Wednesday: Day 3 - Edible Torture
"Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi," Momoka called out. Her hair was flying behind her as her skirt swayed in every direction. She ran across the pathway of leading to the gates of Ouran Academy stopping just short to meet her favorite host, panting to catch her breath.
Haruhi, who had just obviously arrived after walking to school, was silently swearing at the shoes she was wearing. She was seriously considering asking her father for a ride to school the next morning if she was able to maintain her ploy another day. Her feet were killing her, which is why she was amazed to see her friend running while wearing the same damn shoes. How the hell is she doing that? She wondered.
"What's up Momoka?" Haruhi asked while adjusting the bag on her shoulder. The girl before her reached out and grabbed her hand, tugging her into the school grounds.
After catching her breath, she revealed. "The Host Club has an emergency meeting."
"Are they? They didn't call me. Or at least I don't think they did." She looked to her bag to find the phone the boys insisted she keeps on hands at all times.
If the host club was having a meeting, then she should probably be there. She didn't want to upset Kyoya who would most likely increase her ever inflating debt. This may be a prank, but she was still responsible, and responsibility dictated she is present at meetings.
"No they wouldn't," Momoka cut in. "The meeting is about you."
This caught Haruhi by surprise. It shouldn't. In fact, she should have seen it coming. They were still trying to figure out what possessed her to out herself and they were probably trying to find other reasons to get the school to believe she was a boy again.
Momoka tugged on Haruhi's hand. "Come on, follow me. Renge had a great idea, and we need to find Nekozawa senpai."
"Nekozawa senpai?" She asked. Curiosity seeped into her at that point. Tamaki was terrified of their older classmate. The twins played along with the fear, but she knew they didn't really care much for him. The rest of the club was alright with him, so whatever plan Renge was concocting had to be interesting.
They made it back to the school building in no time flat. The large building was milling about with activity. Male and female student nodded in her direction in greeting. Some went so far as to whisper thanks to her for the fun week they were all having.
She nodded to them, thanked them in return for playing along and smiled when a few girls tittered about how cute it would be if she would actually kiss one of them. Each requesting their favorite host for her to have a make-out session with. Haruhi had no intention of going that far.
Once Momoka and Haruhi arrived at the door to class 2-B, Renge was standing beside Umihito Nekozawa. He tilted his head in greeting to Haruhi. Renge shouted the moment she saw Momoka.
"Oh good, you found her!" Renge reached out and tugged Haruhi's other arm to bring her into their circle faster. "Listen up, Haruhi. We have found you the perfect love interest. I mean, not perfectly perfect, a host would be perfect but they are not going to be able to do this for you. I mean, I don't know he is going to do it for you, wait, no, not 'do it.' I don't mean that. Well maybe, but..."
"Get to the point." Haruhi rolled her eyes at Renge's ramble. That girl barely made any sense on a routine basis. Somehow, she jumped into mindless babble overdrive. Besides her ramble had caused Nekozawa to blush, if only slightly.
"The point is, Nekozawa senpai is going to pursue you as if you were a real girl." she squealed. "He said he didn't mind. Isn't that right?" She looked at him but went right back to talking before he could respond. "We asked a few others, and they said they would ask you out but other than that they didn't want to get too close to another guy. Too bad, it would be so MOE if they did."
Looking at the expectant expressions on the Renge and Momoka's faces, Haruhi knew that she needed to let this happen. Besides, with the Host club knowing Nekozawa as they did, he would be least likely to get the crap beaten out of him by the twins.
She sighed, tugged her bag up higher on her shoulder and nodded. "Sure, as long as he agrees." She glanced up at him, and he gave her a shy smile before nodding in acceptance.
"It would be my pleasure." He held Beelzenef up and let the little hands of his puppet rub together evilly. "Besides, there is much joy in putting terror in the hearts of the Host Club."
"Err... Right" Haruhi chuckled nervously. She needed to be careful if a boy was going to openly pursue her. If anyone figured out that Haruhi's joke was the truth, then she would be seriously screwed. She only hoped she could trust Nekozawa if he did find out. At this point, she would rather have Kasanoda do this. At least he knew the truth.
