A/N: Hello and here's the second chapter of It's Good to be a Host! I hope you liked the first chapter, and continue to stick with it. Sorry if its too OOC for you guys but we are trying our best cause we have no idea how some might react in those situations. EDIT: Thanks to a reviewer I was told that and I goofed and placed the same chapter twice *sweatdrop*. Thats a little embarrassing, but at least its fixed now.
Disclaimer: I don't own OHSHC, but if I did I wouldn't make the main characters so amazingly dense.
It was the next day and the Hosts first customer was already waiting for them to arrive. Alexa sat by the entrance to the host club searching through the crowds for the face of the blonde or Haruhi. She still needed a few more questions to be answered, which could only be answered by those two hosts.
Unbeknownst to her, Kyouya arrived with all of the costumes and props for that day, using an alternate entrance into the music room. After he set all the stuff they needed for the club that day, he spotted a shadow in the doorway of the music room. He slowly, as well as quietly, made his way towards the archway and soon recognized the figure creating the shade was Alexa. He looked at her, and observed that she appeared to not have noticed him and asked, "Might I inquire as to what you are doing?".
The girl jumped slightly then turned her gaze towards him, "Waiting for someone". She really didn't feel like conversing with the shadow king but tried to remain somewhat polite. She knew about the reputation his family had when it came to people they didn't like.
Meanwhile, Tamaki was taking long, quick strides towards the music room. He couldn't wait to see how the room was organized for today's events. He especially couldn't wait to see Haruhi in her costume. Even if it wasn't a dress, it had to be cute!
Tamaki slowed down a bit when he caught sight of Kyouya and Alexa ahead of him. He finally slowed to a stop when he reached them. He smiled at Alexa. "Good morning, delicate flower." he said in his usual romantic tone when he spoke to his customers, even if she wasn't one. He would have attempted a friendly kiss on her hand but, after the cold shoulder yesterday, he decided against it.
He looked over at Kyouya. "Ah! Kyouya! Is everything ready for today?" he asked, his romantic tone replaced by an excited one.
"Before you two get to busy with host duties, I was wondering if I could speak with you," Alexa asked standing up and looking at the blonde.
"With me?" asked Tamaki before nodding. "I wouldn't say no to a lovely young lady. I suppose we will talk later, Kyouya. I'll be quick." 'I must see Haruhi's costume, after all!'
Alexa smiled as she turned on her heel and walked a fair distance so the dark-haired man couldn't listen in. She then turned to face Tamaki and asked, her voice sounding innocent, "Do you really think of Haruhi as your daughter?".
Tamaki followed her. When she asked the question, he tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" asked Tamaki, not sure what she was getting at yet.
She sighed as she covered her eyes, "Can you really be that dense?? You do realize that Haruhi is not your daughter?", she stated bluntly.
"All the members of the host club are my family." answered Tamaki. "And as the father, I... Why do you ask?" He was curious to know being unsure, still, of what she was inquiring.
Alexa began to lose her patience with the dense boy, but she managed to control it so it didn't show. "Tamaki," she stated calmly, "If you truly thought of Haruhi as a daughter, why do you flip out when a guy gets near her? Even when they show almost no interest in her?".
He looked shocked suddenly. 'Was it really that obvious!?' "Because who knows what is on the minds of those other young men!" answered Tamaki quickly. "They could do a number of inappropriate things! I cannot allow that to happen to Haruhi!"
"Uh-huh....do you really believe that?" she asked casting a look of disbelief, "Are you sure that there isn't another reason? I mean you are awfully possessive.". She truly was having a rough time believing that he didn't know about his own feelings, especially after the look of shock he wore seconds before.
Tamaki's face turned a dark pink. He was finally, yet slowly, starting to discover what this girl wanted him to say. He was speechless for the moment, wondering what to say to Alexa. He did... he did like Haruhi a lot.
"Well??" she asked, almost certain of the answer now but still wanted to her it from his lips, in case she was reading him wrong.
Tamaki felt himself under pressure. He didn't at all like it when he was under pressure like this! He liked the spotlight but this was the bad kind of spotlight! "Y-y-y-yes." he stammered. "Haruhi... is very precious to me.
Alexa sighed then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I thought so, but I needed to make sure before I asked if you would like some assistance," she watched his face for a reaction.
He looked at her with curious eyes. "Assistance?" he asked. "Assistance with what?" What did this girl want to do?
"Assistance in helping you win Haruhi," she replied simply, grinning widely.
"Helping me win Haruhi?" he asked before thinking a little bit. "You mean, helping Haruhi to like me too?" His eyes sparkled. Did she really mean it? Would he really be closer to her and get the cute little Haruhi-made bento-boxes with the rice shaped like a heart from his imaginations if Alexa helped him? He pulled away from reality and into his "Tamaki theatre."
Tamaki's theatre 3…2…1…
Haruhi: Sempai... I...
Tamaki: What is it, Haruhi? You don't have to be shy. You can tell me anything.
Haruhi: I hadn't realized... before now... that...
Tamaki: Yes, Haruhi?
Haruhi: I... I love you, sempai!
He was lost in his mind as his theatre went on and on and was staring off into space with blank, purple eyes now.
"Hello....?? Has he gone into shock or something??" she muttered, waving her hand in front of his face.
He returned after a hand interrupted his theatre time. "Oh, yes. Yes. Forgive me." he said before asking, cheerfully. "But you really mean to help me with Haruhi?"
"Of course, I mean its obvious to almost everyone but her that you like her!" she replied, "And it would be interesting to see how this little competition might turn out. You do know she has others wanting to date her right?". Alexa wasn't too sure about the blonde's sense of reality but was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"What!?" exclaimed Tamaki. "Other men are after my Haruhi!? Others, with their impure minds! Who are these dreaded others?" 'The twins, no doubt.' thought Tamaki. 'And that creepy Nekozawa... and... and...'
