Full Summary: Tamaki and Kyouya are about to enter their senior year. Mori and Hunny are graduating and moving on to bigger and better things. Congratulations! Or is it? What will happen to the host club as it loses two of its members? No, no. No one could replace Mori and Hunny. But surely this would be resigning to the eventual dissipation of the host club. You know what they say "when one door closes another door opens," right? However, after hearing that, one can't help but wonder: why does one door have to close for another door to open?
((A/N: Alright. First and foremost, let me apologize for the delay. Computer broke, for one. AP Frenzy. And just general laziness. I decided to just re-outline the whole thing. And yes, it came out better than expected. Now, I'm excited for this fanfic. Definitely. I hope to finish most of it over the summer. As well as produce a few more OHSHC fics. Anyway, without further adieu here's chapter three. R&R.))
"Talking."
'Thinking.'
(Time Passing or something like it.)
((A/N.))
Your Everything Chapter 3: A Fallen Blossom
(Flashback.)
"Bad luck, Haru-kun. School bags jumping into ponds, what next?"
"Yeah, what?" Although it was more or less intended to sound sarcastic, Haruhi was absolutely serious. What was next? —She really wanted to know.
Let's recap. Within her first week at Ouran Academy, she broke an expensive vase, was mistaken for a guy—a gay guy, recruited to be the Host Club's dog, then an actual host, 'adopted' by a flamboyant upperclassman, harassed repeatedly by an unknown bully for an unknown reason, and now designated by a Princess that didn't care for her too much.
Really, now. That's quite a week.
"But you shouldn't have bothered Tamaki-sama about it. It was just a cheap school bag, after all." Akanokoji, the princess, continued snidely, "Best you don't misunderstand his interest." Princess Ayanokoji rested her chin on her connected fingers, leaning closer to her threat—namely Fujioka Haruhi, special scholarship student—exacting an increasingly malicious smirk. "The reason you have his attention right now is because of your unusual background. However, there are those who might not see that has harmless and will get upset…"
Okay, so the princess' statement strongly implied that Haruhi, perceived to be a pauper, was receiving far too much attention for her to stomach. Well, it's not like Haruhi enjoyed having a bizarre, conceited senpai pose as a doting father. She did try to pry him away. Several times. Still, why would this girl care? It was perceived that the purpose of the host club was to entertain idle, affluent women (and profit off of them). It just didn't make sense. Unless, of course! "Is this… jealousy?"
(End Flashback.)
Satoshi blinked finding yet another threatening letter in his desk after school. 'Resign from the Host Club or else.' It read. The third one this week. He frowned, not knowing the identity or the reason for his bully. Still, he couldn't resign. Rejecting Tamaki-senpai's generous offer would be rude.
"Hey, what's that?" Chika, his classmate and lifelong friend, poked the back of the letter curiously. And then peered over it as to see what was written on it.
"Nothing!" Satoshi screeched, violently crumpling the letter up. "Don't read other people's letters, Yasuchika! It's RUDE!" And then, he pulverized the poor boy. So, by default, he chose the or else option.
'Misguided queens like that…'On the top floor of the south wing, at the end of the north hallway lies the third music room.
'…Pop up every now and then. So it seems.'
Open the door to find our host club, dressed in grandiose cosplay—this theme: chess. The florist prepared the rose petals while the other hosts rearranged the furnishings to suit the theme. It was a normal spring day for the host club. Well, as normal as it gets, anyway.
'What the crap?' Thought a perplexed, and somewhat irritable Chika. The two freshmen examined themselves in the mirror of the back room, sporting checkered suits with hats resembling that of the bishop chess piece. "This is dumb. So very dumb," muttered Chika, scratching at the awkward hat thing.
"Ya. Su. Chi—" Began the taller freshman, shaking with rage.
"Gah! I mean. This is… fun! So very, very… fun." Nice recovery for Haninozuka Yasuchika; although, it was a blatant lie. He was barely able to hiss that statement through his clenched teeth.
"Chika-kun. Satoshi-kun. Are you dressed?" Asked the host club natural, Fujioka Haruhi, Class 2-A. After receiving confirmation from Satoshi, Haruhi entered the backroom. Her costume was quite similar; although, her piece was intended to look like a rook.