Hikaru and Kaoru were late to class. She knew why but it was still weird to see them wander in well after the morning's roll call. They didn't even apologize to the instructor. Hell, they didn't say anything to her. Hikaru tossed her a glare and Kaoru couldn't meet her eyes.
Oh great, She thought. They didn't look like they were going to fall for her jokes today. Maybe she should switch it up and be herself for once. Ignoring them always brought out their inner demons. She gave herself a mental nod and averted her eyes. It would be good to focus on school work anyway.
She put pen to paper and began taking notes on the classes current topic. Her feet were still hurting her, so she had them tucked under her desk with the ankles crossed so that she didn't have to put pressure down on her feet. Once this week was over, she would be glad to return to normal.
Glancing out of the corner of his eye every so often Kaoru watched her. He couldn't believe what Kyoya had revealed to them.
There was no way Haruhi was that clever, but she had to be. There was no other reason because if she wasn't smart, then she was doing precisely what Kyoya said. The bookish, nerdy, natural host had finally come to her senses.
If Kyoya was correct, then Haruhi was trying to get under their skin. She was testing the waters on being a girl and really for once, trying to have a romantic relationship. There was nothing else.
He was in denial, and so was Hikaru. They didn't want to think this was true. They wanted to believe Haruhi was just an ass. They wanted to believe that she was just like them and was playing a game. Only, how would that be possible? She outed herself. She was dressed like a girl, and the whole school knew she was.
Boys were asking about her. They saw that guy yesterday trying to flirt with her, and she even started to wear makeup. Why now? Why would she just change everything about herself in one weekend? It didn't make sense. He didn't want it to.
The meeting that morning came as a surprise. Tamaki had called them before they even left the house and told them to be early. The six boys sat around the club room table and did what they could to figure out how to make Haruhi into a boy again.
That was when Kyoya dropped the bomb. Haruhi must have finally realized her hormones were real and not just something in a biology textbook. She also must have figured out that if she tested her girly wiles on the Host Club, she could practice with someone safe, someone she knew.
Kaoru knew this was complete crap. That was not Haruhi. That was not the girl sitting next to him.
He looked at her again and watched how her ankles were entwined together. How her skirt flowed over her and how she nibbled at the end of her pen when there was nothing to take note of. No. That's not right.
He glanced past her to his brother and saw that he too was staring at her. Only not as inconspicuous as Kaoru. Hikaru pretty much gawked at her. He too noticed the cross of her ankles but he also realized she was ignoring them.
Hikaru's mouth was set into a grim line as he shot his brother a look. It was as if to say, What the hell!? Kaoru only shrugged back at him while shaking his head. There had to be a reason. Kyoya had to be wrong.
Haruhi had not noticed the stares the boys were tossing her way, nor did she see the quiet conversation but she knew that it had happened. They were too soft, and part of her was curious as to what happened in the club meeting.
It wasn't important though. The break was now being called and soon enough the lunch hour would begin.
She stood up and headed out of the class. Completely ignoring the twins and headed to the nearest private restroom.
Once she was out of the room and apparently out of earshot Hikaru snapped. "What the fuck!? Two days of torture and now this?"
Kaoru shook his head. "I don't get it. I just don't."
Their fellow classmates were milling about, and some had also left the class to use the facilities. They didn't want to be too apparent that they were listening to every word the Hosts said throughout the week. They did their best to give Renge the full report.
Hikaru grumbled under his breath for a bit before spitting out. "Kyoya is wrong. He has to be."
"I know he is wrong, the problem is, what if he is right?" Kaoru asked. "What if Haruhi is ready to finally accept dating?"
Hikaru's fist came down on his desk. "No way. Haruhi is not going to date anyone."
His brother shook his head. "What are we going to do about it?"
It was a good question. Good enough that both of them fell silent. What would they do if Haruhi started dating someone?
