A/N Yay! Here is chapter 2! Now, for all of you who favorited me or my story or alerted it, I thank you..but reviews would be love.
So I would like to dedicate this lovely chapter to my very first reviewer: SamXwasXhere. I just replied to your review and said I'd have the next chapter up tomorrow or thursday...well, here's a little present for you. Hope you enjoy my second chapter.
This is going to probably be the shortest chapter for a while...I've started to grow accustomed to longer chapters, just because the reader get's a more in depth experience into the writing...plus I believe you've waited enough, so a longer chapter should be your reward :) If any of the characters seem a bit OOC, I apologize. I've really tried to mature the characters in my own way, so that they are better equipped to deal with what I've got in store for them. I also believe that despite what they may seem like on the outside, their inner thoughts, which are what I primarily deal with, are subject to interpretation and manipulation on the writer's part....and I'm ranting. Please enjoy and review!
Haruhi POV
The day had gone by surprisingly uneventfully, aside from the usual cracks from the "higher ups." In other words, I had managed to go another day, thankfully, without breaking, busting, destroying, or demolishing any priceless artifacts/antiques that could be added to my lowering but still freaking high debt.
Since first coming to Ouran and breaking that stupid forsaken vase two months ago, I had managed to bring my debt down a few thousand yen. Yippee, another 770,000 yen to go! Of course it didn't help that Kyouya looked constantly for reasons to add to my debt. Come to think of it, I wasn't truly sure how much more I had to pay off.
The day had finished and all of our customers had left for home. Tamaki had called a mandatory meeting to decide the plans for next week's host days. Like we ever decided anything at these meetings. Usually it took Kyouya-Sempai mentioning something to Tamaki to "give him an idea." He is so freaking full of himself. Damn rich bastard.
We were all sitting around the main table on various seats. I was nestled (unwillingly) between Hikaru and Kaoru on a small two person sofa. Kyouya sat in a cushioned chair with his laptop, Honey and Mori sat on another couch, a three person couch that they would not let me go sit on. Tamaki lay sprawled across a loveseat, dramatically talking with his hands like he was showing off for our guests.
"I've got it!" Tamaki exclaimed, shooting upright in the chair. "Stereotypes."
I stared at him, blank faced.
"Stereotypes," Kyouya repeated.
"Yes. Stereotypes. That is going to be our next theme! Imagine it! I'll play the jock, Honey the small nerd, Mori the band geek, Hikaru the cross-dresser, Kaoru the gay, Haruhi the poor scholarship person, and Kyouya the goth!" Tamaki exclaimed. I was pretty sure Kyouya hadn't suggested this idea, judging from the look of shock that quickly crossed his features.
"I like it!" Honey exclaimed around a mouthful of cake.
"Mh." Mori grunted.
"Poor scholarship person?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"It's not like you have far to go, Haruhi," Kaoru said in my ear.
"Yeah, I mean, you already embody the stereotype, you just need to look the part," Hikaru agreed into my other ear.
"Why can't I be the, the, I don't know? The emo?" I whined.
"The what?" Tamaki asked.
"The emo. You know, the emotional? Like, the boy who cuts himself to get rid of the pain and stress and pent up anger he is feeling. You seriously have never heard of that?" I asked.
"No, but it is an interesting concept," Kyouya said, speaking to me briefly then pushing his glasses up further on his nose and making a note on his laptop.
"Well we could always dress her up as a cheerleader and have Hikaru and Kaoru hang all over her. She could be the skanky cheerleader and they could be the boys she screws without remorse." I gaped, wide-eyed, at Honey's random and totally out-of-character input.
"What the hell?" I asked blatantly.
"Ooh, I rather like that idea!" Tamaki exclaimed.
"That would mean unveiling Haruhi as a girl," Mori reminded.
"Not necessarily. We could say Haruhi is cross-dressing. It might even bring in more customers for her," Kyouya said.
"What? No! I refuse!" I said.
"As always, your input means nothing, Haruhi," Kaoru said.
"We need to do research! We must find the perfect cheerleading outfit for Haruhi!" Tamaki said, totally serious.
"We know who to study. The Americans are famous for their slutty cheerleaders. All we need to do is study their uniforms," Hikaru said.
"Yeah, I think they even have cheerleading movies that we can watch and look for ideas. Then, our mom can make some uniforms, right, brother?" Kaoru said. Hikaru nodded furiously and turned his look of glee on Tamaki.
"I like this idea. It is decided then. We shall portray stereotypes next host club. Meeting adjourned," Tamaki said formally.
We all stood up and looked, surprised, at the window as the sound of shattering glass hit out ears.
Six teenagers flew, yes, flew, as in with wings, in through the window. The boy in the front, he had to be at least nineteen, carried a beat-up girl in his arms. She smiled briefly at us before I saw her body go limp as she lost consciousness.
