The next chapter is here! To anyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed, thank you very much! Sorry if this chapter is a little short.
Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. I only own my OC.
Shun Is Definitely The Boyish Type!
"Welcome, ladies!"
The doors to the third music room opened slowly, petals swirling out from inside. All of the hosts were standing tall, holding their arms out welcomingly to the eager guests—save for Shun, who was slouching slightly and had her hands buried in her pockets. As the girls began filtering into the large room and seating themselves, Tamaki swiveled Shun around to face him.
"You mustn't slouch like that, Shun!" Tamaki scolded. "A proper host has good posture!"
"Fine, whatever," Shun grumbled, walking away to seat herself in front of the fervent guests that were awaiting her. As soon as she gracelessly plopped herself down on the elegantly embroidered sofa, the girls were quick to bombard her with questions.
"Why did you decide to join the host club, Shun?"
"Uh, well, I—"
"Which tea do you prefer—Darjeeling or chamomile?"
"Either, I gue—"
"Are you still going to play baseball even though you're in the host club?"
"Of course, I—"
Watching Shun flounder around to answer the girls' questions was most certainly amusing, but the Hitachiin twins felt as if they should save the drowning host.
"Hey, ladies," they piped in, each placing a hand on Shun's shoulders, "did you know that Shun and Haruhi are related?"
"Really? I never knew that!"
"I guess they do look alike! The only main difference between them is their eye color!" one girl piped up cheerfully, but her face soon fell when she noticed Shun lift her fingers to her eyes in (what the girl assumed was) self-consciousness. "B-But there's nothing wrong with your eye color, Shun! I think that your eyes are a wonderful shade of mocha brown!" the girl sputtered quickly as her friends began to chastise her for upsetting Shun. However, their attention was quickly diverted when they saw Shun turn her head away bashfully.
"Nobody's really complimented my eyes before." A small smile formed on Shun's lips. "Thanks."
The three girls' faces flushed a vibrant shade of red, and they began prattling on about how adorably modest Shun was. The twins couldn't help but admire Shun's natural hosting talent as well. There's no doubt that Shun and Haruhi are family, they thought to themselves.
Suddenly, Tamaki shoved the two out of the way and dramatically pointed at Shun's slumped form on the sofa.
"Why are you sitting like that?!" Tamaki gasped, clearly dismayed.
"Like what?" Shun asked innocently. Her legs were outstretched under the glass table, with her right arm resting on the back of the sofa while she leaned on the cushions comfortably. She didn't think there was anything wrong with how she sat.
Tamaki seemed to get even more frustrated at her obliviousness. "Like a... a THUG!"
"A thug?" the twins echoed.
Tamaki spiraled off into a tangent. "A true host should not be sitting so leisurely! It's inappropriate! A true host should be sitting up straight like any fine gentleman would! That's what it means to be a—!"
"While your ramblings are amusing," Kyouya interrupted, "it doesn't seem like Shun's posture is doing any damage. In fact, it seems to be quite the opposite." He gestured with his ballpoint pen to the girls who had gathered around Shun and were positively gushing over her unabashed behavior. The impudent finger that was pointed at Shun wilted, leaving Tamaki a babbling mess as he attempted to formulate an excuse.
"B-B-But, but, but, but...!"
"Hmm..." Hikaru and Kaoru quietly observed the scene before hiding their mouths behind their hands and whispering to each other conspiringly. "The boss seems very keen on keeping Haruhi and Shun from acting boyishly." They both grinned sneakily. "It's probably because he wants to keep them feminine so he can secretly admire them all of the time. How creepy."
"No! I'm not trying to be creepy!" Tamaki cried. "I just want them to grow up as good people and live happily!"
"I can hear you, y'know." Shun felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. What's wrong with these people?
"Um, excuse me, Shun," a shy girl seated next to her piped up. "What do you like about playing baseball?"
Shun's face lit up with delight. Finally, something I can talk about! "Well, there're lots of things I like about baseball!" Grinning cheekily, Shun leaned back, resting her arms behind her head. "Whenever I play, I kind of enter a trance, y'know? There's just nothing like it. And also," she straightened up, "it's really thrilling whenever I hit a home run!" Miming swinging a bat, Shun laughed heartily, and the girls beside her raved over how cute she was.
"When did you start playing?" another girl inquired.
Shun returned to her position on the sofa. "Well, I guess it started when I saw a baseball game on TV. I thought the game looked pretty cool, so I immediately asked my old man if I could play." Her eyelids lowered as she smiled fondly at the memory. "Even though I was only a preschooler at the time, he told me to go for it, and that he would help me through it no matter what."
