A/N: and we're back again. Or at least, I am anyways. The song I chose to listen to while writing this was 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen. Seriously, I thought the song fit Haruhi perfectly. (laughs) Also, as a reminder, anybody can comment so don't be shy. Even if it's just the title of a song I'll take it. Comments show that you care.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran or Lycanthrope Leo terminology
A brisk breeze traveling through the air,
Sweet with spring fragrance and,
A foreign scent mingled within it.
Haruhi was thoroughly pissed.
"Four god damn libraries," she thought angrily as she stomped up a flight of stairs to the top floor. "and the place is still too crowded! I mean, if you don't want to study then just go home!"
Her current irritation was but the latest infraction on her concept of sensibility that Ouran had thrown at her. Virtually everything about the school made her want to grind her teeth in frustration. Two weeks had passed since the first day she'd started attending and Haruhi could say quite honestly that there still wasn't a single thing she'd yet found to like about the place.
On her first day, right after introducing herself to her new classmates they had made it clear that they, like her, felt she didn't belong. Even before she'd sat down she'd begun hearing giggles and snide remarks whispered behind her back, felt the dirty looks being sent her way. She would have bolted right then and there if she hadn't forced herself to remain seated. For those first eight hours it had been like being trapped in a cage with no bars. She did her best to ignore the others, to convince herself that their opinions didn't mean anything to her. She tried to let it appear as if their attitude didn't bother her at all.
She'd failed miserably, but god knows she'd tried.
Normally she wouldn't have cared what these privileged snobs thought about her, but, when you had that many people looking at you like you were gutter trash it was a little hard not to feel self-conscious. Takuma tried to be supportive, encourage her to stay strong, but sometimes that wasn't always enough. The fact was she just felt like anything she did fell under their criticism. Whether it was her cheap clothes (unavoidable, since she wasn't about to pay $3,000 for a uniform), the fact that she brought in a home-made obento (Like hell she'd pay that much for a single lunch!), or that she had such an obviously common background (So she was born with a wooden sampler spoon in her mouth, get over it!) nothing she did met their standard of approval. She was beneath them and they weren't above rubbing the fact repeatedly into her face.
And that had only been the first day. Over the next two weeks things had seemed to mellow out to the point where she didn't feel like cringing every time she walked through a door. She wasn't accepted, probably never would be, but neither was she as openly shunned as she had been that first day.
That is, until this morning.
Stepping through the door into first period, right off the bat Haruhi had felt the tension permeating within the classroom wash over her like a wave. Stiffening at the sensation, feeling even the little hairs on her skin stand up, she'd quickly scoped out the room and noticed that a large portion of the people present were clustered into a small group over by the opposite wall. Wondering what was going on, Haruhi had moved towards the group to see what they were looking at. As she got closer she noticed several of her classmates turn abruptly away as soon as they saw her. For some reason this made her edgy.
When she was right at the back of the group Haruhi had to peer over the head of a shorter brunette in front of her to see a sheet with a list of names had been tacked onto the wall. Written at the top in bold black print were the words "Monthly Grading Results." Beneath that, at the top of the list her name was written in the number one spot.
"Oh, I made top score." She stated out loud, though mostly to herself.
She was alarmed then when the group in front of her, suddenly alerted to her presence, spun around to see her standing there before as one they all scrabbled away from her as quickly as they could. The girl that had been standing in front of her had, in her haste to get away, stumbled to the ground with a yelp. As Haruhi reached down automatically to help her back up the other girl had let out a shriek.
"No! Don't touch me! I have no connection to you at all!" She cried out as she scuttled like a yellow colored crab as fast as she could to the other side of the room.
Haruhi had stood rooted to the spot, frozen in shock as she stared dumbfounded after the girl as she made her awkward escape.
'What in the hell-?' she thought before the bell suddenly rang and Takuma walked in, followed immediately by a throng of students trying to get to their seats before roll call started.
"All right, that was the last bell, everyone to their seats- You too Fujioka."
