The beginning of the chapters skip to the end of our story, then it does a flash back to their appointment with the male client and then skips back to the end for the chapter's conclusion. I have took some artist licence and fiddled and exaggerated. Also you find things out very slowly when it comes to the OC. But (hopefully) it will be worth it.
Each chapter follows one of the characters but in third person. But as characters often do not know the whole picture, do not trust the whole narrative. All shall be revealed!
I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. I do apologise for my errors, making up new words and being very melodramatic.
The shadows lingered all over Music Room 3. They crawled up the walls; they danced on the ceiling; they flung themselves all over the furniture. They draped themselves everywhere. The peach-coloured walls now mixed with the royal blue sky outside to create a depressing purple. The shadows embraced the people in the room.
The majority of light that entered the room was the silver, soft light of the moon, which made everything in its path more elusive. This gentle lights teased the shadows away slightly. Due to this light, Kyoya could begin to approximate some of his friends' features. He could make out their silhouettes; their cat features also. The only person who was not hidden in the shadows was Nekozawa, whom the shadows cowered away from as the moon stroked his pale skin.
The second light entering the room was mostly by the door, which protected the figures in the room from the screaming mass of fans outside. It was the light from outside, a light from a different world completely. Everyone could hear the excited chatting and giggling from the army of yellow. The light could only peek in from underneath the door. It danced mockingly as the shadows outside moved.
Kyoya sighed heavily, feeling yet another tedious burden rear its ugly head.
"Kyoya," said the only silhouette without cat ears, "I want you to read this out."
Kyoya grabbed the settled air for whatever was concealed by the shadows. He felt the soft, chilling skin of Renge's hand and then moved towards her thumb to feel for what she wanted reading out. Paper.
Renge passed on the paper reluctantly, admitting defeat. In this bleak abyss of shadows, she surrendered to Kyoya. Immediately Kyoya took control. Firstly he was to rid of these treacherous shadows which endangered his new victory.
"Nekozawa, get the candles. Ten, one for each of us."
The boy with the longest blond hair nodded. He delicately padded into the shadows, unforced in their territory.
Kyoya groped his way around the room he was normally so familiar with. The shadows seemed to distort the images so that Honey looked like a chair.
Eventually Kyoya found a chair and sat directly under the moonlight. Now the hosts could see their new leader perfectly but he could not see them. They were merely shadows with heart beats.
Umehito handed everyone a candle, just as he was instructed. Kasanoda fumbled in his pockets for his lighter and sparked a flame to life. He rested the new flame onto his candle's wick. The two then merged to make a new flame, alarmingly safer than the flame on his lighter. He dampened his fingers with the saliva on his tongue and suffocated the life out of the elderly flame. Using the new source of light, he lit the wicks of the others' candles to create a nursery of flames, dancing around merrily and frightening the shadows further away, even though they were still part of the mass majority.
Now the flickering flames of the candles lit their faces, all of them ready for Neko-Day. The prince of darkness growled internally as he remembered that they were running late due to the power-out and Renge's outburst with the letter. Folding one long, nimble twig of a leg over the other on his throne, he scanned the letter in his possession.
This letter was another victory for him. Despite the frown on his face, internally he was grinning. It was one less worry on his shoulders. One less argument with the King. One less stain on the Host Club's reputation. One less freak.
He imagined the freak writing the letter, his brush artfully stroking the paper, every flick for effect. The dark boy could see the freak nodding proudly at himself, expecting the others to grieve over his sudden departure. Kyoya bit his lip to retain a giggle as he imagined the embarrassed expression on the freak's face if he had managed to tell him that, although he used the right characters, he used them in the wrong order.
Then he returned back to reality. Although this letter brought good news to Kyoya, as the freak was nothing but a nuisance and a creep to Kyoya, he remembered that the other hosts had their different opinions about him. Thus, he should try to act solemn to sympathise with those who will grieve for this loss whilst remaining calm and keeping authority. So, with a gentle but yet controlled tone in his voice, Kyoya read out the letter to his subjects.
It was near the start of the spring when the male client scurried into Kyoya's life.
The massacre from the winter's reign still scarred the landscape, the weather and the memories in the students' heads. But the winter's power had loosened its frosty grip as a few flowers resurrected from underneath the frosty glaze that held the grass. The sun sparkled timidly, scared as if the winter would return too soon. However none of this was noticed by the Host Club.