All of the hosts were now gathered around Shun and her guests, listening intently to her story.
"I owe a lot to my parents," Shun said softly. "They often had to work overtime to support our family, yet they still spared some of their time to help me. And that's why," she said as she raised her fist determinedly and stood up, "I'm gonna become a famous big-league player and pay them back!"
Noticing everyone's sudden silence, Shun looked around the room. Tamaki and all of the guests were gazing at her with starry eyes while the rest of the hosts stared at her in surprise. Breaking the silence, Tamaki rushed forward and grabbed both of Shun's hands, encasing them in his own as he began rattling out numerous compliments.
"How honorable of you, Shun! To be so determined to pay your parents back is admirable! I, as well, will support you as much as I can! You can count on me!" he said enthusiastically as he squeezed her hands between his.
"We'll support you too, Shun!" the girls wailed, some pulling out handkerchiefs to dab at their watery eyes.
Honey raised his hand. "Us too! Right, Takashi?" Mori nodded his head silently.
The twins had both brought out handkerchiefs of their own. "How touching!" they sniffled, their shoulders shaking.
Shun could feel her face burn with embarrassment. "I-It's not that big a deal or anything!" she stammered, desperate to get the attention off of her. "I don't need you to support me!"
"There's no need to be shy!" Tamaki cooed lovingly, patting her cheeks between his hands. Shun pinched the offending appendages in irritation, making him jump back in astonishment before he retreated to the corner of the club room to sulk.
"Don't get so touchy-feely with me!" she yelled as she grit her teeth, still disgruntled by the sudden show of affection. To her displeasure, this made all of the guests squeal adoringly once again, with exclamations of 'He's so cute when he's flustered!', 'Shun is so adorable!', and 'He's my new favorite host!' ringing out among them.
The girls at this school really have too much time on their hands, Shun thought to herself. She flinched when she felt a hand on her back. Thinking it was Tamaki, she whirled around, but she was only met with the friendly face of Haruhi.
"It looks like you're pretty good at this," Haruhi complimented Shun humbly, observing the elated girls who were enthusiastically chatting about their new favorite host.
Shun crossed her arms over her chest and huffed in response. "It's not like I'm trying to be."
Later...
Kyouya was pressing numbers into his calculator, and Haruhi noticed that he was typing the day's income into his computer a bit faster than usual. She would have thought he was gleeful if it weren't the Shadow King she was referring to.
"Well, it seems you've gained quite a bit of popularity." Kyouya smiled at Shun, shutting his computer and tucking it under his arm. "Coincidentally, we've also resolved the issue concerning our expenses. I assume I have you to thank."
"Don't mention it," Shun replied wearily as she sunk down into her chair, completely exhausted. I guess I'm basically your money tree. Glancing with tired eyes at the corner of the room, she spotted Tamaki still brooding in the corner.
"Uh, Tamaki-senpai, you alright?" she asked, sitting up in her chair.
"I think he's still upset," Haruhi said, walking towards Shun. "You should probably apologize. You were pretty mean to him, after all." She placed a hand on Shun's shoulder. Looking up at Haruhi in surprise, she gazed over at Tamaki with a softer expression and stood up, slowly trudging over to him. Finally, she crouched down next to him, placing her hands on her knees.
"Um, I'm sorry for acting out like that," she apologized guiltily. "I'm not really used to having so much attention on me at once. I guess I'll just have to get used to it, right?" Laughing awkwardly, Shun rubbed the back of her neck.
Tamaki's head turned slightly, and he suddenly sprang up from his position on the floor. Shun jumped, losing her balance and falling on her rear. Haruhi rushed over to help her up, but both of them were quickly engulfed in Tamaki's arms.
"Oh, my little girls are so cute! I forgive you, Shun!" Tamaki cried jovially as he squeezed the life out of the two.
"That wasn't an invitation for you to hug me!" Shun's voice was quickly muffled when Tamaki continued to swing the two girls around.
Eventually, he set them both down and held his chin, striking a pose. "So, what do you think of the host club, Shun?"
At that, Shun burst out laughing, much to the shock of everyone else. "It's insane!"
I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter is when I'll start following the anime's order of episodes. This chapter was basically to give you an idea of Shun's character. Now, about Shun's appearance, it is slightly similar to Haruhi's—as mentioned by one of the girls. The only main differences between them are that Shun is a bit taller (around 5'4"), has a more 'strong' build (i.e. broader shoulders, stronger muscles, etc.), and has shorter, messier hair. To put it simply, it would be harder to tell if Shun was a girl than it would be to tell if Haruhi was a girl, but if someone were to look closely, it would become obvious.