Haruhi quickly moved into her seat and started pulling out her textbooks and pencils. As she was doing this, though, she'd stretched her hearing out and started listening very carefully to what the others around her were saying. Sure enough, she was rewarded as bits and pieces of whispered conversation started flying through the air as the rumor mill started up again.
"…see the score…"
"…Fujioka made first place this time…."
"…How the hell-! Its' only been two weeks…"
"…must be out of his mind…"
"…ya thinks gonna happen?"
"…as good as a challenge…"
"…the human blizzard will…"
"…kinda sorry for the poor…"
"…death…"
"…don't want a misunderstanding…"
"…new guys dead meat…"
"…should stay away…"
"…get sent to the grave with that commoner…"
"…When Kasanoda finds out…"
'Kasanoda?', Haruhi thought, frowning as she slightly angled her head to glance back out of the corner of her eye at a boy with shoulder length red hair and a really aggressive face. He was bent over his desk, scratching out notes with one hand while absorbed in the lecture Takuma was giving on the social structure of Japan during the Edo Period. She recalled seeing him a few times before but she'd never really paid any attention to him. He always seemed to be off by himself. She studied him for a minute before turning her full attention back to Takuma with a small shrug. If the guy had a problem with her being top in class, so be it. It's not like it was going to be any concern of hers.
Or so she'd thought.
Later, as the day progressed, more and more outrageous rumors kept making their way to her ears, each one more preposterous then the last. One rumor claimed that when Kasanoda had found out about the grades he'd flipped out and in his rage had struck one of their classmates who had to be sent to the hospital for emergency surgery. Most everyone else had suffered brief visions of their own grisly deaths when they'd looked into his eyes. Yet another had suggested that she herself, somehow conveniently unaffected by his deadly glare, had been taunting Kasanoda during class, sending him mocking smiles (something she'd been horridly embarrassed about since she'd thought she'd been discreet in observing him) which further infuriated him. The last in this particular sequence that truly shocked her for its sheer audacity announced that afterwards he'd spent the rest of the period writing a letter of challenge which, allegedly, she'd slapped out of his hand and spit on before walking away.
The whole thing was getting ridiculously out of hand. Haruhi was on the verge of saying something when she overheard several people start to place bets on her survival. One had wondered aloud how long it'd take before the Kasanoda Gang came and dragged her off to the nearest port when someone joked that concrete slippers would probably be the most valuable thing she'd ever receive. Another had jumped in and said they'd probably have a heck of a time finding her to see if they'd fit though since they'd have to scour the whole city just to find the cardboard box she holed up in. Haruhi turned away as they all howled with laughter and slipped down another hall before they'd seen her, biting her tongue to keep from screaming out in rage.
And everyone she passed made an effort to avoid her.
Reaching the last step on the stairs Haruhi strode forward on the landing before coming to a stop in front of a large paneled window. She peered through the glass and out across the grounds, letting her eyes travel over the blue tiled roofs and beyond the well tended lawn and several outdoor sports fields until her gaze finally came to rest on the line of whitish pink Sakura trees sprouting up at the edge of the school borders.
The trees, which appeared to have once started out as an orchard evenly spaced apart, sprawled out further away from the school, growing closer and closer to each other until they became so thickly entangled it eventually became impossible to separate one tree from another. Soon though, the whitish pink trees with their delicate petals collided unexpectedly into a densely clustered mass of varying hues of green, red and orange. Long needled pines intermingled with broad leafed maple took over where the Sakura ended and continued to expand onwards, growing lush and vast, disappearing further on into the distance. Birds flitted above on the highest branches, moving from tree to tree, their small bodies momentarily outlined by the sun dipping towards the horizon so they seemed like shadows dancing on a sea of green.
It was a forest- A beautifully glorious forest growing in a place where it never should have been, right in the middle of Tokyo city.
When she'd first laid eyes upon this incredible sight so close to the school Haruhi thought she'd been dreaming. Or perhaps maybe she'd overdosed on the curare. Yes, that had to be it. It would have been feasible, considering, but Takuma, who had brought her to the top floor after her first stressful school day had come to an end to show her this impossible miracle, had assured her that what she was seeing was indeed real.
