CHAPTER NINE
I wasn't really sure how it had happened but for some reason I was at Renge's house, attempting to help her bake cookies.
"So I add eggs to the flour? That sounds so gross…" I sighed, she was making this more difficult then it needed to be.
"Here, give me the eggs, I'll crack them for you." She handed me the eggs, along with the bowl of flour, I quickly and skillfully cracked the eggs into the bowl. I then handed it back to her to stir; she was the one that wanted to bake cookies. Normally bake, or cooking, relaxed me, but this was just really stressful. I ended up doing most of the work; I even separated the dough onto the cookie sheet, only to find out that Renge hadn't set the oven to preheat like I had asked her to. So as we waited for the oven to heat up, I cleaned up the mess we had made, even though Renge insisted that the maids could get it. I didn't like people doing something that I could easily do myself, it was just the way my parents had raised me. We put the dough into the oven, so that it could bake into cookies. Sitting there awkwardly I asked Renge a question that I would later regret,
"So Renge, what is that game you were talking about earlier like?"
"Oh come on I can show you!" Renge then grabbed my hand, dragging me to her room to see this game….oh man what had I gotten myself into, I just wanted to break the silence.
"B-but what about the c-cookies!?" I really didn't want to leave the cookie in the oven, it was a safety hazard, I also did not want to play this game.
"They won't be done for a half hour, right? That gives us a half hour to play then!"
This was pure torture, I felt like we had been playing forever…the game itself wasn't so bad but Renge just got absorbed in them, which was really awful. I suddenly remembered the cookies,
"H-hey Renge, what time is it?" The horror showed on my face as she showed me the clock, it had been forty minutes, ten minutes longer then the thirty it took for the cookies to bake. I scrambled to my feet, rushing toward Renge's kitchen, not caring if Renge was following me. I quickly grabbed the oven mitts, pulling the cookies out of the oven, and turning the oven off. I really wanted to cry, the cookies had burned, I had never burned anything when bake and cooking before. I suddenly had tears in my eyes; I started to cry as Renge came into the room. She looked really shocked, I guess me crying had that effect on people. I quickly was in her arms, hugging her while still crying. After Renge had calmed me down she apologized for messing up the cookies, I accepted her apology immediately, knowing that she hadn't done it on purpose. Soon after that I left her house, needing to get home to finish my homework.
NEXT DAY
After classes I went to the Third Music Room, as usual, but the Host Club was closed for the day.
"I thought about it all last night, and having a lady manager might not be all that bad." I wonder what made Tamaki change his mind…
"Why do you say that?" The twins asked, holding the same curiosity that I had.
" Don't you see? She has transferred into the same class as Haruhi. If the two both become friends as girls then Haruhi might become more girlish." And I wasn't girlish? "The uniquely girlish air could stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."
"Good grief." Haruhi and I muttered together, but for different reasons. Her reasoning was probably more along the lines of Tamaki being annoying, and mine were more from him being ridiculous, and not remembering that I myself was a girl.
"This is a grand-scale project in order to stir Haruhi up to be more girly! Only having those disreputable twins as close classmates, is not good for Haruhi." The twins tilted their heads to the side, I think that they were annoyed.
"That's telling us, all right."
"Hey everyone…" Renge spoke as she started to come into the room. "Renge, your Host Club drawing card, has baked some cookies, with the help of Kitty of course." I felt the blood drain from my face, and I started to feel sick upon remembering the burnt cookies, she really didn't need to give me any credit for those.
"Oh… how ladylike! I'm so moved!" What about me? I baked cakes for the club almost every day it was open. I guess Tamaki is really oblivious, that or he has a one-track mind.
"We didn't bake these for you phony prince." Great she's still including me in this. I could feel the tears starting to form, I was still really upset that I had burned something for the first time. "Sorry. They're a little burnt…" After hearing that I blanked out on everything else Renge was saying, the tears becoming more noticeable.
"Hey Katherine… Are you okay?" I heard Haruhi ask me softly.
"T-that's the f-first time anything I've baked, or h-help baked has burned!!" I was barely able to hold in the flood of tears that wanted to escape, I didn't want to bring the attention to me. Haruhi simply gave me a hug, and patted my back, making me feel so much better for some reason. "T-thanks Haruhi!!" Looking up I noticed that Mitsukuni was taking a bite out of one of the…burned… cookies, I guess Mitsukuni couldn't resist sweets no matter what.
"You're right, these cookies really are burnt." I guess that's what happens when cookies are in the oven ten minutes longer then they are supposed to be.
"Don't eat that Mitsukuni. They're bad for you." Huh…I didn't know that burned cookies were bad for people's health… Renge then freaked out, she started to chase Takashi, who was holding Mitsukuni, around the room. I don't know why she was so upset about that comment.
"Wha! She's scaring me!" Mitsukuni cried out while they were being chased. Meanwhile Haruhi and I just stood there, blankly watching on. Haruhi then took a cookie, to my surprise, and ate a bite out of it.
"They're not that bad at all, they've got a good favor to them." Glancing back, I noticed that the twins looked like they had an idea, which made me step away from Haruhi, their ideas seemed to always involve her, and it was always creepy. Hikaru placed the cookie into Haruhi's mouth, and before taking a bite he said,
"May I try?"
"Oh, Haruhi, you have cookie crumbs on your face." Kaoru then licked the crumbs off of her face, making both her and I flinch slightly.
"Did you see what the just did!?" Tamaki continued to shout about what the twins had done, but I just ignored him, stepping away from everyone, and sitting on the couch hugging Neko-chan to my chest, just observing everyone else.
