A/N: Aaand, the second chapter is now updated! Yayy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.
Chapter 2
Tick-tock...Tick-tock… Tick-tock... Tick-tock… GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG, GONG.
As the clock tower struck six, the Host Club members were all, once again, seated around a familiar table.
Akira took a sip of her tea and leaned back, looking at the line of six boys sitting across from her. Haruhi had already left for home earlier in the evening.
"So… you're Sohma, Akira… right?" Tamaki asked for what seemed like the billionth time. Akira sighed, setting her cup down.
"Yes, I am. Do I have to make myself any clearer? My name is Akira Sohma, and my twin brother is Arata, who I have been… acting as."
"Truthfully, I don't understand how you can act like such a charming person like earlier," Kaoru started thoughtfully.
"But turn out to be a scheming, un-charming person," Hikaru finished bluntly.
"I can't say it wasn't difficult," Akira shrugged. "My brother is a rather kind person, and in order to betray him, I had to act like him. How he can be like that all day, however, is something I don't understand. I suppose I'll have to ask him later on…"she glanced over at Kyoya. "But, I can still be in the Host Club, right? Besides you, no one figured out…"
"I don't see any reason you can't, if it's your choice," Kyoya said, giving a warning glare towards Tamaki. The blithering idiot would probably say something about how fair maidens shouldn't hide their true gender…
Tamaki, of course, took no heed in Kyoya's warning and stood up, nearly knocking the table over.
"I disagree!" he shouted loudly. "A fair maiden like you should enjoy the extravagances in life and not have to hide your gender!"
"Then, Fujioka…?"
"Oh, Haruhi is just paying off a debt," Tamaki said dismissively.
"Is that so…?" Akira raised an eyebrow. She turned around promptly and knocked over crude clay statue of Tamaki's head.
Crash!
"… Although that was most likely not made by anyone of important value, it's a pity that it got broken." Turning back around, she ignored the blonde king -whose face seemed to mirror his shattered counterpart on the ground- and looked towards Kyoya, instead. "I'll leave it up to you to determine the price of that… thing. Since I refuse to pay in cash, I suppose I'll have to work in the Host Club… but for now, however, I'll have to go." Standing up, she made her away across the broken clay.
"….MY HEAD!" Tamaki wailed. He started sobbing and raced for his emo corner.
"Oh, right," Akira looked back at Kyoya. He raised an eyebrow at her. "How exactly did you figure out that I wasn't Arata?"
"…Your ring," he pointed out. "You were wearing that on the news this morning."
Akira blinked at him and looked down at her hand.
"Oh, this…" she murmured quietly. A small, triumphant smile formed on her face.
"Not just that, however," Kyoya continued. "I've worked with your brother before. It was a small collaboration to do with an idea he had, concerning health issues for children… we're on first name basis."
"What are you going on about?" Akira asked, utterly confused. Then she recalled something.
'"It was nice working with you for the first time, Ootori!"'
"Oh. Right." Feeling annoyed with herself, Akira walked out the room, slamming the door behind her.
While the twins worked on soothing Tamaki, Honey looked up at Mori. They had been quiet for the entire conversation, but now the tiny senior decided to speak up.
"Ne, Taka-chan… do you think she wore that ring to school on purpose? I mean… she doesn't seem like the type of person to make a slip up like that."
"Hnn," was the only answer he got in return.
"KYOYA!" Tamaki was suddenly by the table again, his face full of smiles. "I've just realized… this would be a wonderful opportunity for Haruhi and Akira to bond together, becoming more feminine. However…" he frowned. "We know nothing of Akira-chan… who she is, what she likes, what she dislikes, and especially why she would want to join the Host Club. Do you think you could find out?"
Kyoya stood up, heading for the exit as well.
"Don't worry, Tamaki," he said smoothly. "I was already planning on doing that."
*The next day*
"Ara-chan, over here!"
Akira looked up from the lunch line, glancing around to see who had called for her… it wasn't actually that hard to guess, she concluded, spotting the Host Club as they frantically waved their hands about. Who else would call her "Ara-chan" except Haninozuka?