When she came back to the room, they both watched her, skirt swaying as she carefully placed her feet down. The effect of which made her look as if she was swaying on purpose to gain a reaction. However, this time it was only out of courtesy to her swollen feet. She sat down carefully and crossed her ankles again. Glancing at both their red faces Haruhi tilted her head questioningly. An act that increased her cute factor dramatically.
Hikaru lost his anger instantly and turned away from her. Failing miserably at hiding the growing blush of his cheeks.
She was glad she had her bento box today. She had plenty of leftovers over the last couple of days that she was able to make enough to share.
Honey and Mori were the first in the refectory when she arrived, and she instantly found herself heading their way. The twins who had accompanied her quietly headed to the service line. They had not said a single word to her when they left class.
Perhaps her senpai's would be more willing to converse with her since apparently, the Hitachiins were playing mute. With as much grace as she could muster while walking in those death shoes, she made her way to their table and sat down.
Honey looked up like a deer in the headlights. He glanced quickly at his cousin before looking back at their friend. "Haru-chan, you brought your lunch today?" He tilted his head curious about what was going on in her head. They both were curious but the way Honey looked at her she wasn't sure what he was thinking.
"I did. Since I forgot it yesterday, I had extra, so I made a larger portion to share with you guys." She smiled.
Blinking in surprise Honey glance back to Mori who had given a shrug as his reply to the silent question. He then turned back to Haruhi giving her a big smile. "That's so sweet Haru-chan."
Haruhi let out a giggle and opened the box, or rather boxes, once she unwrapped the cloth from around her lunch. She separated the stack it into a row, three boxes in total and opened them up revealing various bits of meats, rolls, and rice.
She smiled at the two sitting across the table from her and to the two boys who joined her at either side during that time. Hikaru scoffed at her "Planning to eat all that yourself?"
He tapped his fork against his tray before digging it into the fruit salad. He didn't notice that Haruhi had taken a roll from the center box with her chopsticks. He only saw that she had put her hand on top of his causing him to pause and look at her. His cheeks rose in color when she held it up to him.
"Open up." She said knowing full well how out of character that was coming out of her mouth, she wasn't surprised that he didn't obey her fully. His jaw did slack, so that was a good indication that what she was doing had an effect.
Haruhi tilted her head to the side and nudged her hand closer. Still, he didn't move. Instead of forcing it, she shrugged and pulled her hand away. Taking a slow bite, savoring the morsel. Hikaru didn't say anything, didn't move and yet he wasn't the only one. Honey and Mori were taken aback by her bold gesture.
The group waited patiently for the arrival of their other two club mates. None of them knew what to do with their former secret princess as she had returned to ignoring the twins and offering her boxes to the elder boys at the table. Honey had taken a piece as had his cousin, but neither said anything other than 'thank you.'
Tamaki arrived first and was at first a little miffed that the twins once again beat him in sitting next to Haruhi. The emotion was soon replaced with surprise when he noticed that she had not one but three bento boxes before her. Three boxes, but she was only eating out of one. Three boxes meant she brought extra food. Extra food means she was sharing. Haruhi was sharing her lunch... WITH BOYS.
Internally fighting his dramatic urge to kick Hikaru and Kaoru off their seats he managed to find his way to the head of their table. The end of the table is where a King should sit but still..it was so far away from Haruhi. He took his seat anyway, clicking his tray as he lay it on the table.
Haruhi looked up and beamed at him. "I haven't seen you all morning Tamaki-senpai." She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and frowned as the hair fell back in her face. Without a clip, it would be impossible to keep it out of her face. The whole motion was too cute for him to think straight. He was unable to speak. Instead, she continued for him. "Are you hiding from me?"
Tamaki sputtered, eyes wide and looked like he was ready to defend his absence and would have too if his best friend had not shown up that exact moment. Kyoya cleared his voice and found his way to the other end of the table, placing his tray down, adjusting his glasses and then taking a seat.
"No one was hiding from you this morning, Haruhi." He acted cool and collected. Completely avoiding eye contact with her. No doubt still affected by the day prior.