Several years ago Tokyo, in an effort to secure a bid to host the Olympics in the year 2016, had formulated what was called 'the green Games plan'. The governor of Tokyo promised that in over a decades' time a 1000 hectares of green space would be added within the city in the form of parks, rooftop gardens and trees planted beside railway tracks. The schools chairman, enthusiastic about the prospect, convinced the school board to invest a proportional amount of time and money in converting the vast amount of unused grounds owned by the school. Drawing further inspiration from an architect named Tadao Ando and his 'Sea Forest', the chairman had proceeded to develop the grounds into a forest park. The entire area being planted with tens of thousands of trees along with numerous native floras and the installation of a network of free flowing ponds with various runoff points had transformed the landscape from a simply large field into thriving woodland. A herd of deer from the Nara prefecture had even been shipped over to provide this new environment with wildlife.
Since the area was still under development in several places to ensure its stability it was yet to be opened to the public but groups of supervised students were permitted during school hours to venture within to a certain point along one of the designated trails. Haruhi had avoided taking that path.
Even seeing the trees from up here she could already imagine herself walking amongst them, the smell of their heady aroma filling her lungs, hearing the leaves rustle with every draft that blew through the upper branches, feeling the coolness of hard packed earth underneath her naked feet... Her breath started coming faster and her heart beat harder, even painfully against her ribs, and with a visible effort she tore her eyes away from the forest that called to her, sang to her, beckoned her to escape within the comfort of its shadowy depths. Sucking in a deep breath she brought herself back under control. No, she didn't dare go into the forest or anywhere near it. She wasn't sure if she would ever leave if she did.
Besides, if there was a forest here then surely other members of the Blood Tribe were certain to venture there as well.
Moving a hand up to her forehead to massage some of the pain away from her developing migraine her finger tips touched the pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and she felt the headache grow worse. Aside from all the nonsense she had to contend with from her classmates these glasses were perhaps the most hateful thing she'd endured since she'd started coming here.
Much like Takuma had predicted the curare had affected her eyesight horribly. Worse even than what was expected. Before, she could have read a book with small print from the other side of a room, but now, she could barely make out the words written on a chalkboard ten feet in front of her. Practically blinded now unless she wore them, the glasses were a constant insult to her dignity that she refused to forgive as they more than anything were the reminder of how weak she was under the curare's effect.
Growling softly under her breath Haruhi moved away from the window to continue her search for someplace quiet to work on this weekend's homework. Most of the rooms she'd already tried had either been occupied by people with their afterschool clubs or had been locked up. The apartment wasn't exactly an option right now. Truthfully, she found it was getting harder to even go back. Uncle had said that his trip could take a full month at most, and yes, it had only been two weeks since he left, yet still… it always hurt when she had to return and opened the door and realized that no one was there to welcome her home. It made her anxious when the time came for school to close.
Passing by several other classrooms she finally stopped in front of a door with a plaque over it with the words 'Third Music Room' written on it. This wasn't an exclusive classroom and when she didn't hear any music coming from the other side of the door Haruhi figured she'd found what she was looking for.
'This will have to do. There shouldn't be anyone in here…' she thought as she tried the handle, rejoicing when the door opened…
…before she was nearly mauled by a swarm of humongous pink flowers that came flying at her from out of nowhere. She threw up her hands to fend them off and was shocked when her hands merely passed through them and they suddenly disappeared. She was still trying to figure out what the heck had just happened when somebody spoke to her.
"Welcome!"
Standing before her were six other students- six male students- six impossibly good-looking males, each one handsomely and stunningly beautiful. Haruhi felt her breath catch and had to grab at the doorframe as her heart nearly gave out on her. How- how could such attractive beings even exist!
Then all the feel-good emotions died off as two of them, who looked so much alike that they just had to be twins, took another look at her and with a 'HMPH!' proclaimed loudly "It's a guy!!"
'Wait a minute- what!' Haruhi pushed away from the door and turned back to stare incredulously at the pair.
All of them were still looking at her but not with the same intensity as when she'd first walked in on them. One of them, a blond with blue eyes and the only one seated in a chair, cast a reproving frown at the twins.
