Aspen: Sorry for the long wait everyone ~
Kyouya: You will lose readers this way, keeping them waiting like this.
Aspen: You would know, wouldn't you?
Kyouya: Of course, by the way, why aren't I in this chapter?
Aspen: ...you're not?
Kyouya: Would I bring it up if I was?
Aspen: ...there's a reason, I assure you, you're mentioned.
Kyouya: Do not worry yourself, I am fairly used to taking a backseat to Tamaki.
Aspen: ...don't you try making me feel guilty!
Sorry folks, Kyouya will make his sleek and pristine appearance in the next chapter ~ again thank you for all the reviews! New answers to new questions at the end of the story!
~ Chapter Seven ~
~ Getting to Koen Gardens ~
I stared at the clock as it's annoying wail bounced off my poor eardrums. I mean seriously, what did my ears do to deserve that kind of wake-up call?
Ten A.M. glowed in vivid red letters and numbers, but that wasn't the only thing that woke me up. It was my traitorous cell phone I normally turned off at night, but despite my better judgment, I kept it on and left it on the floor beside my futon. The front display beamed a bright light, a smiley emoticon peered up at the ceiling as the phone vibrated against the hardwood floor.
When the vibrating stopped, the screen cleared to reveal twelve missed phone calls since I had put it on Silent. Slamming my hand on the alarm clock, I buried my face back into my pillow, hoping the morning wasn't really here and that my clock was simply confused – time is a powerful thing, I'm sure it messes with clocks as much as it does with people too…
Yet that dream I had of giant bunnies and ten-story high cupcakes suddenly made sleeping unappealing, but the idea of getting up was just as distressing.
With a sigh, I pulled the pillow out from under me and put it over the back of my head as my phone began to vibrate once more. Kira-chan watched the scene from the side as I growled under my breath before reaching for the phone.
"Morning Tamaki-sempai," I managed to croak out with the right side of my face reacquainted with the pillow that had been returned to the futon. My cell phone didn't come too close to my face, who knew how flamboyant the boy was at this time in the morning on a weekend?
"Oh thank goodness your upppp! You sound chipper too which is all the better!" I rolled my eyes as I let Tamaki continue, someone was a morning person.
"I'm so excited I even have my dog, Antoinette-" a frown instantly graced my facial features.
"Where are you at Sempai?" a worried feeling wrapped around my heart as I heard the faint sound of a bark right outside my apartment.
"Waiting for you outside! I tried calling you earlier to tell you I had a change of plans!" In a flurry I hurried out of my bed, my legs flailed as I tried to untangle from my sheets before viciously attacking the blinds that shut out the view of the street. I peered through to discover that indeed, Tamaki was outside. With a dog. And a limo.
By himself. Not including the driver that was trying to convince Tamaki to wait inside the car.
"Gentlemen wait on the ladies-" Tamaki began outside where I normally wouldn't have heard him if not for his voice being right next to my ear.
"B-But Kyouya said-"
"Why can't you say my name without saying 'sempai' too?" Tamaki whined before peering up into the window I just so happened to be staring out of. He noticed me and right after, a charming smile launched across his face as he gave a polite wave.
"Ok – ok! Fine! But Kyouya said we weren't supposed to be there till twelve and why are you here? I told you all that I would get there without a ride from any of you?" I demanded before leaving the blinds, making them snap shut to their original positions.
"Haruhi-kun is here too, well, at the moment he's sound asleep…" Tamaki trailed off, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling.
So I'm not the only victim here, I thought with a huff.
"Give me thirty minutes Tamaki," I said, exasperated, it was way too early to deal with any pleading from the Drama King.
"YAYYYY-" I couldn't help, but hang up.
"High school is a very interesting place, for rich kids anyway," I thought out loud as I looked down at the phone, immediately feeling somewhat guilty for hanging up. Yet when I looked outside, I was humored by the appearance of a depressed Tamaki, but the dog accompanying him quickly cheered him up by driving her front legs onto his chest as she gave him a thorough face-licking.
Heading to my wardrobe, I picked out some clothes my mother just gave to me that she rightfully acclaimed 'just because your getting down and dirty doesn't mean you can't get all dolled up!' It was early spring, so long-sleeves were a must when it wasn't a school day.
Kira-chan, my stuffed animal from when I was young, sat where it always sat. I normally never touched it except when I was vacuuming, but for the first time in a while, I gave it a second glance.
Most children had teddy bears, pink rabbits, and other animals with exaggerated features, but Kira-chan was, well is, a snake. Kind of like those webkinz ones, but it was plumper and at one point, her head had been torn off and reattached. Her eyes were large and bulbous, giving the reptile-based child's toy a look of serene innocence.
"You're going with me next week, don't make any plans." I said before entering the bathroom, I had to make with the time I had.
