Disclaimer: If I owned Ouran High School Host Club, I'd get the entire Host Club to sing 'Mata Ashita' in a video and post it on YouTube, just for the crack factor. ('Mata Ashita' is a song sung by all the seryuu on the 'OHSHC OST 2')
Summary: They say 'let bygones be bygones', and that the past should be laid to rest. So if you're Fujioka Haruhi, what do you do when the past decides to catch up with you, and the Host Club interferes?
A/N: There's actually videos using 'Mata Ashita' on YouTube already, so, just in case... presenting:
Disclaimer Two: I own this plot line, yes, but I don't own Ouran High School Host Club, so don't rub it in, ok?
A/N 2: "English" conversations. Also, Beware: Lots of chit-chat present in this chapter...
Collision Of Time
Chapter Two: Need A Room? Your Details Please...
Hey Tari, do you like ramen?
... Why?
Well, I developed a sudden urge to eat pork ramen. Shall we go buy some after school ends?
Yes?
... You're suggesting that? Are you alright, Haruhi?
Ye-
-Wait, are you even Haruhi?! The Haruhi that I know won't simply suggest something like that, so who are you?! What have you done with Haruhi?!
... If I had known that this would be the reaction I get for even asking, I'd never have asked you that...
"Tari-chan, what's your full name?"
"Faust-kun, what's yours?"
"Where are you both from?"
"How old are you two?"
"Are you and Faust-kun related, Tari-chan?"
"Why do you have blond hair, Faust-kun? It's almost the same shade as Tamaki-sama's..."
"Do you like cake, Tari-chan, Faust-chan?"
"..."
"Does Ranka-san know of your presence here?"
"How do you even know Haruhi?!"
"Alright, enough questions, all of you," Haruhi said, frustrated, as she tried to calm down an increasingly agitated junior (Guess who?) and a pair of similarly minded twins. The rest of the Host Club, as well as their customers, had gathered around Haruhi's table, where the visitors were seated. "Faust-kun", as the girls had dubbed him, merely sipped from his cup of tea as he watched the whole scene with a widening grin on his lips; "Tari-chan" blinked in confusion, mind still busy grasping and keeping the fact that Host Clubs really did exist.
(A/N: Shouldn't that minor detail be absorbed in a long time ago? Oh well...)
"Tamaki-senpai, would you stop spouting out all those questions? And Hikaru, Kaoru, stop copying and encouraging him!" Unheeded, Honey tugged on Natari's T-shirt sleeve and kindly offered her a plate full of chocolate and strawberry cakes. "Eh? Oh, arigatou... um..."
"Honey-senpai, or you can call me Honey-san or Honey-kun! And this is Takashi; everyone calls him Mori-senpai or Mori-kun!"
Natari blinked at the senior's words. 'Wow, that's a lot of flowers in the air...'
"Ah, arigatou Honey-san," she tentatively sliced a small piece of chocolate cake and popped it into her mouth. A delighted expression lit up the black-haired girl's face and she cheerfully agreed with Honey's remark of "They're really good, aren't they?".
"Ano, Faust-kun? Could you tell us your full name?" All those occupied in the room turned towards the blond visitor as he drained the last of his drink and granted the curious female an apologetic grin. The girls swooned at that; Tamaki (and to a certain extent the twins) looked furious with that reaction, while Haruhi and Natari sighed.
'Well, it's nice to know that some things never change...'
"Onnisan, you want to answer first or do I start?"
"You, preferably." Natari rolled her eyes at her brother's behavior, then turned towards the small audience awaiting her answer.
"Alright, introductions first. My full name's Natari Lee Hsia Ming, and this is my older brother Faust Lee. Where are we from? We currently live in Malaysia; it's a Southeast country near the equator. Check your geography textbook or world map for more details..." Natari paused as Faust continued, noting to herself that the student who had greeted them in was busy writing notes in what seemed to be a black ledger book.
"As to how old am I, I'm 17 years old this year and she'll," pointing a thumb at his sister, "be 16 this year, though she doesn't look it-"
"-Hey!"
