big fuss when I wore it around the house."
"So you bought six more.. just so that you would have a reason to wear one?"
Honey nodded in response. "Hey, Harry-chan!" He said, running over to Harry- who was surprised that he knew English- and whispered into his ear. "Aren't you excited to see Haruhi in his costume? I'll bet he looks even more cute than he usually does~! He'll look like a little bunny that I'll want to kiss and cuddle and play with forever."
"Are you..."
Honey shook his head."Haru-chan is like a brother to me.. But other people.. girls or boys...lots of people think Haru-chan is cute." Honey's words of wisdom put Harry at ease a bit. Harry felt relieved, while before he felt awkward and confused. "I hope he likes the one that I picked out for him." "You know..Haru-chan doesn't really think much of it if just anybody calls him cute, because he's just like that. It's usually just a word."
"Okay?"
"But if somebody that he was kind of interested in were to say that, that would probably make him happy."
"So.. So Fujioka is.."
"Haru-chan says that gender doesn't matter to her. So if you like him, you shouldn't feel bad for thinking that he's cute, okay? And don't be surprised, I think you can tell that Haru-chan thinks you're special."
"This thing is enormous!" Haruhi exclaimed, opening the curtain of the changing room. "And it's difficult to use my hands. How am I supposed to pour out the tea?"
"Haru-chan, what are you talking about?" Honey ran over to Haruhi, jumped on her, and gave her a huge hug. Harry smiled lightly at Haruhi in her costume, but then his eyes widened in horror as he remembered what -he thought- was to come.
"Haruhi, I think something's wrong with your friend." Tamaki said, pointing to Harry, who seemed to be completely out of it. The twins snapped in Harry's face, waking him up from his trance. He stared at Haruhi, and his heart skipped a beat when Haruhi cocked her head to the side- her eyes looking concerned and beautiful- and asked him if he was alright.
"Is it alright if Potter-san sleeps on one of the couches? He's all red," Haruhi pressed her forehead to his because she couldn't use her hands, which made his heart beat faster.".. and his face is quite warm."
"Shouldn't you be lying down too?" Kyouya asked unexpectedly.
Haruhi raised an eyebrow at him "Excuse me?" The other hosts were equally as curious.
"I'm sure you're very tired now."
"Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"No, I'm very serious. I meant to tell you that when your father and I talked earlier he said that you didn't take-"
"It's none of your business, to be honest."
{I apologize for that. I should have been more sensitive. I didn't realize that none of the others knew. I shouldn't have assumed.}
"Sempai, please, not now."
{Don't make your father worry any more about your condition than he already does.}
"Just shut up already!" Haruhi yelled, standing up. "How many times do I have to ask you to just stop talking about it?!" The other hosts looked at her in shock.
Kyouya stopped typing and looked at her; only then did he realize how deep the cut ran. "I'm sorry."
Haruhi just looked away from him, focusing her attention on Harry once again. Nobody else in the room talked except for them.
"So.. um... if you don't mind me asking... the forehead thing.."
"I was checking your temperature." Haruhi said simply. " I can't use my hands, see. The forehead has a more stable body temperature, anyway."
"Really? I didn't know that." Harry. The room was filled with silence for a while.
"Kyo-chan, Haru-chan, I didn't know that you two knew chinese!"
"Mitskuni, now isn't the time for-"
"Actually, us three, Honey-sempai. Potter-san had a friend in primary school who taught him. He's very good at it. Very, very good." She said, looking at Kyouya.
If Kyouya hadn't felt bad about himself before, what Haruhi said then made him feel downright guilty. When he saw that Haruhi was obviously irritated with him, he went back to his work. Haruhi began to whisper in Harry's ear. "I'd appreciate it if that stayed between us."
"Are you alright?"
"I just have some minor health issues. Not that big of a deal. I just don't want those guys to think they need to rescue me, and that I can't take care of myself."
Harry was nervous about being anywhere near the Host Club, and by the time he saw exactly how many guests Haruhi had to "entertain", he turned into the the face of fear itself. There were about nine girls there, all staring at Harry and Haruhi intently. 'What if they think that I'm here to "entertain" them too? What the hell has Fujioka gotten me into?" "Um.. Fuji... Uh, could I just call you Haruhi?"
"Hmm? Oh! That's fine with me!"
"Okay then, Haruhi, I think I'll just leave before the.. you know.. the "entertaining" starts."
"What are you talking about? The guests have already arrived."
"But you said that they wanted you to entertain them."
Haruhi turned to the guests. "Do.. do you all think that I'm boring?" She asked. The guests shook their heads furiously. "Potter-sa..." She turned back to Harry.. "So then... would... would it be..." She began to blush. "Can I call you "Harry" then?"
"Yeah, of course."
"H-Harry..san said that... I haven't been.. entertaining you guys.." Haruhi's lips curled downwards, the ears of her costume drooping down as well.
"EHH?!"
"Haruhi-kun, no, trust us, you aren't boring at all!"
"Haruhi-kun, we're definitely not bored at all!"
"Oh, then I guess that that's-"
"And you've single-handedly perfected the craft of making instant coffee!"
