Title: Not Meant to be Anything Else [1/?]
Character(s): Haruhi, Tamaki, Yuzuru, Anne-Sophie + will include the other hosts later on.
Pairing(s): hints of Tamaki/Haruhi
Rating: T.
Disclaimer: Ouran High School Host Club belongs to Hatori Bisco and related companies. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle & xxxHolic belong to CLAMP and related companies.
Spoilers: Almost none for Ouran, quite a fair bit for TRC.
Word count: 1793
Because the opening sequence and central concept behind TRC is made of distilled sparkling genius. It's intriguing and exciting and totally gets the heart pumping with expectations, but really to be honest it's because I am obsessed with the idea of the hosts being bound by ~hitsuzen~. No, I don't intend to write the full crossover of Ouran/TRC, or this would have been a fic of its own – it's just gonna be enough to introduce everyone in their roles.
If it matters to you, I have read and watched both the manga and anime of TRC and Ouran in full.
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NOT MEANT TO BE ANYTHING ELSE
"Hitsuzen. A naturally foreordained event. A state in which other outcomes are impossible. A result which can only be obtained by a single causality, and all other causalities would necessarily create different results. So reads the Kodansha Japanese desk dictionary, second edition." ― Ichihara Yuuko, xxxHoLic
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In the middle of a desert lies a city bustling with life and good, hardworking folk.
Hooded against the sandy winds and scorching midday sun, a young woman walks back to her little hut with a pouch bag slung over her shoulder, pushing open the door to be greeted by a scene that has remained untouched in her absence. She sets her bag onto the table and lifts up a photo frame.
"I'm home, Okaasan."
A knock sounds at the door. "Yes?" she calls out as she goes to answer it.
Immediately she is attacked by a blast of overenthusiasm that causes her to fall backwards. "Haruhi!" yells a very familiar voice. "Welcome home! How did the excavation go? Were you injured? Did you get sick? Did you make sure to eat properly and get enough sleep?"
Haruhi looks up at her childhood friend. Whether rain or shine, he's always here to greet her whenever she returns home from her archaeological studies. "Yes, it went fine, Prince Tamaki."
Instantly, the prince of the country takes on a displeased frown and sinks into a dramatic sadness. "Polite speech! We've been together for so long, Haruhi – we've played together since we were four! Didn't I say that I am your friend, not your prince?"
"But…" she says, thinking about the grand castle perched on the hill and the King and Queen.
"Tamaki." Bright, insistent eyes stare at her. "Ta-ma-ki."
Uncomfortably, Haruhi shifts to accommodate her friend's weight on her. "Tamaki," she repeats.
Her movement alerts her friend to their position. "I'm sorry! I must be heavy, huh?" Quickly, he scrambles up and extends a hand to her to help her up. "I'm really glad you're here, Haruhi."
Haruhi smiles warmly back at him. "I'm glad to be back, too."
"How long can you stay here this time? Otousan says that many underground chambers have been discovered beneath the ruins by the border. Have they finally yielded some interesting results?"
She nods. "The historians and scholars are extremely excited about it. I just came to get a change of clothes then I'm going back to work tonight."
Tamaki's face goes gloomy; he crouches on the ground with a black aura around him, sulking, "Otousan won't let me go to the ruins with you. He says it's too dangerous."
"Have you been fighting with the King again?" Haruhi sighs patiently. "He's worried about your safety."
"He's being mean!" Tamaki accuses, leaping to his feet. "So many people are working there, and I've been brushing up on my knowledge of runes and hieroglyphs! I know I can help!"
Not in a position to question King Yuzuru's wisdom, Haruhi attempts to console her friend by saying, "I have some shopping to do to get ready for tomorrow's excavation. Want to come with me? We can pick out some food that you like and I'll cook dinner for you."
Tamaki smiles at her in a way that makes her chest feel tight.
Grabbing her hand, he drags her out into the market like they've never been apart for a moment in their lives.
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Dryly, Haruhi says to a stack of crates, "You snuck out of the castle, didn't you?"
A glint of blond sticks out cautiously. Upon checking that the royal guards have passed by, the huddled figure emerges from its hiding spot and pulls her away. "Otousan thinks that seeing you makes me want to do risky things like joining the excavation team."
"Probably because he's right," Haruhi acknowledges, deadpan.
"Gaahn, Haruhi!" Tamaki shrieks. "Is it so wrong for me to want to do something useful?"
"You are useful here," she tells him, bending down to put several pieces of fruit in a paper bag. "I've heard of the things that you've done and are doing for the people – you are a great prince, Tamaki."
"Yes," agrees the shopkeeper, respect in her tone. "Hearing you play your heavenly music for us in the city square is the highlight of my day, Prince Tamaki."
Surprised and pleased, Tamaki pats the old lady's wrinkled hand kindly. "The love that goes into my music comes from having people like you in my country, Granny."
Charmed, the shopkeeper generously presses a fist-sized fruit into each of their palms and refuses to accept payment. A crowd has begun to form around them – many of the other merchants are offering prime cuts of meat and the best of their produce to their prince, delighted to share everything with him. Moved to tears, Tamaki turns them down again and again, asking them to save the food for themselves and their families.
"There he is!" shouts a gruff voice, interrupting the friendly buzzing chatter. Three royal guards start to shove through the mass of people. "Prince, the King has ordered us to escort you back to the castle!"