Sat at a table, Kyoya was not hosting like his comrades. No, he was calculating numbers and working out percentages. A hurricane after hurricane full of numbers whirled in his head. Tamaki's extravagance really was too much for him, this time. The account books were full of stupid, needless luxuries that only Tamaki and the Hitachi twins would think necessary. Kyoya sighed as he tapped in the newest set of numbers into his calculator. He read onwards in the account book to see if there was any good news to spear him on. It just so happened that there was. Despite Tamaki's and the Hitachi twins' massive costs, there was not many more. The female clients had been making Honey sweets, so many that the club did not need to buy any. Haruhi was like an unpaid maid, taking sheets home to wash and cleaning the club room up. The only costs left (excluding Tamaki's purchases) would be the costumes. They were hardly a problem, Renge often had some spare. All seemed a bit better now for Kyoya. He became eager to finish the calculations so he could plan for the next event: Neko-Day. So he plundered on, facing hurricane after hurricane, until a voice distracted him.
"Excuse me sir."
Kyoya first ignored the voice. He thought it was a fracture of his imagination. Mind tricks. His brain continued the Math-athon of numbers until the same voice interrupted him.
"Sir, excuse me, is this Host Club?"
Kyoya turned round. His dark eyes narrowed behind his glasses, looking the speaker up and down. It soon came apparent from the blue blazer that the speaker was a boy. Kyoya growled mentally. They often had males walk in, some causing arguments and disturbance as they came to find their girlfriends being fussed over. Others waltzed in to try and embarrass the Host Club by twirling their hair and puckering their lips at the Hosts. Many were kicked out; physically by Mori or orderly by the Prince of Evil himself. As his dark eyes examined the boy closely, Kyoya made judgements. Either this boy is a fantastic actor, Kyoya concluded, or he is looking for his girlfriend. Or perhaps he wanted to become a host. But then again, Kyoya added to his thought process, he is not the most attractive boy in school. He reminded Kyoya of when they first met Haruhi. The boy had scruffy, mousey brown hair that stuck up in any angle it desired. His clothes were too big for him, however, at least he could afford the uniform. His blue eyes tried to hide beneath his glasses, which slid half way down his nose every five seconds until the boy pushed them back up.
"Yes, this is the Host Club."
The boy pushed up his glasses once again as a blush rose to his round cheeks. He looked down at his shoes, avoiding eye contact with the taller boy, biting his lip as his brain worked.
"D-Do I walk in or does someone sit me down?"
Kyoya registered the boy's accent straight away. His Japanese was sloppy and his constant pauses in between words signified that he was not native. Kyoya's brain also registered his accent nuances. It obviously meant he was German. But the pattern of his voice also suggested that he was not just German. His pattern matched that of a Russian's. So the boy is a Russian/German thing living in Japan, Kyoya deducted. Kyoya also guessed that the boy was another mocker, just one that was very good at acting. Better to knock him out whilst I'm ahead, Kyoya decided.
"You need to make reservations in advance. We're booked until next December." Kyoya's voice was flat and monotonous. Judging from the reading on his face, the boy bought the excuse. He hung his head even lower, his cheeks flushed more from embarrassment. The boy then bowed to Kyoya, mumbling a few apologies, before walking off to the door. Kyoya could not help but smile triumphantly to himself. Until that horribly familiar sound of an engine started. Kyoya watched as the boy jumped at Renge's arrival. He jumped even more when Renge stormed up to the two males.
"Why do you want a reservation, hmm? Are you trying to steal the secrets of our success?" Renge viciously poked the boy.
"Nyet, Miss, I- make a reservation."
Renge stormed up closer, so her face was just a breath away from his. The boy blinked in surprise, taking a step back, only to be confronted by Renge again. Now it was Renge's turn to scrutinise the boy. Her eyes looked him up and down, making more judgements, until she was satisfied. Unlike Kyoya, she was less suspicious.
"Kyoya, free some appointments for him." Renge turned around to Kyoya, her voice calm and yet demanding.
"But-"
"Kyoya," Renge hissed in Kyoya's ear, "Do you not see what an opportunity this is for the Club? As the manager of this club, I order you to free some reservations for him."
"Why?"
"Because, if he's here to be a guest, think of all the girls that would come!" Renge had that insane twinkle in her eyes. The same that she had every time she had an idea. The same twinkle that made Kyoya groan.
"You," Renge addressed to him, "Is there any particular host you want?"
"I... errrrr... Didn't... I-I don't mind." The Russian/German replied.
"How about you try each host, and choose which one you like?" Renge suggested to the new-comer. A bit like Kanako, Kyoya thought bitterly. He thought he had triumphed. He thought he had stopped this... freak... from walking in and making a fool of the Host Club. But no, thanks to their "manager", this boy was allowed to waltz right in and perish their plans.
Wait, Kyoya quickly schemed, this could work. If this boy did show his true intentions then Renge would become so embarrassed, Kyoya could not help but smirk again, that she would have to realise she was not qualified to be in charge. That would let him take over and call the shots without her constant intervening.
"Kyoya," Renge turned to him. "You will make sure he gets reservations for each host, right?"
"Yes, manager." Kyoya's mouth twitched into a smile. He turned towards the intruder and put on the same mask he had put on day-in, day-out for the girls. "I look forward to seeing you join us next week."