"Then what? Did you guys have a secret meeting without me?" she accused. Each and every one of the boys averted their eyes suddenly finding their food interesting.
Looks like they were not going to fess up. It didn't matter anyway, the whole school knew what they were up to. The spies were everywhere. Renge made sure of that. The hosts could be as sneaky as they wanted, but nothing was going to be secret. Everyone was way too invested in the prank to let the whole thing crumble after a couple days.
Going back to her food she poked around with her chopsticks contemplating what her next move would be. She glanced to Tamaki, whose face was still a shade of rosy pink. He would be the best target at this time. After all the comments he made about her commoner lifestyle, he would be the first to want to try her cooking. He had said so many times before that he wanted her to cook for him. She reached into her bento and pulled out a seasoned pork omusubi.
Her eyes were still on Tamaki when he looked up at her. She smiled and then took a bite of her food. He quickly averted his gaze before taking a deep breath trying his best to keep composed. Yes, he was going to be the target.
She waited patiently while the group ate in silence. She scanned the group periodically trying to find her opening. The twins were just about finished with their trays and since there was nothing 'fun' going on she knew they would be the first to leave the table.
Soon enough with almost perfect synchronization, the twins stood up without a word, taking their trays to dispose of the remainder. They didn't even look back, but Haruhi knew they would not be able to maintain their silence for much longer.
Taking that moment, Haruhi slid herself into the chair nearest Tamaki and nudged a near full bento box towards him. "I know you want it."
He choked on a mouth full of pasta primavera. His violet eyes were wide as can be, and his cheeks grew several shades darker. Who knew where that perverted mind of his headed when she uttered those words but Haruhi didn't give it a second thought. Instead, she obtained a pair of spare chopsticks and picked up a piece of Shabu-shabu and repeated the action she tried on Hikaru earlier.
Tamaki backed away slowly as she leaned in. Her eyes were intent on his face watching for the moment when his mouth would drop open. She licked her lips without conscious thought and apparently that was enough to draw a sound out of him effectively opening his mouth enough for her to shove that tiny piece of meat into his mouth.
She grinned "There that wasn't so bad." She went back into her own bento box without thinking and picked up another piece of meat before eating it herself.
Tamaki flipped his lid. Figuratively speaking when he stood up and ran out of the room. Haruhi just used the same chopsticks to eat.. the same ones he just ate from. It was enough to have his brain screaming "Indirect kiss! Indirect kiss!"
Kyoya wiped his mouth and cleared his throat which had the three remaining at the table to look his way. "Haruhi, I don't need to remind you that you are still a host and as such we expect you to be at club activities today."
With that he stood and left the table, Honey and Mori who should have been the first to go since they were the first to arrive were still patiently waiting for Haruhi to finish her bento. They were kind enough to help her out by sharing the remainder.
"Thanks for sharing Haru-chan. It was yummy." Honey stood up and helped her stack the boxes up so that she could rewrap them. "Do you want Takashi and I to walk you back to class? I don't trust some of the boys in this school anymore. They have been giving you looks and... the things they are saying..."
He trailed off. His eyes grew dark like when he was preparing for battle. The thought of the male students of Ouran Academy pursuing Haru-chan was unforgivable to him. He would not allow it.
Picking up the wrapped containers she smiled at him, using one hand to push that pesky strand of hair behind her ear again. "It's alright. I can walk back by myself. Thanks for helping me with lunch. The others didn't look like they were ready for my cooking."
Honey giggled, and Mori chimed in. "It's not the cooking they weren't ready for, Haruhi." He placed a hand on her head before he walked off with Honey in tow.
She felt horrible about what she had to do to the elder club mates. It was difficult to pull a prank on those two with how nice they were. They didn't do much to annoy her as the others did. Still, they didn't stop the pranks. They didn't help her out when the twins were in full flurry. Only on rare occasions would Mori come to her rescue but for the most part, he would sit there with a smile on his face when she was the target for teasing.
Haruhi would go to the club that afternoon. Host Club activities were about to get more interesting.