Thirty minutes later after I showered and fed Gibbous, I was walking out of the apartment where Tamaki (true to his word) was still standing outside the limo. Unlike earlier, his chest was laying against the top of the vehicle, his arms outstretched in front of him lying on the roof of the limo, with his cell phone in his hands. Antoinette, of whom I assumed is a Golden Retriever, sprang from her master's side to greet me, her flowing tail wagging from side to side.
"You're so cute," I said to the dog as I scratched at the fluff by her ears, with doe-like eyes she glanced up at me, my heart melted into a puddle of goo.
"Forget kids, I want dogs." I said out loud to myself, but Tamaki seemed too preoccupied to remember who he was here for.
"Tamaki?" Antoinette whimpered warmly, as if in her own way, she was attempting to remind Tamaki of his manners.
"Oh? You're out? My deepest apologies I've been trying to get a hold of the other Host members – but they're not important I have Haruhi and Tsuyu-chan!" Tamaki cried out as he ran at me, his depressed stupor gone in a flash as he offered me a lidded Styrofoam cup.
"Instantly prepared coffee made by yours truly!" he said as I reluctantly took it.
"Wow, thank you Tamaki," I said as I gave it a scrutinizing stare.
"How does it taste?" he asked as I took a sip from an open tab in the lid, the skin off the side of eyes took on a hue of green, but this went unnoticed by Tamaki. "Wonderful I know! Haruhi said it was below average at best, but I knew a princess would have better taste!"
"Sure…sorry about hanging up on you earlier," I said a second later, Tamaki flushed.
"Please do not concern yourself Princess Tsuyu! For it is I to blame, if only I could remember how charming and good-looking I am sometimes I wouldn't overwhelm commoners!" Tamaki explained, I sweat-dropped.
"Commoner?" He doesn't know? That's new, I thought, deliberately ignoring the ill-made coffee in my hands. I had the sweet satisfaction in imagining me offering it to the Hitachiins…
"At least you don't answer the phone with such bitter words to your brother!" Tamaki said, I frowned.
"Brother?"
"Would you prefer stepbrother or maybe we can say you're my long lost sister?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, suddenly Haruhi's head appeared out of the car from the back door Tamaki had been leaning against.
"Morning Honiwa-sempai," he greeted, his hair oddly straight and askew at the same time.
"Morning Fujiouka-san,"
"Now now, we are family! No –san this or –sempai that!" Tamaki scolded.
"What did you mean about answering the phone?" As far as I was concerned, I knew I didn't sound all that 'chipper' as Tamaki imagined I was. "Are you the only happy early riser?"
Haruhi suddenly appeared deadpanned, or at least more so than before.
"He's upset because when Hunny-sempai answered he sent a dark haze through the telephone line promising he would lock Tamaki in the Black Magic Club's room overnight." Haruhi explained, "then Kyouya-sempai threatened to send the entire Ootori police departure after him,"
"That's hard to believe," I said as Tamaki recoiled into a ball beside the limo.
"Hikaru and Koaru are up Tamaki-sempai," Haruhi informed the blonde after receiving a text message from them.
"Waaah! I want in on the family and friends plan!" Tamaki cried to himself as Haruhi scooted over for me to slip inside. This was when I could get a good look at Haruhi.
In girl clothes.
"Fuji-I mean, Haruhi? You're a girl?" I asked, "or do you cross-dress as a hobby?"
"I'm a g-"
"She's a cross dresser!" Tamaki cried from behind me as he gracefully lunged into the back seat, Antoinette on his heels
"Koen Gardens sir?" the driver asked, Tamaki answered yes. As the car began to move and pick up speed, Tamaki cast me a tragic, yet hopeful expression.
"I already heard a part of the confession Tamaki," I replied, not as surprised as I thought I should have been. Haruhi glanced up at me with a smile.
"I honestly didn't think much of it, if it weren't for my debt I could care less if the students at Ouran found out." Haruhi stated easily as Tamaki teared up, but the waterworks came to a halt as an idea flashed across his mind.
"You!" Tamaki cried as he pointed a finger at me.
"I, now stop pointing at me," I growled.
"Again my apologies, and you!" he then pointed at Haruhi, to whom he didn't apologize for. "Can gain the ultimate female friendship and thus, transform Haruhi into the delightful maiden that is hidden inside the core of her well-being!"
"What's he rambling about now?" I asked casually as sparkles ignited from Tamaki's face as he continued his out-of-context rant. Haruhi sighed. Antoinette rested her head on my lap, I absently complied with her silent requests to pet her.
"I'm fairly certain you have noticed, but since the general population at the school thinks I'm a dude-" an imaginary black arrow shot out of nowhere and hit Tamaki in the chest.
"Don't use such words!" Tamaki was promptly ignored.