"Mommy, what's going on?" Tamaki asked like a child who would ask its mother in fright. At this point, it was the end of the day in Music Room 3 and the Host Club was doing its usual routine check-up of the room. Mori moved the furniture around, ready for whoever needed it tomorrow. Haruhi and Renge cleared up whilst Kaoru and Hikaru mopped the floor from the day's charades. Hunny pranced around with his Usa-chan, making a running commentary of what was needed to clean next. Tamaki habitually walked round, picking out the strengths and weaknesses of his subjects; what they should do the next day and a congratulations for the day gone. He felt it boosted morale, when he really was just getting in the way. But on that day Tamaki noticed Kyoya writing furiously in his notebook. The ebony-haired student almost ripped the page from scribbling out too furiously. Yet, despite this violent action, he smiled to himself.
"Nothing's going wrong, Daddy." Kyoya replied. Tamaki blinked. He knew there had to be something wrong. He knew because Kyoya said 'Daddy' coyly. And, obviously, his Kyoya did not do that.
"Who are you and what did you do with Kyoya?!" Tamaki shouted fearlessly, jabbing his finger into Kyoya's face.
"Oh shut up, Tamaki." Kyoya said in that light-hearted tone that he used when he was overly happy. Tamaki decided that he needed to change tactic.
"Kyoya, tell me or I'll tell Hikaru about last night."
"Last night?" Kyoya blinked. "What happened last night?"
"Ohhhh~ Can you not remember? Or have you chosen to forgotten~?" Tamaki sing-sang mischievously.
"Tamaki, you're doing that thing where you fantasise out loud." Kyoya remarked.
"OHHHHH! HIKARU~! GUESS WHAT KYOYA DID~!" The Princely Host shouted happily. Hikaru looked up from his mop, only to see Kyoya strangle Tamaki.
"I'm happy because I have good news!" Kyoya growled as his hands ringed Tamaki's long, pale neck.
"News. Tell." Tamaki gasped once Kyoya's hands had loosened their grip.
So Kyoya told Tamaki a censured version of the events with the "freak boy" and Renge. He told Tamaki that there was a new guest to the club, so new that they needed to try out all the hosts to see which took their fancy. Tamaki nodded in excitement. Then he told Tamaki that he kept scribbling out his notebook because he did not know how to arrange the new client's reservations and how to replace the original reservations. Tamaki asked why the new guest could not wait in line until there was free space. That's when Kyoya had to explain Renge's intervention... And how the new client was male.
"A male client? NON!" Tamaki screeched. Kyoya nodded. Seeing Tamaki speechless was both comical and tranquil.
"A what?" Hikaru asked, walking over now he had finished his mopping. Kaoru soon followed.
"A male client is coming tomorrow." Kyoya explained calmly to the two twins. Hikaru looked appalled and so did Kaoru.
"We've had male clients in the past. They lasted five seconds, tops." Hikaru complained.
"It's the manager's decision." Kyoya shrugged. "I have no power."
"But I'm the King!"
"You're a constitutional monarchy." Kyoya reminded his blond friend, scribbling down some quick ideas at the back of his notebook. He was pondering over cat-colours. Hikaru and Kaoru could be ginger cats, he himself could be a black cat, Haruhi could be a calico cat, and perhaps Tamaki could be a white cat... but what about Mori and Honey? Typical Kyoya, getting his head wrapped up in tiny details.
Tamaki pouted at Kyoya's remark. It was clear that he didn't like being a constitutional monarchy, he wanted to rule his loyal subjects himself.
"What's up you guys?" Haruhi asked, coming over. Her hands were subconsciously drying a plate with a towel.
"We're getting a male client as of next week!" Tamaki's blue eyes glinted with excitement. He found the correct time to make his morale speech. "Alright, men! We need to make him feel welcome!"
"You didn't fuss over me when I first joined." Haruhi commented in that naive voice she always used when she was pondering. Kyoya smiled to himself behind his notebook. Haruhi had a good point. At that point in time, Haruhi was their first male guest. They had no intruders at that point. So the Host Club naturally got excited.
"Yes, Haruhi, but we knew you from other people's gossip. We knew you were a scholarship student..."
"... So we could use that to our advantage. But we don't know anything about this client." Kaoru finished the sentence off for his brother. Expectedly, everyone stared at Kyoya for a description.
"Well, he wasn't anything special. He had short, fluffy brown hair that stuck up in quite a few places, it aimlessly tried to cover his face. He wasn't the tallest and he wasn't the shortest. He wasn't the skinniest, actually he had quite a bit of girth. His accent was quite odd, like a German trying to do an impression of a Russian." Kyoya could see that he had his underlings hooked. Hunny stared up at him, entranced, and so did Tamaki. Kyoya smiled, it was nice having all his colleagues' attention for once. So he carried on. "He had blue eyes and wore square glasses. His blue blazer was too long for his body, and so were his trousers and shoes."
