Twilight: Hm…I think I work better depressed. I don't own Ouran.

. Doe Eyes .

… an Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction

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Doe Eyes © Dragon of Twilight


Ouran High School Host Club © Bisco Hatori

This introduction format © B a y o – B a y o

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CHAPTER F O U R:
"Unwelcome Visitors"

Zenmyo hunched down over her microscope, trying to concentrate on the purple stained cells in front of her. But the person hovering over her shoulder would not be ignored.

"So, what happened at that Ouran place?" Nodoka asked for the hundredth time, blue eyes wide with supposed innocence. Her tone was dripping concern, but the object of Nodoka's years of teasing was not fooled in the slightest.

After she'd managed to escape Ouran's maze-like halls, she'd leapt onto her bike without even saying goodbye to the bewildered guard and pedaled furiously for the apartment that she called home. Abandoning her bike on the lawn, she'd collapsed into bed despite the fact that it was only late afternoon, and drifted off to sleep, immensely grateful it was Saturday. She only had classes four days of the week that lasted from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon.

When she'd woken, she'd found her shin and shoulder bruised, her stomach growling, a dozen irate messages from Nodoka on her answering machine, and her bike stolen. She hadn't really been angry, more resigned than anything; it was her own fault and the clinic was only a ten-minute walk away, but she didn't have the money for a new one. Nodoka did pay her for clinic duty, but she wasn't afraid of docking her pay if Zenmyo didn't do her job.

Of which Nodoka gleefully informed her as she dragged herself through the doors of the clinic to feed and medicate the outside animals. Zenmyo sulked through her chores and by the time she had withstood another battering from Mika, this time getting a hoof directly on the bruise she had acquired on her shoulder, she was exhausted and not looking forward to her university classes the next day.

After her outside chores had been done, Nodoka had been merciful and set her to looking at blood and fecal smears of the small animals inside the clinic to check their condition. She didn't seem to notice the disappearance of the pet carrier or the tranquilizer rifle, despite her OCD-like tendencies.

Zenmyo counted it as one of life's little miracles. But she wasn't off the hook yet. The stare she could feel on the back of her head demanded an answer.

"Nothing happened." Zenmyo mumbled unconvincingly. She flinched as Nodoka's hand came down on her sore shoulder, gripping lightly. She tried not to wither in her seat as the older woman squeezed, sending shocks of pain down her arm.

"This—" She gave a particularly hard squeeze that made Zenmyo whimper. "—Doesn't seem like nothing."

Zenmyo's lip quivered at the memories rather than the slight ache, tears of humiliation welling up and she sniffled. Instantly, Nodoka was hovering over her, petting the fluffy mop with gentle strokes, smiling widely.

"You don't have to tell me now, my little Zen-chan." Nodoka's voice was a high singsong as she bent to give the little brunette a hard hug. Zenmyo giggled as the black-haired woman huffed in her ear. "But I'll find out sooner or later."

Despite the ominous words, her tone was playful and tinged with her usual impish attitude. Comforted by the familiar teasing, Zenmyo laughed and lightly shoved her away, making shooing gestures. Grinning, Nodoka retreated to the front desk. Unfortunately for Zenmyo, the door to the lab was right next to the admissions desk and from there Nodoka resumed her attempts to get information.

"So, it says here that you were phoned to go catch a tanuki," she called, her voice deceptively innocent. "How come I don't see a new tenant?"

Her smile melted away to a hard frown. "He had an owner." Zenmyo explained shortly, feeling a cold shiver run through her spine. She bent further over the microscope, seeking distraction in the swirling blue-strained patterns on the slide.

Spotting the brief tremor in the arm Zenmyo was using to adjust the scope; Nodoka leaned over, eyeing Zenmyo shrewdly. "Mm-hmm…"

That unnerved the girl more than any other response could.

Zenmyo eyed the open door, out of which she could see the back of Nodoka's head as she bent over the computer, for about fifteen minutes. Eventually the paranoia faded as she could concentrate on the slides again. Squeezing a drop of fresh blood on one end of a slide, Zenmyo used a separate slide to smear the blood over the slide's length and left it to dry.

The aim is to get a region where the cells are spaced far enough apart to be counted and differentiated. She recited to herself, watching the smear slowly change color. When it turned a pinkish-brown, she gently dipped the slide briefly in a small glass of methanol to fix the blood to the slide. After fixation, the slide is stained to distinguish the cells from each other.

Learning techniques to better care for the animals in her charge was one of Zenmyo's greatest reasons to choosing to become a veterinarian and attend a university. She knew most of the basic techniques, but she enjoyed reading about them and learning simpler and more efficient ways to do them. The dull monotony of searching the slides for microbes and parasites, noting the ones that were already there, logging in the white cell counts, and admiring the large lymphocytes that were occasionally captured by the methanol fixing was somewhat soothing to her.