"Good afternoon, Haruhi-senpai. Aren't these costumes the coolest?" Replied a cheery freshman. Satoshi, of course. Definitely not Chika.
To that question, Haruhi merely nodded in agreement. Although, she, too, thought that their themed cosplaying was wasteful and pointless. At the very least, it consumed much time. Though the customers did seem to enjoy it. Still, chess themed? What would be next? It was hard to tell. Still, she sensed a sort of sadness from Satoshi. Unusual for him; he was always so bright and cheery. From Chika, an angry aura dominated. That was not so unusual.
"Do we really have to wear these?" Whined the former, still unaccustomed to the bizarre, quirky ways of the host club.
But before an angry Satoshi could chime in, Haruhi interjected, "Ah! I realize it seems (very) stupid and (ridiculously) pointless. But (theoretically speaking) in time, you'll kind of (sort of, not really) get used to the cosplay." Yeah, that was Haruhi trying to be reassuring. Well, she tried, right?
"I guess…" Chika's large brown eyes drifted away. She was short for a high school student; but, then, so was he. Still, her words weren't reassuring, but her existence was. At the very least, there was a club member who shared his anti-cosplay feelings. But then, "Fujioka-senpai. Why are you in this club?"
Right. 8,000,000-yen debt. "Well, about a year ago I…"
'They don't know you're a girl.'
Kyouya's words resonated about her. That's right. The freshmen thought she was a boy.
'And we have no real intention of telling them.'
Right, she should be more cautious. Though, it couldn't hurt to give the younger Haninozuka a filtered explanation. "I um… have a debt to the host club. Shall we?" Haruhi lightly shoved the door open, gesturing for the two to enter.
"Hai, hai! Thank you, senpai!" So, Satoshi recovered and stepped through the door into the ornate chess-themed music room. "Wow! This is incredible!" Exclaimed Satoshi upon seeing the room. "You upperclassmen are brilliant!"
Brilliant? Tamaki? Perhaps more than he lets on.
"Places everyone." Ootori Kyouya ordered the club as he took his own place around Tamaki's throne.
'Haiii! Kyou-chan!' Ever-enthused Hunny-senpai chirped, saluting the vice president. 'Takashi! Takashi! Hurry, hurry. Kyou-chan said'
'Aa…'
What was this? Was Ootori Kyouya, the shadow king, feeling nostalgic? Missing his upperclassmen? No, no. Surely not. Not Kyouya. Never. "Irashaimase." Kyouya chimed in, snapping out of that random flashback. The twins and Haruhi stood to the right of Tamaki's chair while the freshmen and Kyouya were on the left. The rose petals danced about them in their weird chess piece cosplay. Still, the girls entering the host club swooned.
"Another game, Princess?" Asked Tamaki, the chess king, in a flirtatious tone. He let the girls win. There's no doubt about it. It was simply impossible for him to lose everytime. "A radiant beauty and a brilliant mind. Those are both extremely desirable qualities." The king put extra emphasis on the word desirable as he delicately placed his fingers under the young lady's chin causing her to squeal with delight.
"H-hai… one more game."
Elsewhere, "Kya! Hunny-chan kawaii!" Squealed one of his guests. Another senpai, this one was from class 3-C.
"DON'T!" Began the seething freshman, loudly and coarsely. However, his tone magically shifted upon feeling Satoshi's shinai poke his side. With a sense of suppressed rage, Chika's voice became quieter, but remained especially rough. "Please call me Haninozuka-kun, respectable senpai." It was unfortunate, but the 'respectable senpai' found this to be more 'kawaii' than the costume. And thus, she gushed over it.
This time, Chika received a smaller turn out than expected while Satoshi gained another guest. Three had designated Satoshi, and only three had chosen Chika. It was still three too many for Haninozuka. What a stupid club. He seethed. However, the girls seemed to like his temper. Yasuchika had gained his own identity as a host—the rebel type. Satoshi, unfortunately, was still living in the shadow of his brother.
"I…" began Maruto, blushing furiously, "baked you another cake, Satoshi-kun." Well, perhaps he still had his own identity with some people. She brought up a cake from out of nowhere, a chocolate one with pretty frosting.