"I think that that's not exactly something-"
"And you're even good at cooking! All of the other guys here have servants that can cook for them, but you.. you're... you're different. Definitely not boring."
"Haruhi-kun, may I say something?" Yuki said, twiddling her fingers
"Of course, Yuki-san, go right ahead."
"What I think we're all trying to say is that.." Yuki played with her necklace, her eyes sparkling. "You're smart, but you're so kind and gentle at the same time too. You're really, really, very kind and because of that.. we... we love spending time with you." The other girls nodded at what Yuki said.
Haruhi smiled at Yuki sweetly. "Thank you, Yuki-san. It makes me really happy that all of you think of me this way."
"And of course, it's also because Haru-chan looks ultra-cute in that bunny costume!" Honey said, appearing behind Harry. The girls nodded in agreement to what Honey said. Harry stared at the scene with wonder, feeling like he was inside of a soap opera.
"Haruhi.. I really don't feel comfortable with staying here if you're going to start entertaining the girls soon..." He said.
"If you don't feel comfortable saying here, then I don't see why you have to stay here," Haruhi said understandingly, "But the guests all say that they're being entertained now. They don't think I'm boring."
This was where Harry became even more confused than he had been already. "For...forgive me for sounding crude.. but... let me get this straight... they get off on having conversations with you?!"
"Get off? What?"
"You know, they get off. They want to do this and that, and it makes them feel... you know."
"What are you talking about?"
"You said, "the guests pay to be entertained in a romantic way", and I'm sorry for saying it like this, but I really don't want to be here in the middle of some prostitution ring!"
Haruhi and Honey stared at Harry with wide, blank eyes, and straight faces. The two of them broke out into hysterical laughter at the same time. Tears were streaming down their faces in a comical way. They were rolling around and pounding their fists on the ground, peaking the curiosity of the other hosts and guests. "Haru-chan! Haru-chan, can you believe he said that?!"
"I can't stop laughing! I can't stop laughing!"
"It's too funny, your new friend is too funny!"
"I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!This whole time, this whole time that's what he thought!"
Mori tried to calm down the two of them, and failed.
"Are you two okay?" Hikaru asked
"We want to know what's so funny too!" Kaoru said. "Stop whoring all the information for yourself!"
"WHORING!" Honey and Haruhi screamed, sending them into another fit of laughter
"Look at how many customers you have, Haru-chan!" Honey said when the laughter eased up a bit. They were both still trying to stifle their giggles.
"I haven't laughed like that in so long. Don't worry, girls, Harry just said something that I.. I just..."
"It's alright, Haruhi!"
"It was quite entertaining to watch you laugh like that."
Haruhi turned to Harry, and cleared her throat. "Um, Harry, I think I gave you the wrong message about what Hosting is." She was still laughing, and held on tohe edge of the table for support.
"All we do is talk and eat snacks," Honey said, wiping tears from his eyes "And if Kyo-chan says it's in the budget we get to dress up." He pat Harry on the back. Honey jumped on Mori's back. "Takashi, let's go back now, before Harry-chan gets another wrong idea." Haruhi had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing.
"Did you really think that I was a... p-p-p-prostitute?" Haruhi struggled to even say the word without laughing.
"That's what you made it sound like, even more so by saying you had to pay off some big debt."
"I'm wearing a bunny costume, for goodness sake, do I look like a prostitute to you?" Haruhi laughed.
"You're cute, really cute, and you have big eyes and a nice smile. So it would explain why you have so many customers. Plus that girl from before was really nervous when she was talking to you about-"
"Harry, you... you just said."
Harry's heart pounded inside of his chest. He swallowed, took a deep breath, and decided to take a huge risk. He smiled at Haruhi, his face turning pink. The guests were staring at the both of them with hawk eyes. 'I don't feel bad at all for what I'm about to do.' He put a hand on Haruhi's shoulder and told her,
"I think you're very.. very cute."
Haruhi's face became red, then redder, and redder, and redder. The guests swore that they could see steam coming out from Haruhi's ears. One girl whipped out a camera and took pictures of the scene, whispering "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful."
As the Host Club hours were ending;
"Is it wrong that I'm kind of jealous of Potter-san?"
"Haruhi-kun always says that gender doesn't matter to him.. but I was never really expecting a transfer student just come here and in one day steal Haruhi-kun's heart."
"The Host Club fan blogs are going to wage war over these pictures."
"Haruhi-kun does look pretty flustered, doesn't he?"
"I wish he would've told us what Potter-san said to him!"
After the Hosts said goodbye to the last set of guests, and changed back into their uniforms, Haruhi and Harry made their way for the bus stop to go back home. Haruhi was still feeling the effects of Harry calling her "very cute", and stumbled a few times as they were leaving the school. The other hosts had called their drivers to pick them up, and Mori and Honey were discussing the day's events with each other. "Haru-chan's new boyfriend is a pervert!" Honey said, playing with Usa-chan.
"It was an honest mistake."
"Harry-chan thought that you were a prostitute too, Takashi!" Honey threw Usa-chan in the air as he entered the back seat of the car. "What do you think of that?"
"It's funny."
"Kyo-chan looked sad when Haru-chan yelled at him."
"Yeah."