The halls of Ouran Academy were usually empty after classes as students were either heading home or heading to their various clubs. Of course, you would get the occasional gaggle of girls in the corner reading a love letter, or a group of boys talking about what their weekend plans would be. Other than that, the halls were quiet.
Today was not so. Students didn't want to go home, they wanted to know what other events were to transpire as the natural host played the best prank Ouran had ever seen.
As class ended Haruhi stepped out of her course to find a shadow lurking in the corridor. She sucked the bottom of her lip involuntarily. Unsure exactly which moment her newly discovered "love interest" would present himself. She sort of hoped it wouldn't happen quite yet. Luckily as it turned out, he didn't enter the light and gain too much attention.
It didn't go unnoticed, however. Hikaru and Kaoru were no more than a few steps behind her. Only now they had fully caught up and kept her safely between them. Their eyes had landed on the spot where Nekozawa had momentarily been.
Together the trio had wandered the hall to the third music room where their Host Club usually met. The boys opened the door, and all three walked in without any announcement or care. None of the other hosts had arrived so the boys went about setting up what they thought would be the best configuration of seats for their "brotherly love" act. Not like they paid too much thought about what they were going to do. This was sort of an autopilot for them.
Haruhi didn't really have a plan either since her hosting style was merely talking with the girls. She instead went about preparing tea sets and searching the storeroom for the snacks that seem to never end.
The sound of the other members entering the room caught her ear. Honey came up beside her quickly taking a look into the cabinet next to her.
"Hey, Haru-chan. I found a brand new cake in here. Want some?" He asked cheerfully before he remembered. "Oh wait, I forgot you don't like sweets. Sorry."
Haruhi giggled. "It's alright Honey-senpai. I can make you some tea for it. Maybe I can sit with you before the ladies show up."
His eyes lit up brightly. "Yeah, that sounds like fun." He bounded off with the cake in hand. "Kyo-chan, we need to call the cooks to bring another cake. This one is pretty, but it's small."
Soon enough the boys were all in their element. Each preparing their location. Kyoya on his laptop, then his cell phone as he called up Ouran's version of "room service." Damn rich people, she thought when she listened to the list of demands.. or rather "requests" the host club desired. A cake was on the list, but so were dozens of roses, a case of sweet tarts and assorted chocolate bon-bons (apparently not in the clubs cabinets) and two entirely new tea sets.
She rolled her eyes and joined her senpai at his table with her teapot and a tray with delicate cream-colored teacups. Carefully, she placed the tray on the table before her. Honey had already started slicing up the two-tiered cake and selected two pieces to put onto two plates. One for him and one for Mori senpai next to him. Haruhi smiled at them as she poured the tea and handing them both a cup.
The knock on the club door clued the club into knowing that the guests have arrived. Kyoya cleared his throat. "Well, now. It seems they are early."
"Places everyone," Tamaki called out, but no one moved. They were all where they wanted to be to greet their guests. The door opened, and they all in one synchronized voice called out, "Welcome."
Haruhi tried to hide a smirk when the few guests who arrived caught her eye immediately. They were absolutely curious as to who Haruhi's target of the day would be. She hadn't given them a clue, and no one expected that she would once again focus her energy on Kyoya.
She watched as the girls went over towards the Shadow King and made their requests. Each went to their favorite host, and since Haruhi, Honey and Mori's guests have yet to arrive she decided now was a good time to sit with the elder of the two club mates. They were, she decided, the next target.
Even though she held just a tiny bit of guilt over this, she wouldn't let it deter her. Her mind worked quickly on this topic. She knew just sitting her and drinking tea wasn't going to help her at all. She also knew that she needed to up her game with these two. The how was what was alluding her.
Shrugging her shoulders she spoke to Honey, "I guess I could take a small slice of cake." Her eyes looked over the desert, noting that there really wasn't much in the frosting department. It seemed like it would be a nice treat anyway, and it would be unexpected for her to take some. After all, part of this prank was to be out of her own character. "If you don't mind sharing, that is." She concluded.