Which made it all the more jarring when Nodoka's voice reached her, giddy with an unnerving mix of bemusement, humor, and a devilish delight that made her toes curl.

"Hey, Zen-chan~! Got some people here who want to see you!" She called again, and Zenmyo turned her head to see her pointing to someone in the waiting room.

"Who?" Zenmyo asked uninterestedly, bending over the slides once more. "I'm busy doing your job."

"You'll have to come and see!"

Heaving a sigh, she halfheartedly turned, eyes reluctantly following Nodoka's pointing finger to the front door as she silently condemned Nodoka's one-track mind. It was either work or socializing, and she couldn't decide which mattered more. It certainly kept Zenmyo on her toes like she was walking on sun-baked concrete, and it was just as painful.

She was so surprised when she saw them standing outside that she accidentally turned the adjustment knob too hard, and the end connected hard with the glass slide, shattering it. Her eyes were wider than saucers, her heart hammering in her chest as she gawked stupidly at the Host Club with her mouth hanging open.

Eventually, her mouth snapped shut with a low moan. This is too much! Have mercy, mighty overlord…please, just kill me and spare me the embarrassment!

Finally, she tuned in to the loud chatter of their voices. She suddenly became aware that her palms were clammy and her heart was beating so fast she could feel it in her fingertips.

Why did they have to come here? How'd they find out where I work?!

"My dear, may I ask your name?" Tamaki was saying to Nodoka flirtatiously.

"Don't get carried away, Tamaki-senpai. We only came here so Mori-senpai could apologize to Zenmyo." Haruhi's annoyed voice was instantly recognizable.

Zenmyo could almost see Nodoka's eyebrows climbing their way up her forehead. To her horror and embarrassment, when Nodoka spoke again, her voice was low and sultry, seasoned with all her sixty year's worth of experience. Immediately, Zenmyo made a beeline for the front desk, a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"Sure." The much older woman purred, leaning over the desk to tip the blond teen's chin with a delicate touch. "It's Matsumoto Nodoka. But you, my handsome prince, may address me however you think is appropriate."

Zenmyo had the urge to slap her hand over her eyes when she managed to see what was going on. The rest of the Host Club stared blankly at the scene before them, watching this strange woman seduce their king. Tamaki stared dazedly into Nodoka's dark blue eyes, his face cradled in her hand, struck speechless for what might have been the first time in his life. He was used to women swooning under his touch and before his sweet words, but he'd never had one return his attentions in quite this way. Nodoka was perfectly aware of what she was doing, and, from the other side of the desk so the others couldn't see, wiggled her fingers at Zenmyo in a hand signal that had the usually timid girl practically leaping onto the counter to push them apart.

"Okay, Nodoka. I'll take it from here." Her voice was resigned and slightly angry. You'll get your answers soon enough, you crafty old witch.

"It seems my presence is no longer welcome." The black-haired woman tilted her head, putting her index finger to her pouting lips. "Sorry, Tamaki-kun, but you're a little young for me. Maybe when you're older." With a saucy wink, she retreated into the back room.

Zenmyo slapped her forehead hard enough to leave a red mark. Someone kill me…

"Older? How old is she?" Kaoru asked, his voice slightly incredulous.

Hikaru looked like he was still trying to recover, and only let out a slow whistle. Tamaki blinked, finally snapping out of his daze to stare expectantly at Zenmyo.

"Yes, I'd like to know as well, despite how rude it is to ask for a lady's age." He looked slightly pained at that.

Zenmyo smirked, and the twins drew back slightly, looking decidedly nervous. At the sight of Zenmyo's strained, though still smiling face, Hunny smiled weakly from on top of Mori's head, looking a bit frightened.

"Zen-chan's smiling."

Mori, holding back a shiver himself, replied, "Yeah."

Tamaki's eyes widened as a mirthless chuckle escaped from her mouth, and Kyoya—standing in front of the bulletin board that held pictures of all the adopted animals that the clinic had rescued—looked up from his ever-present black notebook, eyebrow raised. The smirk slowly softened into a softer, comforting smile that, for some reason, did not make them feel any better.

She walked around the counter, placing a hand gently on Tamaki's shoulder. "Tamaki, Nodoka's sixty four."

There was complete silence for about ten seconds before all hell broke loose.