However, the twins, determined to find something—anything that Satoshi's tastebuds could not stand, had sabotaged the cake. They replaced the sweet and beautiful cake made by Maruto with another composed of the standard cake ingredients replacing the sugar with salt and drenching the mix with vinegar. Not to mention the Tomato paste frosting. The mischievous devils leaned over the side of the couch to get a better view.
"Arigatou, Senpai!" And then, younger Morinozuka downed it.
'Yes, yes, yes!' The twins mentally congratulated themselves for their brilliance.
"It's…" A dramatic pause, "It's amazing! You're so talented, Maru-senpai. Could I get the recipe for my cooks?"
'No, no, no!' The twins mentally scolded, looking quite miserable for such a failure. This was terrible. They'd have to come up with a different plan. Some absolutely nasty concoction. Still, their disappointed faces did not go unnoticed.
"Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun?" One of the more daring customers interrupted. "What's the matter?"
'Think fast. Think fast.'
"Hikaru. Such a distant, lonely face." Kaoru quickly recovered the situation, putting on his best sorrowful face with a tone to match. "Are you… angry with me?" The younger twin looked away, tears brimming his eyes.
Hikaru caught on quickly, embracing his twin gently caressing Kaoru's cheek. "Never. You are perfect."
"H-Hikaru…"
"Kyah! Brotherly love!" Squealed their customers in unison.
The girl, Maruto Masumi, scurried off to call home to get the recipe. In an instant, she was in the hall on her fancy cell phone. Of course, her host would have the recipe immediately.
'Silly girls.' Haruhi thought, sighing. Glancing over at Tamaki then to the twins, she realized that the girls weren't the only silly ones. Still, she couldn't forget her purpose at the club.
"Haruhi-senpai?"
"Yes? I mean…" She blinked. No, it wasn't one of her own guests that addressed her. It was Satoshi's second guest, the freshman.
"Um… that is… Where can we get more tea? I asked Satoshi-kun, but he said he didn't know." She fumbled with her words, twiddling her thumbs.
"Oh. I'll go get some. Wait here." She obeyed and Haruhi went off to get a silver tray and a matching teapot. With tea in it, of course.
And then there were two. "Sato-kun…" began Satoshi's third, and only remaining customer. Izumi Sachiko. Odd, she hadn't designated him since the first session. "Why are you even in this club?" The upperclassman leaned forward, contemplatively; her malice surfacing. "I beg your pardon, but… you just don't seem cut out for this work." Izumi's eyes darkened, glaring at a speechless Satoshi.
Not cut out for it? Words like that resounded about him. Morinozuka Satoshi had but one aspiration, admiration. And that was his elder brother, Morinozuka Takashi. Still, he had been ecstatic to join this club, as it was something his brother was well known for in high school. Had he… failed?
"So you finally stopped talking?" She twitched angrily. This kid, talkative and outgoing. This annoying kid was supposed to be Mori's brother. Her beloved Mori's little brother. What a disgrace. Appearance-wise, he might be a suitable replacement. But this kid was nothing like her beautiful, silent Mori-senpai. "You may look like your brother, but you will never be him. You really should just resign from this—"
"Um. Excuse me…" a soft voice interrupted from behind. Ah, it was an eavesdropping Haruhi returning with a tea tray. Well, this scene was rather familiar to Haruhi. "Izumi-san?" She asked, lightly setting the tray on the table. "I'm pretty sure that Mori-senpai wouldn't appreciate anyone saying such things to his younger brother, so…"
So Haruhi-kun had heard the whole thing, eh? "This is an outrage!" She screeched, slamming her fist on the table. "This… this boy is not… Mori-senpai!" Izumi Sachiko seethed, breathing coarsely.
Now, this incident did not go unnoticed by Kyouya, vice president. He instantly appeared behind Haruhi (startling her, of course), commenting coolly, "No. Satoshi is not Mori-senpai. Are you blind or just stupid?" Ah, the dark aura of the shadow king surfaces. "The lady has misunderstood completely, but our intention was not to replace Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai. It never was. Still," he adjusted his glasses, "It is not for you to judge who is and who is not worthy of this club. For such violations, you are banned from the host club until further notice."