Honey blinked at her in surprise before nodding in acceptance. "Sure Haru-chan." He cut a slice and handed it over to her, placing it delicately on the table. She picked up one of the delicate forks and poked at it tentatively.
The eyes of the surrounding girls glanced in her direction. All were expecting some great joke, something to throw off the small senior boy. Haruhi felt the pressure, but she wasn't sure what she should do. The boy lolita type was not something she had experience with. He did love cute stuff but other than that, she was clueless.
Carefully she took a small piece of the cake and took a bite. She closed her eyes relishing the flavor. It was rather nice, not too sweet. Just sweet enough to make her hum a little. Her cheeks blushed like it usually did when she ate something that agreed with her.
Mori and Honey were in the midst of enjoying their own slices of cake but stopped mid-motion as they both took in the euphoric expression on the female hosts face. Her blush was subtle, her eyes were closed and the sound she made caused a chill to run down their spines.
Unconsciously she licked her lips slowly savoring the creamy frosting that had remained from her first bite. She tapped her fork into the icing and brought it up to take a lick from it before she closed her lips around the fork, drawing it out slowly.
A strangled choke escaped Honey while he watched this. Haruhi's eyes popped open to see that not only were Honey and Mori senpai staring at her, entirely in aw and subtle horror, but the entire club was at a standstill. Haruhi was unaware that her action was that provocative until that point but once it registered she smiled at the two sitting in front of her before taking another piece of her cake onto her fork and tantalizingly took a slow bite from it.
Mori cleared his voice, "Haruhi." She glanced up at him with the fork still in between her lips. His face had the slightest trace of a blush. She gave him an innocent questioning look which helped add to the rosiness of his cheeks. Attempting to clear his voice again, he continued, "You have frosting on your cheek."
Her hand came up to find a slight smear of frosting at the corner of her mouth. Nowhere near her cheek and she grinned. I guess he was too nervous and picked the least tempting feature to describe the location. She flicked her tongue out to capture the remnants, "Thank you senpai." She said with a giggle. "I forgot how nice it is to have something sweet."
Her eyes glanced towards Honey who had the brightest blush but the darkest eyes she had ever seen. He would not remove his gaze and stared her down. As if he was trying to put together a coherent thought. Did she know how seductive she was being, or was that just Haruhi being herself? How could she make a cake into something, inappropriate? He just couldn't figure it out.
An adjoining door creaked open, and the eyes of the entire Host Club and the guests diverted their attention in that direction. A surprise was on the menu when the dark shadow of Umihito Nekozawa peered inside. His dark cloak and Beelzenef ever present.
Tamaki stood up momentarily terrified as the boy came into the room unannounced. The twins' eyes drew into frowns and glared. Kyoya and the other two observed with curiosity.
"Fujioka, Haruhi," His voice rang out. "A gift to rival the beauty of your soul." He placed a single black rose on the table before her.
Then with no more words, he vacated the room. Leaving everyone in momentary stunned silence. Then as if on cue all eyes turned to the pink face of Haruhi Fujioka. This was not what she expected as part of her prank. He turned the game up to another level altogether. She couldn't help a small smile from gracing her lips as she returned to eating the cake before her.
Waiting patiently for his daughter's return, Ryoji Fujioka, commonly known as Ranka, had removed his girlish attire. His hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and he was wearing sweats and a relatively clean t-shirt. He was in no mood to dress up.
Several phone calls throughout the day from his good friend Kyoya Ootori had him worried. Somehow HIS baby girl learned the fine art of flirting. She was being overly forward and with her finally deciding to dress as a girl this didn't bode too well for her innocence.
Ranka worried that his baby girl was finally coming around and if that was the case then he really needed to step up as a father to make sure she didn't make a mistake. That why he decided that now was the perfect time for 'The Talk.' Even if she had the talk before from her educational courses. Even if he knew she was already familiar with the biological functions since she had read about them, it still didn't make him feel like she received the full story.