"What's up?" she asked, nearing their table. If it weren't for her situation, acting as her brother, Akira would have most likely ignored them. Things were different, however…
"Yo, Akira," Hikaru said loudly, playing around with a fork. "What's u-," he was interrupted from finishing his sentence as Kaoru frantically clapped a hand over his brother's mouth. Hikaru's eyes widened, realizing what he had said far too late.
The cafeteria was eerily silent, until a girl spoke up.
"Ne, Arata-kun… why did Hikaru-kun call you Akira? Isn't that your sister's name?"
Akira shot a glare at the twins before smiling at the person who had spoken up.
"Yes, well… as a joke, the Host Club decided to start calling me Akira, since my sister and I look so much alike…" she gave a shrug, smiling. "I take it as a compliment, though. My sister's an awesome person."
Squeals erupted through the air, and Akira winced.
"That's so kawaii!"
"Can we call you that, as well?"
"Uhmm… I suppose," Akira sighed, regretting what she had said. Things were happening way too fast… "Just, don't call me that in front of my family, alright? I don't want my sister to be embarrassed."
"Arata-kun! You're so thoughtful!"
"We'll call you Akira-kun from now on, ne?"
"Oh my gosh, he's so charming…"
"Dude, I'm so jealous of that guy! He gets called a girl and they all still love it! Man…"
Akira sighed, sitting down several seats away from the Host Club.
"You guys are idiots," she said, glaring at the twins. "Can't you keep your mouth shut about anything?"
"Well….Now that I think about it…" Hikaru frowns as his brother lets go of him. "No, not really."
"But look at it this way," Kaoru shrugged. "Now, you won't have to get used to being called Arata… although it's really scary, how closely you resemble him. I think I've seen him on T.V once or twice… You guys look exactly alike."
'It's not that she looks like a complete guy, however…' Kaoru thought. He and his brother had seen her on the news earlier, and she definitely had some curves, then… it was just covered up by the uniform, at the moment.
And Arata… he was presumably more feminine-looking than most guys. The two of them had hair that ended in between the neck and the shoulder and side-bangs that covered their right eye.*That type of hairstyle ended up looking really charming on either gender… or maybe it was only the two pale Sohma twins that could pull it off so well.
This, of course, was just from a professional's view. Nothing more…
"Aki-chan, would you like some cake?" Honey asked sweetly, interrupting Kaoru from his thoughts. Now that everyone was calling the girl "Akira", the senior thought that might as well change from "Ara-chan" to "Aki-chan", as well.
"No thanks, I don't really like cake all too much."
Tamaki suddenly whipped around from the conversation he had been having with Kyoya, who now looked incredibly irritated.
"Tamaki…"
"You don't like cake?" he asked, whipping out a notebook.
"…Not really," Akira said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "Why?"
"OH, NOTHING AT ALL!" the king exclaimed as he wrote a note down. Giving a thumbs-up to the twins and the seniors, he resumed his conversation with the irritated Shadow King.
Hikaru sighed.
"What part about discreet does Tono not understand?" he asked when Akira left.
"Hika-chan…" Honey said slowly. "I don't even think that Taka-chan knew what that word meant in the first place."
*On the other side*
"Tamaki, I thought I told you to leave it to me," Kyoya said through gritted teeth. "What are you doing?"
"Well, the twins, Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai, and I agreed on executing "Operation Learn More About Akira-chan"! What do you think, is it a good idea?"
"… I sometimes wonder how you passed middle school," Kyoya sighed, standing up. "I'm leaving."
"Hey, that was just plain cruel, Mommy!" Tamaki shouted towards the retreating figure. "And DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE MEETIING THIS EVENING FOR THE DANCE PARTY!"
"…. Which person out of us two would be most likely to forget?"
*Later, at the Host Club*
"…Tono," Hikaru started, glaring at Tamaki who was over in his emo corner, gulping down ramen. "Stop eating that commoner's ramen and help us plan the dance party, will you?"