""Y-y-your reaction is all wrong!" What, did Tamaki want Haruhi to act like she liked the twin? Or like she was one of those other silly girls at this school? If she did then she wouldn't be Haruhi. Once more I stopped listening to whatever Tamaki was saying, I zoned out into a random daydream. I only snapped out of my daydream when I heard Renge shout,
"Luke-warm! All of your characters are lukewarm! Except for Kyouya all of your characters are luke-warm. All of you hosts are lacking a 'dark' side! Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men going through trauma! If you keep carrying on in this ridiculous manner, it's only a matter of time before the girls grow tired of it! Are you trying to ruin Kyouya-sama's precious business!? As manager, starting today, I'm changing all of your character backgrounds." But wouldn't that be changing who they are? "Staring with you!" She pointed at Mitsukuni, "If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're the same as a baby. As such, you're now 'The cute-face, who's actually a thug!' and Mori-senpai, you're the 'Childhood-friend flunkie!' the twins will be basketball players 'shut up in their own world!' Haruhi-kun, you're an honor student faced with 'Intense bullying!' And Tamaki-san, you are the school idol esteemed for your looks, but actually, you have an inferiority complex… 'The lonely prince!!' Oh, Kyouya-sama, you're perfect just the way you are. You just stay your usual kind, affectionate self." This made me glad that I wasn't actually a host; nobody was going to try to change who I am.
"Thank you. I'm honored." Kyouya gave Renge one of his fake smiles.
"'The lonely prince.' Indeed, that is perfect for me!" Really? He thought that? I doubted that he would fit this role at all. Haruhi voiced what I was thinking to myself,
"That's probably the one she got the most wrong." The twins pulled Kyouya away,
"Kyouya-senpai… You've got to do something!"
"But his highness seems up for this." I didn't bother to look over at Tamaki, even though Kyouya had pointed to him.
Somehow Renge had convinced the Host Club to produce a movie with their new characters. I wasn't entirely sure why I was here; I wasn't in it and really had no reason to stay. I was sitting on one of those director-like chairs, holding Neko-chan, and holding Usa-chan for Mitsukuni while he was shooting his scene.
"You can't run away any longer. You're going to learn what happens when you go against me." Wow… Mitsukuni could really pull off the dark bully look.
"Don't, Mitsukuni. Every time you hurt others, you're the one who ends up being hurt."
"Don't try to give me any advice, Takashi. You want me to put you over my knee again?" I almost giggled at that, Takashi was much to tall to be able to fit on Mitsukuni's knee.
"Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits them? Or something else?"
"It really pisses me off when people don't know their place." Mitsukuni then started to cry, and threw himself into Haruhi's arms, "Haru-chan, I'm so sorry! I can't do this!"
"Cut!!" Renge really seemed mad. "Cut! Cut! Cut! What's wrong with you! Stick to the script!" I frowned at Renge, she was asking him to act the opposite way of what he normally does, that has to be hard, and then she yells at him.
"But I can't…"
"Cameraman, hold up for now!"
"Yes boss." The cameraman held up a finger.
"Make the rain more heartrending!"
"Here Mitsukuni!" I held out Usa-chan to him, smiling at him. "You're a very good actors Mitsukuni, Takashi." Again I smiled at them.
"R-really Kitty-chan!?" Mitsukuni looked up at me, his eyes watering slightly, before he caught me in a hug.
"Y-yep!" I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.
"Are you okay Kitty-chan? Your face is really red right now." I felt the blush turn even redder then it already was at his comment. I wasn't even sure why I was blushing.
"Y-yeah fine."
The Next Day
"I bought the video!" I glanced over from making the coffee to see that the girl who said this had long brown hair, and light brown eyes. Video? I thought Kyouya had destroyed that…
"I bought it too!" This time a girl with long black hair and grey eyes spoke. At their comments everyone of the hosts blinked, wondering what was going on.
"You did?" Tamaki, Mitsukuni, and the twins asked.
"That scene in the rain was the greatest!" Squealed the girl with brown hair from before. I blinked; I thought that we hadn't even finished that movie.
"I loved the lonely prince!" The other girl from before squealed out.
"And the loving relationship between Hikaru-sama and Kaoru-sama was too much!" Once more I blinked in confusion before walking over to the hosts. The girls all started to freak out, and basically fangirl over the hosts.
"Kyouya…" Tamaki looked ready to snap his fingers, as if he were a sultan in some movie and would get whatever it is he wanted.
"I may have broken the lens, but naturally, the footage that was already shot still remains. Of course, that one scene of violence is cut out. Sales have been pretty good. That first-rate Hollywood staff did as good a job as you'd expect." As Kyouya spoke we all, except for Tamaki, looked at him. I think that without Kyouya this club would have failed a long time ago.
"Is this what you meant by 'interesting'?" I still didn't know how the twins could speak in perfect unison.
"It's best to have as much as we can in the club budget, right?"
"Good day everyone." I turned to look at Renge as she spoke. I had thought she had gone back to France? I carefully started to inch away from where she stood. It's not that I disliked her; I just didn't want to get dragged into playing those games with her again.
"Renge? I thought you went home to France." I guess I wasn't the only one confused.
"I realized something. Your kindness earlier, when you risked your life to protect me, and your deep love, for giving those, at times, stern admonitions. This is what you meant by watching people, and falling in love with them, right Haruhi-kun?" Renge got really close to Haruhi, holding her hands. I guess Renge still thinks that Haruhi is a guy.
"Yeah?" Haruhi seemed like she wasn't entirely sure of how to respond.
"Com on Haruhi, let's go to my house to play some games together. You have to find out more about me, too." She started to pull on Haruhi's arm; it made me glad I had moved earlier. "You too Kitty!" I guess I had thought too soon, because she grabbed my arm as well and dragged me with them.