Hikaru pulled my arm and forced me behind Kaoru and him. I peaked around the twin and stared at these new people. A small girl with blonde curly hair smiled at me and started to walk over to me. "Angel, no," another girl, African-American, said to the blonde and grabbed her arm.
"How can I help you?" Kyouya asked calmly, as if these people hadn't just broken in through the window.
"Look. I don't know who you are and I don't really know why we're here. All I know is that this girl here in my arms needs help and you can offer it," the boy holding the girl said. His voice was deep and reflected the obvious muscles showing through his tight black t-shirt. His hair was long and hung around his face and shoulders, just long enough to be sexy. It was the color of night, and, as I looked harder, was the same color as the things protruding from his back. They couldn't have been wings, because that was impossible, right?
"Honey-sempai," I whispered to the small senior standing next to me. He wasn't hiding, just biding his time, checking out the newcomers. "The things on their backs. They can't be wings, can they?"
Honey looked at me with wide eyes. "It's impossible," he laughed, but it didn't sound like the lighthearted laughs the boy usually spouted.
"Put her down on the sofa there. We will see what we can do for her," Tamaki said graciously. I saw Kyouya glance sharply at him. The boy walked over to the large sofa Mori and Honey had just recently vacated and laid down the frail girl in his arms.
"Ok, well I know I probably shouldn't, but I'm going to introduce myself. Hi, my name is Nudge. No, I'm not joking. No, I'm not a freak. No, these aren't fake wings on my back. Yes, I can fly. Yes, you may call me Nicole. No, you may not call me anything other than Nudge or Nicole. We need help. We were flying over your country when our leader, Max, fell. She landed hard on the ground and broke a bunch of bones and may be dying. We. Need. Help. So, if you can help us, great. If you cannot, we will leave and had best not see any of this on the web or on TV. Yes, if we see it on the internet or television, we will hunt you down," the girl that had stopped the small blonde girl spoke in a calm but firm tone.
"Oh, and no, there isn't anything you could do to stop us. Not even you, Kyouya," the small blonde girl said and smiled sweetly at Kyouya. No freaking way! She just told off Kyouya! And threatened him as well! Oh, my mother loving gosh.
Kyouya's glasses flashed and I saw in his eyes his momentary astonishment. I voiced the question, safely from behind Hikaru and Kaoru, on everyone's minds. "Pardon me, but I have to ask. Who are you?"
"My name is Angel, Haruhi Fujioka," the small blonde girl said directly in my direction. I would know; I was peeking out from behind the twins. "It's ok. We aren't going to hurt you. Please, Max is hurt and she needs help. Isn't there anything you can do?"
"Me?" I asked as I stepped out from behind the twins. Hikaru was quick to grab me and hold me against his chest.
"You aren't going anywhere," he whispered in my ear.
I looked up pleadingly into his eyes. "Please. She thinks there is something I can do to help her Max. Let me help." I turned my gaze onto Kyouya. "Add it to my debt, if you have to. I'm going to help these kids."
Hikaru, shocked, let go of me and I walked slowly but with an air of determination over to the girl Angel. "How can I help, hon?"
The girl, Angel, grabbed onto my hand and walked me over to Max. I passed the girl Nudge and the three other boys with her, all of them looking distrusting in my direction. I walked with Angel until we stopped in front of Max.
She was a beautiful girl, dirty blonde hair, wavy. She was curvy in all the right places and thin, and her wings were beautiful. Her breathing was light, and I knew she was going to need help. "Her arm is broken, maybe her leg too, and her wing is damaged, maybe beyond repair," Angel looked pleadingly up at me. "She needs help."
"What do you think I can do?" I asked the small girl. I knew from dealing with Honey on a daily basis that I needed to humor the young and young at heart.
Get Tamaki to help. Turn on your charm. Look, I'm really bright for my ten years…think of me like you do Honey, young-looking but really wise beyond his years. I know you are a girl, and I know about your debt. I promise you Kyouya's thinking of adding a lot more to your debt than money, but he won't charge you for the broken window…he's going to charge us, and I promise you we can take care of that. Who knows? Maybe we'll be here for a while. I really like your mind, Haruhi…it's not clouded with meaningless junk. Of course, none of this was said out-loud. Oh, no. I heard all of this in my mind as I was looking into this small girl's eyes.
"T-Tamaki-Sempai," I looked over at the Host Club King. "Please. This girl needs help." Tamaki still looked unsure, so I walked over to him and grasped hold of his hands, bringing them up to under my chin. "Will you do it for me?" I asked quietly, looking up at him from under my eyelashes, a trick I had learned worked on the boys when they were being highly unreasonable: i.e. when Hikaru and Kaoru were insisting I was their "toy" and they wanted to go "play." Three words for them, Hell freaking NO!