"Wow." Honey spoke in awe, as if he just seen the most beautiful cake in the world. Kyoya stared back down at Honey, soon becoming freaked out by the admirable look on his face.
"Great, so we know what he looks like." Hikaru remarked sarcastically.
Kaoru added on: "How does that help us?"
Tamaki's fingers snapped. Kyoya sighed, soon becoming bored.
"That's it, men!" Tamaki shouted out heroically, fist in the air. His eyes glinted with that look of inspiration. The same look that made Kyoya smile grimly.
"Hikaru, Kaoru, find out all that you can about the German-y Russian-y boy!"
"Yes, Milord!" The Hitachi twins answered cheerfully.
"Mommy, make sure his appointments are ready!"
"Yes, Daddy." Kyoya said morbidly, Tamaki's beam of joy missing him completely. Seeing Kyoya like his normal, morbid self, made Tamaki feel more at ease.
"Who's his next appointment, anyway?" Hikaru questioned the Prince of Darkness.
"Honey and Mori."
"Honey you keep being cute! Mori... ehhh...you do what you do best." The King covered his tracks as his slipped on what Mori does.
"Yes sir! Let's go Usa-chan." Honey laughed happily, Usa-chan tucked into his arms. He bouncily skipped off, leaving poor Mori desperately trying to keep up with him. Mori grunted as he turned his head towards His Majesty before running off to stop Honey from bouncing into a lamppost.
"And you Haruhi..."
"Yes, Tamaki-senpai?"
"Come here and give Daddy a big hug!" Tamaki grinned happily, holding his arms outstretched.
"I'd rather give Mommy a hug." Haruhi retorted, before disappearing off with the Club's washing. She really is like a maid, Kyoya said in his head. When the dark-haired boy turned round, he saw a very sad Tamaki sulk in the corner.
"Daddy, I'm going home."
"Why won't she give me a hug?!" Tamaki's voice screeched as he wept on his knees. His arms cradled his legs as he rocked himself to and thro.
"Daddy, I'm just going to leave the keys here." Kyoya put down the keys on a table. "Lock up once you're gone."
"Why doesn't my own daughter love me?"
Deciding it was best to leave him to it, Kyoya left Music Room 3 and embarked on his way home i.e. into his car. He could not help but be annoyed at the other hosts. Why were they too blind to see that he was a fraud... a freak? Why did they all get their hopes up, even after Hikaru reminded them that male clientele didn ot go down well? Never mind, Kyoya sighed internally, none of them will question me ever again when they see who he truly is.
His chauffeur drove pass the cherry tree when Kyoya got distracted. The cherry tree's branches were no longer nude. Tiny buds were beginning to grow, though there was no way they were ready to bloom just yet. The sky looked like pale navy blue, clouds dotting the sky here and there. The sky is beginning to grow paler, Kyoya smiled, meaning spring will establish itself soon. A new beginning. Just like the new beginning of his reign of the Host Club, not Renge's. However, as he looked at the cherry tree, something bugged Kyoya. It was one of the phrases he said when describing "freak boy". It stuck in his head like a record player that never ended.
"He wasn't anything special..."
Kyoya read it out but then paused at an interval. Kyoya glanced over it again, to let the truth sink in. It seemed more and more peculiar each time he read it. Everything, from the opening line to the signature. To the appearance to the content. Kyoya sighed. He was being suspicious over nothing; he never really knew the boy. He bit his lip as he looked up to his colleagues. They all had their unique personalities, their own interests. So it was only natural that when he glanced up he saw their different reactions. He glanced over to the teenage female that had handed him the note.
"Go on." Renge wept, having already read it herself as she delivered it. "As manager, it's your duty to read it to them."
To think he had waited so long for Renge to abdicate from the role of manager. For its sweetness to be overwhelmed by this... Ominous feeling. He was meant to be ruler, so what could this feeling be? Was it the letter? The sudden disposal of his problem? The nuisance. The intruder. The freak.
So Kyoya read the rest of the words to his colleague's. His employees. His voice was suitable and stable, his eyes not leaving the note despite the many reactions that happened around him.
Outside the cherry tree's leaves fell as the sun had already fell into its sleep.
Nine pages. Woo. This is probably the shortest chapter I've done. It'll probably get longer. Anyway, this is really dramatic. I'm quite annoyed, actually. When I was first writing it, it was nowhere near this dramatic or sad. But it didn't go, there was no flow. So, on a whim, I re-wrote the chapter like this. And now it's all dramatic. And now I've had to change the whole plot of the story to match its dramatic-ness. Boo hoo. Anyway, I want you guys to learn about the OC gradually. Please review and tell me what you think like "He's a Gary-Su!" etc!
Byieee!
ilurrrverussia!