Tamaki let out a shriek that sent Zenmyo reeling back with her ears ringing and sent her hiding behind Haruhi again, this time in reflex. Babbling unintelligibly, Tamaki rushed over to Kyoya, reaching out for him with both arms. Kyoya casually moved away, the picture of unruffled nonchalance. Mori scooped up a staring Hunny and carried him after Kyoya as the king of the Host Club locked his arms around the shocked Hikaru and Kaoru's necks and proceeded to wail loudly in their ears, making them start protesting. Of course, they had to yell to be heard over him, which made Tamaki yell louder…

Tugging Haruhi behind the counter, Zenmyo pulled the second rolling chair over and sat her on it, slumping down herself with a sigh.

"Sixty four, huh?" Haruhi stated expressionlessly.

"My boss likes to mess with people." Was the sheepish reply. Massaging the bridge of her nose, Zenmyo reached for a milk bone from the kitty-shaped container perched on the counter. "I knew he'd take it badly, but not that badly."

The other girl gave her an odd look as she bit down on the dog treat with a satisfied crunch before cautiously taking one herself. "It's Tamaki-senpai we're talking about here, right? He overreacts to everything."

"I suppose…" She murmured, before biting her lip. "…Haruhi, what are they doing here?!"

Finally getting to the question she'd wanted to ask for the last five minutes, Zenmyo leaned forward furtively, flicking a nervous glance at the orgy of mass hysteria that was Tamaki and the twins.

Haruhi sighed heavily, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, the very picture of exasperation. "You left your bag at the Club and I was planning on returning it to you. They insisted on coming along."

Pitifully, Zenmyo whimpered with frustration before glancing around briefly. "Where is my bag, then? Not that I'm not happy to see you, Haruhi, but I have chores…"

"Mori-senpai has it." Haruhi's voice was flatly unsympathetic.

Zenmyo flinched instinctively, remembering the tall, silent boy that she'd almost managed to forget was in the same building as her. She forced a pleased smile. "Really? Good! Could you go get it for me?"

"No." Haruhi shook her head, fixing the other girl with a disappointed look. "You really need to get over your fear of him, Zenmyo. Mori-senpai's a good guy."

"So you say…" Zenmyo mumbled, frowning and looking away.

The girl beside her reached out a comforting hand. "If you could just tell him why you're afraid, I'm sure—"

"No!" Her reply burst out much louder than she meant to, and she blushed when the noises from Tamaki and the twins stopped.

Tamaki poked his head over the counter cautiously. "Are you all right, Zenmyo-chan?"

Zenmyo glanced up at him as the rest of the Host Club came over to the front desk, her face a picture of despair and humiliation. She flinched when she felt Mori's eyes on her, and Haruhi rested her hand on Zenmyo's shoulder, giving Mori a sympathetic look after shaking her head. His eyes saddened, and he gently set the black bag down before moving away. There was a tense silence as Zenmyo attempted to ignore the questions in their eyes.

Kyoya's smooth voice breaking the silence was a huge relief. "Perhaps we came at a bad time. Yuhi-san, would you be as so kind as to stop by the Host Club after your university classes tomorrow?"

"University classes?" The twins exclaimed in unison.

Hunny blinked, gasping childishly. "Zen-chan, you're a university student?"

"Her young looks are deceiving!" Tamaki said delightedly, eyeing Zenmyo with new interest. "You age beautifully, Zenmyo-hime!"

Briefly forgetting the eyes trained on her, Zenmyo gaped at Kyoya. How does he know I have classes tomorrow?!

As if reading what she was thinking, Kyoya pushed up his glasses with a finger, making them flash white. "I looked at your files." Then, as though there was nothing wrong with that, he smiled warmly at her, though it seemed oddly malevolent. "The Club resides in Music Room 3. Ask any student and they'll be able to direct you there. You are invited to attend tomorrow free of charge."

Zenmyo opened her mouth, ready to politely decline, but a glint in Kyoya's steel gray eyes made her think better of it and nodded mutely. He really is the Shadow King…

"Excellent. We will await your return."

Tamaki threw his arms into the air. "I have a new daughter!" He declared tearfully to the ceiling.

The twins slowly began to grin at the thought of this new, timid toy. Haruhi shook her head, looking at her so sympathetically she felt her stomach knot. Hunny cheered and Mori managed a small smile. Maybe this would give him a chance to apologize…

And thus, she was trapped in the web of the Host Club.

I'm screwed…

"Ne, you look sick, Zen-chan. Do you want to borrow Usa-chan?"

A/N: You like?

Special thanks to; sethrox9730, WerewolvesMoon, KageNoNeko, novellover, LookOutShe'sGotAPen, and Mariel of Fantasy. And, as always, my beta HowCouldThisHappenToMe.

Thank you!

Signing out,
Dragon of Twilight!