"Hey! Men are valuable patrons too, so stifle it." Turning his eyes back on to her he held out his hand with a smile and said, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club. It's an absolute pleasure that you bestow upon our simple company a cherished token of your time Mr. - uh, um-", he faltered for a moment before donning an apologetic face and said, "- forgive me, but, it seems I have been remiss. Please, would you enlighten me with an answer—what was your name, again?"
'None of your business!', Haruhi thought, getting seriously freaked out about the bizarre situation she'd tumbled into, and was about to turn back and walk out the door when another one of them, a male with dark hair and sharp calculating eyes set behind a pair of glasses, stepped forward, pulling out a black file folder and opening it up.
"Haruhi Fujioka." He uttered her name, causing her to freeze tongue and body."Class D, First-year. He comes from an average middle class family, one with no notable ties or relations, who not long ago acquired a sizeable inheritance from a great aunt on the mother's side that passed away earlier this spring (so that's the excuse Takuma made up for her)- just recently he gained entrance to Ouran in High School. Physical features include messy brown hair, cheap clothing and an overall scruffy appearance. He's quiet, doesn't mingle much with his fellow classmates, and apparently friendless. According to the latest data, he's also become top in his class which has led to a suspected challenge from the heir of one of Tokyo's strongest Yakuza clans."
"Fascinating!" said the blond as the dark haired male finished up his report, standing up from his chair to walk over to her. "So what we have before us is a Rare Creature indeed."
"Huh? Um… I'm…", Haruhi wavered, finding she was at a loss as what to say next. Then the last bit of his sentence finally translated itself in her mind. 'Wait a minute- did he just call me a rare creature? Oh god no, does this mean that he's a… that he knows I'm a…'
"A commoner!" he cried out, grabbing hold of both her shoulders. 'Huh?'
"Yes," he said, draping an arm around her shoulder as another flurry of giant flowers and sparkling light popped out of nowhere. Haruhi discovered that the light and flowers were actually coming from a projector up in the ceiling before the blond boy continued speaking. "You've managed to work your way up in a short amount of time to become top in your class and now you face a perilous predicament with a low survival rate. And of course, you have no allies to help you because just about everyone despises your low status. Actually, fact is, everyone does!! There's nothing wrong with poverty, of course, nor the fact that you grew up in it. You're a Crusader, and a crusader only needs one thing—a reckless heart!!"
"No need to make… a big deal of it" she muttered quietly while inside she was praying for somebody, anybody, to shut this idiot up as he babbled on and on.
"Of course, we've heard the rumor you're a man-lover…"
Her head snapped up at this latest bit. "W-w-wot?!" she sputtered. "Man-lover?!'
"So, what is your type? Wild Man? Boy Lolita?" he continued as he gestured to the group still standing by the vacant chair. Then he ran his hand through his golden locks and leaned in closer. "Or…"
"…am I more your style?" He purred as he cupped her chin in his hand and brought his face right up to hers. Haruhi felt a shiver shoot up her spine as those blue eyes, bursting with sincerity, bored into her and she quickly shook off his hold on her as she back-pedaled away from him.
"No, it's not like that…" She felt a hand grab onto her arm and whirled around to find the smallest one in the group, someone that looked young enough to be a grade-schooler, staring up at her with awe. "Are you really a crusader, Haru?" he asked in a childish voice while tiny little flowers popped up into existence around his head. "Do you have tales of rescuing princesses? I love those!"
Haruhi temper snapped under the stress and she snarled at the boy. "Who you callin' Haru?!" she wrenched her arm away from him and stumbled back, trying to put as much distance between herself and these- people.
"Look I was just trying to find a quiet place!!" she said, her voice raised high with anxiety. "So, excuse me…" Her body suddenly collided with something behind her and she felt something near her elbow give way. She had only enough time to turn her head to see as a really expensive looking vase tip off the pedestal she'd bumped into and fall to the floor with a resounding crash that echoed throughout the room.
There was a moment of absolute still silence before one of the twins spoke up.
"Ooo… That vase was by RUNE. It was to be the featured item in the next school auction..."