His nerves were getting the best of him as each minute passed. How was he to go about this? Where to begin? He didn't know. This was something he never intended to do. Ranka never planned to be the one to have to talk about boys. He nearly had a heart attack when she hit the early years of puberty. He begged a female co-worker of his to speak to her, bribed the neighbor to do it and even went out of his way to find a female teacher at her middle school to teach her about the function of the female body.
The door opened, and the voice of Haruhi rang out her usual greeting. "Hey, Dad I'm home."
She kicked off her shoes, brushed the remnants of broken bits of fallen leaves off her skirt and pulled a tiny leaf from her hair. Wincing at the pain those stupid female shoes put her feet through, she stepped onto the floor with relief. She really hated those Mary Janes.
Once she looked up and saw her father sitting there with a worried expression, clearly not dressed for work, she paused. Something was not right.
"What's going on?" She asked.
Ranka pushed down his nerves and looked down into his mug. He had hoped drinking some tea would mellow him out before he had to do this. It didn't work, but he went for it anyway.
"Your friends are worried. I'm worried. We need to have a talk." He gestured for her to sit down beside him.
Haruhi grew suspicious and frowned, "Okay" She let the word drag out before following her father's suggestion to sit beside him.
"Honey, I don't know what's going on at school, but from what I am hearing I think we need to discuss boys. Flirting may be all fun and games, but expectations tend to follow, and you are not ready." He had been rehearsing this in his head all day, but now the words were just falling without thought.
"Expectation?" Haruhi blinked in confusion for a moment before her eyes grew wide. "Whoa, dad. You don't' mean... no. We are not having 'The Talk.'" She put her hands up as if to shield herself from his words. There was no way in hell she was going to start that topic with him.
"Yes, you do. As a girl, you are going to be drawing more attention to yourself. Boys and I'm not talking about your Host Club friends, these boys are going to be trying to take you out on dates. Places where I can't keep an eye on you." He continued fervently.
Haruhi stood up. "No seriously. We do not need to have this conversation." She paused. I guess now is a good time to tell him. Well, tell him part of the story. There really was no need to go into every detail.
She sighed before rolling her eyes. "Listen, I'm not going to stay dressed like a girl. I have no intention in dating those 'other boys,' and the Host Club is getting a dose of payback. Nothing more."
Ranka blinked in surprise at this. His daughter... was dealing payback? Now he was confused.
"Also, I do not need the talk. I've heard it before." She shook her head in exasperation. "Seriously, Dad, you couldn't even talk to me about puberty. Do you really think the boy topic was going to go over well? Besides, I think I am smart enough to make my own decisions on whether I do that or not."
Her father continued his owl impression until those last few words hit him. He slammed one hand down on the table while the other one went to his eyes. Ranka let out a girlish wail. "You are not old enough to decide that, and I never want to hear you say that ever again."
Haruhi just rolled her eyes at her father's antics. Instead of placating him by saying she was not going to repeat it, she just patted him on the shoulder and walked to her bedroom. She was ready to get out of the damned dress. Seriously, what made these girls want to wear such tight clothing.
Before she went to bed that night, she did knock on her father's bedroom door. He was not going out for the night apparently. Her words probably disturbed him too much and knowing how easy he overreacts she probably better smooth things over before he skipped out on work for the rest of the year.
"Hey dad," She called out after knocking. A muffled moan called back to her. She sighed, he was upset after all.
She opened the door and saw her dad just sitting down on the futon. He didn't look entirely upset, but he was deep in thought. "Listen, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Kyoya senpai that I'm going to go back to male clothing."
Ranka looked at her perplexed. "The boys finally hit your breaking point. This is a prank, isn't it?" He asked. It looked like he spent the entire evening contemplating her reasons and for once, he came to the correct conclusion.
"Yeah, sort of." She walked in and sat on the futon next to him. "A few of the girls at school are helping me with the whole 'acting like a girl' stuff."
A laugh escaped him, which startled Haruhi. She frowned and smiled, a bit confused by the quick turn of personality and emotion.
"Give them hell." He said as he patted her on the back near her shoulder. Haruhi grinned. She really did love her father. Even if he was a bit weird.