I retreated into the prep room and closed the door not long after the club opened. This is so incredibly embarrassing! Of course, why didn't I see it? Someone is going to steal my fame. I'll never be able to show my face in public again. This host club will ruin me!
There comes a knock on the door. I glare daggers at it in the brief second before someone begins talking.
"Mizuki-chan? Kyo-chan says you need to come out now."
"Fine," I groan. I push myself up from the floor and straighten out my costume. Before leaving, I dig a coin pouch out of the school bag I threw on the floor. Reaching the door, I smirk to myself, brandishing the bag in front of me.
If you can't beat them, join them.
I open the door with a flourish. Upon seeing the room, I let my gaze wander and pick out a subject at random. I decide on the young boy called Honey-senpai and his much older companion, who's name I have yet to learn.
I walk over to their table, standing there smiling until Honey-senpai notices me and says, "Oh, its Mizu-chan!"
"Hi!" I greet cheerily. "Do you want to see a magic trick?"
"Oh, you're the girl who turned the fountain bloody," A blonde guest says. I nod and smile at her.
"Yes, I am. So do you want to see a magic trick?" I ask again. The girl shrugs. Honey-senpai claps his hands happily.
I open the coin pouch and, my fingers still inside, slip a fake rubber thumb on to my own. I then grab a bright red silk cloth, shove it into the fake thumb so it's concealed, and proceed to awe them all with only parlor tricks.
X-***-X
Ouran Academy courtyard, 4:12 pm
After the host club closes up for the day, the club's official members stand in a loose circle next to the fountain (Now running with water but if you look closely, still stained red in some places and reeking of iron).
"It pains me to see a lady conflicting herself like this!" Tamaki dotes. "We have to help her!"
"What does she need help with, Tamaki-senpai?" Haruhi asks. "Maybe Mizuki-chan is just normally like this."
"Actually, boss, there was something she mentioned to me," Kaoru speaks up.
"What's that?"
"Well, she mentioned that she had a sister in Karuizawa that she's not on speaking terms with."
"Oh!" Tamaki gasps. "We have to help them reconcile! Did she mention a name?"
"Yeah," Kaoru ponders. "Kagami, I think."
X-***-X
"Takumi?" Are you in here?" I call, peeking in to the classroom where he told me he'd stay to wait for me and study in peace.
"Yeah, Mizuki. Ready to go?" He slings his bag over his shoulder and I fall into step with him as we leave. As were walking, Takumi stops and leans over my shoulder to look out the window. He grunts and says, "I wonder what they're talking about so intensely."
I look over my shoulder and see the host club in a circle talking importantly by the fountain and shrug. "No idea, and I don't really care."