"Is he really that upset about Kanako-san switching over to Haruhi?" Akira asked smoothly, her chin resting on her hands. Although talking to the Host Club members was still as awkward as ever, she managed to remain civil.
"Well," Kyoya said, typing away on his laptop. "She tends to hop from host to host, though no one knows why. Up till today, Tamaki was her favorite, so that's probably why he's upset."
Tamaki couldn't take it any longer. He burst up from his spot in the corner, ramen flying everywhere.
"THAT'S NOT WHY!" he roared at them starting to sob. "I j-just want my H-haruhi to start acting like a girl again… back to this!" he cried, pulling out a huge framed picture of a familiar looking woman with long, dark hair.
"Senpai, will you please not blow up pictures of other people WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION?" Haruhi yelled right back at him. The others ignored the squabble and gathered around to study the picture.
"I don't get how it went from that," Hikaru said, pointing at the picture.
"To that shabby look you had before we met you," Kaoru finished, looking back into his memories with distaste.
"Well, I had gotten some gum stuck in my hair, due to these neighborhood boys…" Haruhi started, tilting her head. As she rattled off her explanation for cutting her hair, Akira walked off, gazing through one of the many windows. She started twisting her ring absentmindedly.
"And what exactly are you doing over here? Am I supposed to plan the entire party myself?"
Nearly jumping out of her wits, Akira whirled around to see Kyoya no less than two feet behind her.
"Don't do that!" she huffed angrily. Then she added in, "Isn't that what you always do?"
"Yes, but if you want to fill up your quota before graduating high school, you will have to contribute in something besides attending to the guests," Kyoya coughed, adjusting his glasses. "The statue of Tamaki's head… it was discussed yesterday, and Tamaki says that it was… priceless."
"I could pay for priceless," Akira muttered as they walked back towards the table. "Just throw him into one of those commoner's markets that he's so interested in, and my debt will be over. That's the easy way out of it."
"Then why are you doing this, Sohma?" Kyoya pulled back a chair for her. Of course, she ignored him and sat in another chair. "If news leaked out that we let you, a female, into our Club, then there would be trouble on both sides. I, for one, do not want the CEO of Sohma Industries to be breathing down my neck. You, on the other hand, most likely don't want the same thing to happen as well, am I right?" He sat across from her and leaned forward slightly. "So, why take all of the trouble to join in the first place?"
"… Personal reasons, Ootori," Akira stood up, the chair grating across the floor. "I may be willing to respect you. It will usually depend on my mood, but that's definitely not going to happen if you start to ask questions about me, my past, or anything even closely relevant with me. If things keep on going as smoothly as they are, then you won't have to worry; I'll be out of your hair by high school graduation. I'd like to let you know, Ootori, that I'm actually quite similar to you. I don't like it when people stick their noses into others' businesses. Now, I'll hope this won't offend you or anything, but I am not afraid of you, like some people may be. You can bring on anything you'd like, but no matter what, it won't work, so don't even bother to try."
As the others were still engrossed in Haruhi's picture, no one noticed the speech that Akira had just made, nor the long silence that had followed while the two stared each other down. Kyoya opened his mouth to speak-
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Tamaki suddenly appeared behind Kyoya's shoulder, looking at the laptop. "K-kyoya, you haven't even gotten anything done!"
"Sorry, Tamaki," Kyoya said. "I got… distracted." His eyes flashed over towards Akira, who looked in the other direction. As the others got back to work, they failed to notice the tension between the two was tighter than ever.
A/N: This one was long, even though nothing much really happened. Hrm.
*If you want an image of the hairstyle I was planning for Akira/Arata, then Google "Caspia hair", and the first picture is kind of what I was imagining… maybe with a purple-ish tint? I'll give a fair warning right now, though; the picture is like one of those Maplestory people icons… except it's like a mannequin, with no eyes. Or clothes. Erm, yeah, just thought I'd let you guys know, so I won't be charged for making people look at odd things.
Hope you enjoyed it, please look forward to more ^^~! -Megane-IchigoRush