Tamaki's face lit up and I winced as he threw his arms around me and held me too close to his body. "Oh, my baby is so cute when she looks at me like that. Of course, my daughter! I will do everything in my power to help these people," Tamaki gushed. I started having trouble breathing and was glad when Mori quickly helped me out of Tamaki's embrace.
I smiled my thanks up at Mori and he simply nodded at me. I looked over at Tamaki's forlorn expression and smiled sweetly at him. Walking over to him, I gave him a soft hug and looked up into his eyes. "Thank you, Sempai."
Tamaki wrapped his arms around me softly, one hand across my waist, the other on my head, pulling me to him. "Anything for you, my daughter," he whispered.
Letting go of me, Tamaki looked over at Kyouya. "We shall take her to my house, where she will be cared for by my personal doctor." Kyouya simply looked at the President and shook his head. "Why not?" Tamaki nearly whined.
"She needs to go somewhere where she can be taken care of discreetly. Your father has been in too many tabloids lately, therefore there will be more press at your house, looking for a scoop. She will be much more protected at my house," the Shadow King replied.
The girl on the sofa, Max, groaned a bit and shifted slightly, the movement ending in a pain-filled gasp. The boy who had been carrying the girl rushed to her side and grasped hold of her hand, using the other to brush away a piece of hair from her face.
"How soon can you get her to a doctor, Kyouya?" asked the girl, Angel, who had spoken to me.
"I shall call for our car now. Hikaru, Kaoru, gather some rags and wet them down to clean off Max," Kyouya said calmly.
I wasn't sure why Kyouya was so keen on helping out these people, but I had a feeling it was because I wanted to help. I wasn't quite sure myself why I wanted to help; only knowing I felt a strange connection to Angel. She looked over at me from her position next to the sofa and smiled at me sweetly.
Thank you, Haruhi-sama. I started at the title she bestowed upon me. No one had ever called me that. I gestured to the girl to some over to me.
"How can I hear your voice in my mind?" I asked quietly. She looked up at me and smiled again.
"It's part of what I can do. I promise to tell the whole story to all of you very soon, but first we need to take care of Max." Angel turned from me to look over my shoulder. "Honey! Might I have a word with you?"
I turned to see Honey smile up at the girl as she walked over to him. A tap on my shoulder caused me to whirl. I looked up into the eyes of Nudge. "Hey," she said.
"Hello," I replied.
"Um, I just wanted to thank you for helping us out. You see, Max really scared us when she took that nasty fall, and I just wanted you to know how much this means to us. To say the truth, we don't even really know why we are supposed to be here, only that Max knew this was right."
"Hey, it's ok. I'm the type of person that wants to help."
"Well we appreciate it nevertheless."
I smiled at the girl. Hikaru and Kaoru walked over with stark white cloths wetted down. "We've got some rags for you to wash off Max somewhat," Kaoru said, offering up the fabric.
"Thank you," Nudge smiled and took the "rags" from the twins. She walked over to Max and started wiping off the dirt and sweat from her body.
"So, Haruhi, why were you turning on the charm for dear old 'daddy?'" Kaoru asked, shoving his face directly in front of mine.
"Impulse I picked up from dealing with you two," I muttered under my breath.
"Haruhi?" Kyouya called my name from the door. I rushed over to him, leaving the twins in my wake.
"Yes?" I asked politely.
"Please help these people get Max downstairs to my car. We will take her to my house and let my doctor look her over. I trust you can get the rest of them over there?" Kyouya said coolly.
"Of course. I'll take care of it right away." I rushed over to the small group of teens after a small bow to Kyouya. "Angel, there is a car waiting downstairs. If you can move Max, Kyouya will be able to take Max to where she will be looked after."
She nodded and told all of this to the group of kids. The boy that had originally held Max picked her up again. "Lead the way," Angel said from beside him. I nodded and turned my back to them, walking past the other members of the Host Club.
I led the group of kids down to where I knew Kyouya and his car were waiting. After laying Max in the car, the boy looked over at Kyouya. "She will be taken to my house and checked over by the best doctor money can buy," Kyouya told the boy. He nodded and moved to slide into the car next to Max. Kyouya stopped him with a hand to his chest. "I apologize, but you cannot come with us."
"Max does not go alone," the boy spoke. His tone was threatening, the sound deep and mature.
"I will go with her, if that is alright, Kyouya," Angel said. She looked pointedly at Kyouya and he nodded, allowing her to slide into the car. "I'll watch over Max, guys. She'll be fine," Angel smiled at her group of kids.
Nudge nodded. Kyouya slid into the car and shut the door. The driver put the car in drive and just like that they were off.
So, yay or nay?
Let me know in a REVIEW (hint hint wink wink nudge nudge) what you think about the longer vs. shorter chapters and if you think I'm totally off for my story.
Next chapter: Kyouya and Angel get a little one on one, everyone gets to spend a little time together. Plus! Royal Pains Doctor Hank refrences and Kyouya...COOKING?! It's all instore for you next!
Ember :)