"F-for what violations?!" She rose to her feet, glaring menacingly at the vice president. "All I did was…"
"Bullying. Sending threatening letters. Basically harassing one of our valuable hosts." Her eyes widened with horror, then anger as she shot a glare at the poor freshman. "What? You really think we wouldn't notice? He didn't say anything. Still, you could've been more discreet. A girl like you should show a little more grace, don't you think?"
"I…" Izumi began, but could not resume. She immediately ran out of Music Room 3, banned from returning thereafter.
"Not another one." Hikaru groaned, leaning over the couch. The twins had observed the whole scene from afar. Of course, Tamaki was far too preoccupied with himself to notice the whole thing transpire.
"Aa. But this was expected, wasn't it?" The younger twin mumbled to no one in particular.
"Well, at least that's settled," declared Kyouya, after some time. He then went off to record the ban of Izumi Sachiko. One of the difficulties he had foreseen for the freshmen, still, he hadn't expected it to be one of Mori's old customers. With Chika's attitude contrasted with Hunny-senpai's cheerfulness, it seemed more plausible for this sort of bullying for Chika.
"Nee, Satoshi-kun…" Haruhi, noting his disappointed expression, took a seat beside the one whom she addressed. Perhaps he had taken the disgruntled customer's words to heart. "Are you okay?"
"Uh…Hai." He reassured her, but required some reassuring himself. "Am I… not like my brother?"
"Nope." Oh, this was Haruhi's famous honesty. "You both have different qualities, strengths, weaknesses. Those are the things that make you individuals. However, as Kyouya-senpai said, you are not meant to replace Mori-senpai. As a host, you and Mori-senpai are both different but equal." Well, it was a paradox so it didn't make much sense. But it was enough to satisfy Satoshi. "At any rate," she continued, "Mori-senpai seemed kind of happy (as happy as he gets, anyway) when he found out you were going to be in this club. So far, I think you've done a good job (adjusting to the bizarre way this weird club.)"
"Senpai…" Tears streamed down Satoshi's starry eyes at these beautiful, beautiful compliments. "ARIGATOU!" And so, Satoshi's spirits were high. He would not, could not resign from the host club. Even though he was not like his brother, he still aspired to make Takashi proud.
(Some time later.)
"Mom…"
"Yes, Dad?" Kyouya looked up from his laptop. Club hours were over and almost everyone had left.
"I heard about the incident… that girl was really harassing our son?" Tamaki Suou wore a concerned expression.
"Are you worried?" The light caught Kyouya's glasses when he turned to face the chairman's son, 'Dad.'
"No. That kid's a fireball. I know he'll recover his spirits…"
"I mean, about the plan?" A sly smile crept across his face.
"Ah, that. Everything so far hasn't turned out the way I thought it would." Tamaki frowned, lost in thought.
"So it would seem." Vague as ever, that Kyouya. Still, with comments like that, Tamaki couldn't help but wonder if Kyouya had a different plan. He was usually the mastermind of everything.
"But you know, Kyouya," The king flashed his brightest smile, "I still believe that, even if the process differs, the outcome will be the same. I believe, truly."
With that, Kyouya averted his attention back to the laptop, "I hope your right, Tamaki. For your sake and theirs. But you have just enough luck to see this desirable outcome."
(End Chapter 3.)
((A/N: Well, there's a clear pattern with all my chapters. Unfortunately, this chapter didn't turn out to be quite what I envisioned it. I had hoped to create a bully (Izumi Sachiko) for a good purpose that wasn't really fulfilled. Sorry. ;; If this chapter isn't quite what it should be. Although, it won't interfere with the plot much. I made it much longer than the previous chapters. Since I made you all wait and everything. Izumi probably won't make another appearance in this fic. Don't fret. I have a lot of humor planned for the next few chapters. Torturing of poor Chika and such. Yes, he has a cute side. And if any of you are wondering about the chess piece costumes. Yeah, I don't know either. I stole the idea from a theater production. ;; It's random, I know. I just enjoyed the musing on the cosplay thing. I still haven't decided on any definite pairings, so I'm still taking requests. Anyway, let me know what you think.))