"-Tamaki-sempai gets it in his head that I should befriend more girls to become more of one. Apparently he's my father, you're the new addition – his long lost sister. Or at least that's what I gathered," Haruhi claimed.
"Ok, I'll pretend this all makes sense, are we the only ones that are going to be there?" I asked, Haruhi shook her head.
"Hikaru and Koaru are up, remember?"
"Oh, right…" damn, I forgot. I peered over at Haruhi as she began texting something on her phone. How could someone be so feminine and masculine at the same time and look utterly adorable despite that?
Here I was in a bone-white trench-style coat, burgundy turtle-neck, blue Jeans and canvas slip-ons. Unlike the usual, my glasses were gone and replaced with contacts. My hair was still damp, so it was mingling around my shoulders and over my eyebrows.
Haruhi was decked out in a white, thin sweater and a brown jacket with a pink heart embroidered into her left breast pocket. Donning darker blue Jeans, a belt, and flats. Her overall appearance wasn't complete until she applied a pair of matching hair pins to keep her bangs from going astray in her face.
If the doodles were not an indication enough, I could see why Tamaki had a thing for Haruhi.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get caught up in the Host Club? You don't seem like the type to go out of your way…"
"Long story short, broke something because they backed me up into an eight million yen vase. Debt being paid back via hosting," Haruhi explained, "believe me you would be right about me not wanting to go out of my way to see these guys everyday,"
Wow, that was blunt, I thought as another black arrow shot through Tamaki, this time in the back.
"Sounds like we have something in common," I reasoned, Haruhi nodded.
"More than just that, do you live on your own out here?" Haruhi asked, I inwardly debated with myself about how much I should honestly reveal. It wasn't all that big of a deal to me, but still.
"At the moment yes, it's on Ouran property, so you could say it's a dorm of sorts." I explained casually, "my parents and I agreed hands-on experience is the way to go to be successful in the world."
"Wow, is that why you're a janitor at school then? To pay to live there,"
"Oh no, I work as a janitor to attend Ouran," Haruhi gave me a look of shock at first, but it slowly shifted into something akin to admiration. I suddenly felt slightly embarrassed under her gaze, despite the fact she was only a first year. Granted, Haruhi got into Ouran because she excelled in academics and her studies were top priority. As for me, studies were equally as important, but that rivaled the need to a good job to stay to do the studies.
I felt the urge to change the subject to prevent my own growing discomfiture.
"What do you plan on doing once you graduate Haruhi-san?" I asked, the smaller brunette blinked.
"I want to become a lawyer like my mom," she answered simply and although there was a soft smile on her face, a deep underlay of sadness glimmered in the depths of her hazel eyes.
Great, another change in subject.
"So you dress as a boy to repay the Host Club by hosting right? Before that you must have looked like a girl, I'm surprised no one knew?" I ended with a question in my tone, the glare Haruhi shot at Tamaki did not go unnoticed by me nor the blonde. Tamaki brought his knees to his chest in mock defense, but he honestly seemed to be trying to defend his vital organs from the brunette's wicked stare.
"I couldn't afford the school uniform," admitted Haruhi, "without the uniform, even the Host Club believed I was a boy at first, but I'm fairly certain Kyouya-sempai knew from the beginning though,"
Speaking of which, "Why did Kyouya and Hunny-sempai threaten you Tamaki?" I asked, Tamaki's face grew immediately sad.
"They're not early risers, like sempai here," Haruhi claimed coolly, "their type AB."
"Type what? What does that have to do with anything?"
"AB," Haruhi repeated with a shrug, save for a slight shudder as if she had experienced something terrible associated with the two letters. "Something about low blood pressure that turns them into demonic beings."
Our attention was briefly drawn to Tamaki, who mumbled something under his breath that sounded like "evil overlords of Japan."
Silence pursued the conversation as Haruhi looked out the window in deep thought, what she was thinking about was beyond me. Tamaki eventually uncurled and was rapidly texting on his cell phone to someone who was NOT Kyouya or Hunny. Then there was me, feeling somehow comfortable, not completely, but just enough not to feel awkward.
In a few moments' time the quiet would be interrupted, but not by Tamaki or myself.
"Hold on, you said your apartment was on Ouran property?" Haruhi asked out of the blue, I nodded.
"Yes, why?"
"It just seems pretty far away,"
"Only by a mile, the Ouran property isn't made up solely by the school buildings, there are also the stables, pastures, stadium, and festival grounds to think about. So when the expanding came to an end, the administration carried on into an urban area that became future resident areas for transfer students." I explained, Haruhi's eyebrows rose into her hairline.
"You're a transfer? From where?" she asked innocently, I laughed lightly, remembering I never told her where I was from or who my parents are.