"That's a fact, so deal with it." Ignoring the fuming girl by his side, he resumed the Q/A session. "On why I have blonde hair like that guy over there," gesturing at Tamaki, who had disappeared into his moping corner, "I'm not fully Japanese. In fact, I'm not even sure if I am... My mother told me that she had a small degree of Japanese blood in her, but I never knew whether she was joking or not. She was definitely Chinese, though, and my father was European, so that makes me 'rojak'."
"Ro-jak?" This time it was one of the twins' customers who spoke.
"It's a non-offensive slang term used among Malaysian students to describe people of mixed blood," Haruhi smiled as she took a seat opposite her two visitors, a tray of tea-filled cups in her hands. (She'd finally given up on trying to get Tamaki to stop sulking). She offered them around to the girls, who accepted the cups gratefully, and handed the last few over to the rest of the Hosts, those being the twins, Honey, Mori and Kyoya. Kyoya declined his politely, citing that his hands were full, so she passed it to Faust who started sipping away at it.
"How do you know what it means, Haruhi-kun?" One of her own customers asked. Tamaki's ears perked up at the mention of the freshman's name, and he quickly joined the group, ignoring the twins' teasing smirks.
"I used to call him that whenever he teased me over the phone. He always backed down after that," the brown-haired Host threw a triumphant smile at the blonde seated opposite her, winning the hearts of many of the girls over in the process.
"Haruhi-kun looks so cute/cool/handsome/etc when he does that!" was whispered all around the female population currently inhabiting the Third Music Room, before an unidentifiable tone filled the air.
"Sorry, my bad. Excuse me while I take this call," Faust gave a curt nod in the direction of everyone and walked over to the windows, opening his cell phone with his right hand as he did so and holding his cup with his left hand.
Eh? Your favorite food is ootoro (great fatty tuna)?
Not really; it's more like I want to taste it... someday...
"Yes, what's up Ryu?"
"We have a problem, Faust. The rooms at the apartment where we are supposed to stay at caught fire a few hours ago."
"... How'd that happen?"
"It would seem that the previous occupants tried to cook some food on the stove provided in the rooms. Unfortunately, they tried to do so after inhaling a large amount of beer and whisky."
"You mean they were drunk?"
"Yes. The details are still being worked out, but we definitely will not be staying at those rooms any time soon. Shall I endeavor to book rooms elsewhere, or do you have any other places in mind?"
"What'd you-"
"-The two of you did come here to visit a old acquaintance, am I right?"
"... Good idea. Give me a few minutes to call you back with the news."
"Haruhi, imouto, could we talk privately for a few minutes?"
Both girls looked up from their seated positions at the blonde teen, his right hand motioning for them to come over to where he was standing. They exchanged glances before Natari got to her feet, wiping her hands on her blue slacks and mumbling under her breath as she did so.
"What does he want now..." Haruhi looked apologetically at her customers, who smiled back and urged her to follow ("Don't worry Haruhi-kun, we don't mind!"). After Faust had left to answer his phone, Kyoya had insisted that the other Hosts head back to their various places with their own customers and do what they did best: hosting. Tamaki and the twins tried to refuse, but the look Kyoya had given the trio... Suffice it to say that it could have rivaled the look which appeared on the Shadow King's face whenever anyone tried to wake him up early.
No one dared to object to his request after that.
"What is it Faust-senpai?"
"I thought I told you to call me Faust... never mind. We've got a minor problem..."
"Hold on. You three, there's a reason why onnisan added the word 'privately' to his question just now," Natari, with both Faust and Haruhi backing her up, sent a glare in the direction of the second year, blonde eavesdropper and his two 'lackeys', Hikaru and Kaoru. It was enough to send Tamaki into the corner (again), and while the twins did their best to pry some information out of Faust (who merely ignored them, wondering why they tried interrogating him and not the other two), Natari gave Haruhi a pleading look as she asked, "Is there anywhere where we won't be disturbed by them?"
'Good question...' "Perhaps outside this room would be better... if Kyoya-senpai allows it..."
"Great, I'll go ask him." And the black-haired teen took a hasty stride over to a busy Kyoya. After a fast exchange of words, she came back with a small smile.
"He said as long as your customers are fine with it, he won't add this into your debt." Hearing this, Haruhi sweatdropped.
'Kyoya-senpai...'
Luckily, the hallway outside the Third Music Room was deserted when Haruhi and her two companions walked out.
"So what's the problem?"