Then the other one picked up where his twin left off. "…and the bidding for that piece was going to start at $80,000, but I don't think it'll fetch that now…"
Huruhi heard herself squeak in horror and her heart plummeted when she heard him say that. '$80,000?!'
"I… I'll pay for it!" she blurted out, wondering frantically to herself just how she was intending to pull that off.
"You bet you will, but how?!" said the first twin, as if reading her mind.
"You can't even spring for a school uniform. Then again, your family inheritance could cover at least most of the cost..." His twin finished.
Haruhi turned stiff at this statement. 'My inheritance… yeah, if I even had one! And I doubt Takuma can afford to pay off that much on a teachers' salary.' The situation was getting bad and Haruhi realized that her sham was about to be blown sky high. Thinking quickly to buy some time Haruhi burst out. "M-my family has nothing- absolutely nothing to do with this! The money isn't mine- It's theirs! And- and I'm not going to have them pay for something I broke!"
"Is that so…" said the dark haired spectacled male, turning to his blond companion who'd returned to his seat. "Well, Tamaki? How shall we handle this?"
The blond male- Tamaki- gave her a level look for a moment before letting out a small sigh. "Ah Fujioka, your decision to leave your family out of this is commendable. Still, you do owe us a pretty sum for the vase. Well then, Fujioka, are you familiar with the saying 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'? And this—'If you don't have the cash, pay with your carcass'?!", he said flashing her a smile filled with malice. "As of today and until your debt is fully paid off you're the Host Club's official Dog!!"
Invisible lighting crashed all around her and she felt her soul begin to escape her body. 'Dog… I'm a dog… Oh mother…' she thought, '…This is just too much!'
The world was starting to crumble at her feet and she began to teeter when a pair of firm hands braced her from behind. Turning her head lightly she was confronted with a wall of man. The male holding her towered above her, staring down with questioning eyes and Haruhi felt herself inexplicably drawn into them. They were as black a slate and the sudden power she felt behind that intense stare, shadowed within those liquid depths, drew a gasp from her.
"I say, are you all right?" asked Tamaki and Haruhi snapped back into herself. Moving out of the tall males grip she put a hand to her face and said, "I think I'm going to faint."
"Oh really?" Tamkai said with a touch of concern in his voice as he stood up once more from his chair and moved towards her. Peering into her face he drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "I was going to have you stay and start working off your debt right away, but, I suppose learning that your body no longer belongs to you is a bit much to take in all at once… very well, I suppose there's no helping it then, now is there. Fujioka, you're dismissed, but remember-", he said, with a hint of warning. "-come Monday I want you back in this room right after classes end. All right, now go home and rest."
As she stumbled out of the music room Haruhi thought home was indeed possibly the most wonderful place she could be right now.
****
From one of the windows near the back of the club room the hosts watched as their commoner stumbled out the front entrance and made her way to the main gate.
"Do you think he'll make it home all right?" Tamaki asked, watching nervously as Haruhi weaved her way past the gate as if she was half drunk.
"Don't worry." Kyoya answered, adjusting his glasses as he turned away from the window. "I have Tachibana trailing after him. My man will watch him for the next few days and intervene if he thinks the commoner is about to take off or tries to off himself."
"I suppose that's all we can do then, eh." Tamaki replied as he and the others moved back into position to greet the first of their real customers for the session. Settling back into his seat he remembered something and turned to Kyoya. "That's right, how are all the details for the gathering next weekend?"
"So far we've received confirmation that seventy percent of the selected clientele have accepted our invitation. All the arrangements are being put in place and by Saturday everything should be in perfect running order. The weather reports it'll be a clear night."
Tamaki beamed with satisfaction. "Excellent. Gentlemen, come Saturday night we shall lead our lady guests through one of the schools most important social events of the year-- the Autumnal Equinox!! As we dance beneath the open sky, basked in the vibrant glow of the rising moon, it shall become a night I'm confident-," he said, turning as the door clicked and swept open.
"-they'll never forget." He finished softly, donning an inviting smile as the first small cluster of girls stepped excitedly into the room.
A/N: and that, my dears, concludes this chapter. Remember- Review!