"I'm not, my parents actually live close in the Todaizumi Estate just out of the city limits." Neither of us noticed how Tamaki went rigid as Haruhi nodded.
"Do they live in apartments too? It must be bigger than my dad's since we're only two people," stated Haruhi, I shook my head.
"No, they live in a more rural area, they love nature and it helps inspire work." I replied evenly.
"Hm, what do your parents do?"
"My mom runs her own publishing business, my dad is one of the head editors – oh, funny story, one of the editors that works under my father, her name's Okamura Mitsuru, has to chase after this crazy author at his own house-"
The minutes carried on until finally the limo rolled to a stop, Haruhi and I showed little to no concern over Tamaki as we absently walked out with Antoinette (after the driver politely opened the door.) We were ten feet from the car, talking happily, before we suddenly realized we were missing someone – who had broken a Guinness world record for not talking for such a long period of time.
"Tamaki-sempai?" Haruhi question as we peered back into the back of the limousine, where the driver was slightly worried himself.
"Sir?" the man questioned, inside (where apparently climate control existed) was a frozen wasteland. Either that or Tamaki's imagination was projecting itself.
"Tamaki-sempai, stop acting so dramatic – for whatever reason you are – and come on, I thought you were all about coming to Koen Gardens!" Haruhi scolded. Instantly, the blonde jumped back to the life and the snow vanished.
"Ah! We're here! Let's hurry then!" he leaped out of the car, Antoinette tailed after him as he made his way among some shrubbery that was NOT the path. Haruhi and I exchanged baffled looks.
"What's his problem?" I shrugged, a nearby honk gained our attention on the other side of the limo where another was parking. This one (unlike Tamaki's) was white and once parked, the Hitachiins stepped out.
"Morning," they greeted lazily, I noticed how one approached Haruhi faster than the other, I eyed him meticulously, even more so when Haruhi said his name.
"Morning Hikaru, morning Koaru," she greeted in order. I inwardly sighed in annoyance, I was going to have to ask Haruhi how she did it later and take notes. Though I would remember to the best of my abilities that Hikaru (the one who approached Haruhi the quickest) seemed more awake than Koaru, more so when he looked at Haruhi.
The twins slowly scrutinized Haruhi.
"Ranka did a good job yet again," Hikaru said cheerfully, Koaru grinned happily.
"Ranka?" I questioned, the twins looked at me blankly.
"That's my father," Haruhi answered, the twins looked back at her, then back at me, then back at her, then back at me.
"Wait! Haruhi! Does she know?" they cried, pointing at her attire. I glared at them.
"You think I'm stupid enough not to know?" I growled, when they sent me another blank look I quickly added, "Please don't answer that,"
"Let's test her," Hikaru joked to his brother, Cheshire cat smiles spread across their faces as they approached me. A nervous tick took control of my left eyebrow.
"What is Fujiouka Haruhi?" Hikaru and Koaru asked in unison when they got close enough, approximately a foot away from my face.
"A mystical human being capable of telling you two apart," I replied without actually thinking, the two blinked before bursting out into laughter.
"A girl," I added lamely, their laughter more of a bad omen than anything else.
"I was not expecting that," Koaru said as his laugh dwindled down, while Hikaru took longer to calm down.
"Neither was I, congratulations Yu-chan, you have successfully progressed." Hikaru claimed, I sweat-dropped.
"Progressed?"
"Into a more interesting person," they claimed, Haruhi sighed.
"That's mean you two," the brunette claimed, I shook my head with a slight wave of my hand.
"Don't worry about it Haruhi-chan, at least I didn't take nearly as long in figuring out you are a girl." With a triumphant smirk, the smiles on the twins faces slid off in seconds as realization hit them, but their jubilant expressions quickly returned when their eyes caught sight of their 'lord' wandering in the nearby undergrowth. Antoinette had stopped at the border of tall grass, not nearly as eager for that kind of adventure as her master.
Being the smart dog she is, Antoinette decided to follow Tamaki along the rim of the trees and leafy plants, while he mindlessly ventured among mushrooms and moss growing from the submerged roots of trees.
"What's Tono doing?" one of the twins asked, Haruhi and I shrugged.
"Oh!" a cry from beyond the trail sounded, there was no doubt it was Tamaki, "Look! It's a deer!"
A/N: Tamaki, Tamaki, so flipping adorable that you are ~
Han-sama: Oh shoot, thank you for pointing that out, I'll fix it when I can.
Aurora-16: Yes, I read the manga online (one manga) since my massive manga collection at home is too much as it is. Though I didn't read chapter 80 until you submitted you're review since Ouran updates much slower than Naruto lol.
New Feature -
Chapter Question!
(I will be applying these to see just how well you all are processing my story and for the lolz + I feel it'll make me a better author if I'm getting what I want across)
What do you think is the story behind Kira-chan (the stuffed snake)?