"We need a place to stay at for the entire duration of our visit here," Faust explained briefly. His sister cut in.
"I thought Akusa already went to confirm our reservations?"
"Actually, the rooms booked for us caught fire." The two girls had looks of disbelief on their faces (though Haruhi's one was more toned down than Natari's), and really, it was no surprise to Faust that they did.
What are the odds of booked rooms catching fire when their soon-to-be-residents were coming in that very same day?
'Rather dismal, should I even be bothered to count the odds of it happening...'
"So... hey, I've got a great idea! Can we stay at your place Haruhi?" The black-haired girl gave the other female her best smile. Unfortunately, it didn't have its desired effect; Haruhi put on a stubborn face instead.
"No."
"We'll be sure to pay rent." This time it's was Faust's turn to make a convincing argument.
"... Still no."
"But Haruhi..." Natari wined in a manner eerily similar to that of Haruhi's 'second dad's', and Faust put forward another point.
"What about if your father agrees to everything? We'll be sure to treat you to ootoro for dinner as well..."
'Nice one, Faust-senpai.'
"... Alright, but on the condition that my father approves." As the two siblings exchanged high-fives, she continued on, "How long are you both planning to stay?"
"Eh? Didn't you get my letter?"
"What let- oh, the one that arrived this morning? I haven't opened it yet." Faust smirked at that, then gave his sister a 'I-told-you-so' look before flipping open his cell phone and speed-dialling Ryu.
"... No wonder you didn't know we'd be coming to Japan... Darn," Natari swore and let loose an annoyed glare in the direction of her brother, who was re-entering the music room. Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head, and she turned back to Haruhi.
"Haruhi, why are you dressed as a boy?" Said teen sighed and wearily said, "It's a long story... I'll explain after I get home."
"She agreed with it."
"Good. I will pick you both up in 5 minutes."
"So we'll be seeing you later, Haruhi. Has your address changed?"
Mori turned around to follow his cousin's path as he hopped off his chair and headed towards the trio entering the Host Club's premises, jumping onto Natari's back when he arrived. Said teen nearly toppled backwards, but managed to regain her balance. A pain-filled glance swept across her face, disappearing faster than a bolt of lightning.
Someone, however, observed it in time and quietly recorded it away in his memory, in case it should prove useful in the future.
"Ne, ne, Tari-chan, Faust-chan, are you leaving already?" A slightly-disgrunted Faust ('That's my sister you're clinging onto!') gave the sweet tooth a mild glare before answering.
"Yes, a friend of ours is giving us a lift to our next destination. Sayonara, then. Ladies," he bowed elegantly and flashed a flirty smile, "My apologies, but farewell. Perhaps we'll meet again someday..."
The female customers in the room, predictably, cooed, swooned and gave him adoring looks. Some downright fainted.
Natari, though, gave him a hard elbow nudge; Haruhi on the other hand sent him a 'what-are-you-doing' glare that inwardly earned the approval of Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru.
'Score one for Haruhi!'
As Faust exited the room for the second time, Natari slid up to Haruhi's right side and discreetly placed a hand on top of Haruhi's head. The freshman too gave her a 'what-are-you-doing' look, but let her hand be. After two seconds Natari slipped her hand off in a straight line and placed it sideways against her own forehead.
"Er, Tari, what are you doing?" Said girl had a widening grin on her face.
"Wow, I really can't believe it..."
"What?"
"I'm finally a couple of inches taller than you!" Natari said cheekily as Haruhi (and the rest of the Host Club, who had been left in the background) gave her odd looks. The black-haired girl waved good-bye before running after her brother, leaving a mix of amused, shocked and silent hosts in her wake. After a period of 124 seconds (counted by the vice-president's inner timer), Kyoya deftly summed up the situation when he said:
"Well, that was interesting."
"So, how many questions do you have to ask Haruhi?"
"Quite a lot, starting with 'Why are you dressed like a boy?'. She said she'll explain later, though. You? I'm surprised you didn't ask her anything just now."
"Hey, I had my own Q&A session to deal with. I guess we'll be staying up late tonight right?"
"Definitely. I want to hear everything..."
End Notes: A big thank you to everyone who has ever read this (all 471 of you), and to bridget, TheBlackSpider, BloodFat, iluvchocs, thanks for taking the time to review!