Long fingers close over Haruhi's wrist. "Let's go!" Tamaki flees with her in tow – they dart through the stalls and run to the outskirts of the capital before allowing themselves to collapse onto the surface of a large, flat rock, obscured from view by the other taller rocks surrounding it.
After a minute, Haruhi says, "I think we've lost them."
Earnestly, Tamaki prevents her from standing up. "Can we stay here a bit longer? Look, the sunset! Wow, the ruins are beautiful when silhouetted against the light of the sun!"
"It was my late mother's dream to excavate those ruins," Haruhi says reminiscently.
Tamaki laughs with a hint of nervousness. "That was the first time we met, remember? When you and your mother came to the castle to obtain permission to study the ruins."
Haruhi nods. "I'm happy that I'm fulfilling my mother's legacy."
They lapse into silence.
Tamaki turns the fruit over and over, eyes fixed on it. "Recently you're always busy, Haruhi. I wish I could see you more often; I miss spending time with you. Do you miss me when you're working?"
She blinks. "Yes, I do," she answers honestly. "There's nothing I look forward to more than seeing you when I come back home."
He grins with blinding radiance. "You know, Haruhi, I have something I want to tell you."
Quizzically, Haruhi gazes at him.
Very gently, Tamaki says, "Haruhi, I…"
DING. DING. DONG.
The two of them jump in shock at the booming chimes of the castle clock signalling the hour.
"A-Are you all right?" Haruhi asks her friend as they get up and pat down their clothes.
Tamaki pockets the fruit. "Mm hmm. I'm fine. I – "
"Oh no, it's late!" Haruhi cries, collecting her groceries. "We have to rush back! I'll have time to cook, but I don't think I'll be able to have dinner with you. I'm sorry, Tamaki. Come on, I want to at least do what I promised!"
She dashes off. "Tamaki, come on!"
He sprints up to her.
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Wrapping up the food carefully, she says a regretful goodbye to her friend as she passes it to him. The royal guards are prowling the area and it's time for the prince to sneak back to the castle.
"Do you want me to walk you there?" she asks, calculating if she can make the journey yet be punctual for work.
Tamaki shakes his head, taking the parcel and giving her an unexpected peck on her cheek. "Haruhi, the thing I wanted to tell you… I'll tell you the next time we meet, okay?"
"Huh?" She touches the place where he kissed her, feeling curiously warm and jittery. "Um, yeah."
Slinging his cloak around himself, Tamaki waves at her one last time before exiting her hut and disappearing into the dim twilight.
Haruhi watches him go with an unnaturally fast heartbeat, the presence of a glowing emotion pulsing at her core and spreading out through her body. "It isn't right to have these feelings, is it, Okaasan? Even if we've been friends for all our lives, he's still the prince of this land."
There is no advice for her in the howling winds, and night washes across the sky.
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Tamaki tiptoes on the polished floor, navigating his way to his room and hoping that he will go unnoticed.
"We know you're there, child," says a sweet, motherly voice.
"You have no subtlety at all, Tamaki," chips in a masculine, provoking voice. "Seeing you try is like watching an elephant dance – entertaining, but also somewhat cringe-worthy."
Springing out from behind the pillar, Tamaki says in annoyance, "I shouldn't have to creep around my own house, Otousan! Okaasan, why do you let Otousan make fun of your son all the time?"
Queen Anne-Sophie laughs under her breath. "Were you at Haruhi-chan's house again?"
"What stupid ideas have you come back with this time?"
Tugging at his hair in irritation, Tamaki yowls incoherently and stomps off.
When the footsteps have faded into the distance, the King heads to the balcony overlooking the kingdom, lost in thought. At last he asks his Queen, "Are we sure that this girl can save our Tamaki? Can't we save our son from the hardships that you foresaw by keeping him away from her instead? Wouldn't that thwart your vision of the future?"
Ruefully, Anne-Sophie goes to her husband and tucks herself into his arms. "Our little prince has a mysterious power. I don't know what it is, exactly, but it is a power that will change the world. Trouble will be drawn to him, and although Tamaki is strong, he cannot stand alone against such adversity. If Haruhi-chan is not by his side, I'm afraid that he is bound to fall to the darkness. Even with Haruhi-chan the odds are overwhelmingly against them."
Yuzuru sighs heavily, resting his chin on her golden head. "I don't know what to do."
"We trust to hope, dear." She reaches up a hand to caress his cheek. "Your great mother, our most powerful high priestess ever, also divined Tamaki's fate long ago. You know her character, Yuzuru – her capability, her strength, her iron will. She would have exhausted her options trying to seek a solution to this problem; she would not have abandoned her grandson and left him without defences."
"I wish she'd told us who these so-called 'allies' are. How are we to receive them if we don't know which are the fated ones who will support Tamaki throughout the ordeal? Where are they going to meet, how many of them are there, are they really trustworthy?"
Anne-Sophie giggles lightly. "Do not let these weigh on your mind, my dear. Their loyalty is Tamaki's to earn. I have no doubt that he is equipped with everything he needs to succeed."
Yuzuru closes his eyes in defeat. "Thankfully our idiot son is so loveable."
The Queen smiles sagely. "There are no coincidences."