"Mori-senpai, and possibly one other," She replied glancing back towards the entrance to the club's base . 'I can handle that part though,' she thought with a small smirk.
"Mori-sempai?" Tamaki hadn't realized that. Mori was always so quiet and... but it was always the quiet ones! Everyone knew that! He should have realized that before! He became more paranoid by the second.
Alexa raised an eyebrow at the strange look Tamaki had, but decided not to comment on it. "Look you probably need to discuss with Kyouya about what you need to prepare for the club today so I'll leave you to that. I'll mingle in the crowd and see if I can find anything more to help your situation," with that said she turned and began to return to the music room, already formulating plans in her head.
"Alright." said Tamaki. "Thank you very much!" He walked back into the music room and hurried back to Kyouya. He looked around at the way the room was set up and smiled. "Excellent job, Kyouya!" he exclaimed. "You've done it again! Brava! Kyouya! Mon ami!"
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Hunni remained where he was for a moment. He'd only heard the end of the conversation, but it sounded like Tama-chan had finally admitted his feelings for Haru-chan. Hunni continued towards the music room, thinking if he should ask Haru-chan how she felt. Or more importantly, ask Takashi.
He pushed it to the back of his mind as he opened the music room doors and looked around. Trotting towards Kyou-chan and Tama-chan, he called out a cheerful greeting.
Tamaki turned around when heard Hunni's voice. "Ah, Hunni-sempai." he said with a smile. "Hello! Doesn't the room look great!?" He glanced around. "Mori-sempai must still be at kendo. He should be off soon though, I suppose!"
Not a moment later, Takashi walked into host clubroom in his normal quiet way almost drawing no attention to himself. Tamaki greeted him, with a little surprise, and Mori nodded in return before standing beside Hunni.
Haruhi skidded through the doorway, panting after making a sprint from her class. She was beginning to notice that she was having trouble getting to the club on time lately, causing her to silently hope that Kyouya wouldn't notice that as well. She glanced around confused with the room's theme, 'What is this suppose to be?'.
Tamaki looked around for Kyouya who had left like a shadow again: quick and unnoticed. While he searched for Kyouya, he spotted Haruhi. "Ah, my precious Haruhi!" he said happily. "Isn't this just wonderful? This theme is good! Good! Very good! Don't you think so, Haruhi?"
"What is it suppose to be?" Haruhi asked, still confused.
"The Nutcracker!" he exclaimed before searching through the costumes that Kyouya had brought in. "This is Hunni-sempai's... Hikaru... Kaoru..." He gasped before pulling out a mouse king costume that was Haruhi's size. "Haruhi!" he said with sparkling eyes. "You'll look so adorable in this! I can't wait to see it on you!" He held it out to her with an eager look on his face.
Haruhi glanced at him with a look of disbelief but then sighed and took the costume from him and left to go change. 'I wonder what strange mind came up with this idea," she thought, after she had finished and looked at herself in the mirror.
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Kyouya hastily slipped away before anyone noticed him. Today was going to be an interesting day.
"Where are you off to in a hurry?" Alexa asked stepping out near Kyouya glancing up at him.
"Nowhere really. Oh how clumsy of me, I forgot something in the room. Good day," Kyouya hastily replied. He went back to the Host Club room and saw Haruhi, Tamaki, and Hunni inside looking at the costumes and props. He was sure that he wouldn't go unnoticed for long.
As if he could hear the other man's thoughts, Tamaki spotted the Shadow king and ran over to him. "Oh, Kyouya! The costume you have for Haruhi to wear is just too adorable! My daughter looks so cute with a tail and tiny ears!" He blushed and giggled like a small school girl.
Not long after that, Haruhi exited the changing room, sighing at the fact she was stuck where this dumb costume. 'Remember its for paying back the debt!' she thought trying to get herself focused.
Hikaru hurried in to the Host Club room. Immediately, realizing the theme he exclaimed," I love the Nutcracker! Where is my costume?"
Kaoru was close at his brother's heels. He was overjoyed with the theme as well.
Kyouya smirked slightly and said," Kaoru and Hikaru are toy soldiers. The outfits took about two hours to make. I'm going to be Drosselmeyer, the godfather, and Tamaki is the Nutcracker/prince. Mori, you're a Russian coffee dancer and Hunni is a sugar plum fairy." After his explanation, he went and changed into his costume.
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Alexa frowned as she watched the dark haired boy retreat back into the room. 'Well that was a waste....' she thought, 'I guess I better go walk around and snoop a little,'. She returned to music room and began to wander around, glancing at the wintery theme they had chosen.
As she strolled by she chuckled at the choice of theme; Alexa loved the Nutcracker story since she was a child, but her amusement was cut short when she heard Kyouya giving the description of each of the hosts' roles. Slipping into an impatient crowd of customers close to them, she began to listen in on the conversation.
They soon dispersed going to their respective areas of the room, she quickly decided to tail after Kyouya. 'He won't get away this time' she thought, frustrated with trying to get the shadow king to talk to her.
Alexa managed to reach Kyouya through the normal chaos of fan girls. She silently snuck up behind him and asked, "Why are you avoiding me?". She made sure she stuck close, in case he tried to run off, so she could easily catch up to him.
Kyouya smiled at Alexa's determination and said, "I'm sorry if it seems that way. I'm just really busy making sure the Host club runs smoothly. Now...what questions do you have for me?"
"Just out of curiosity, what is your relationship with Haruhi? Rumor is your father wants you two to marry...." She asked bluntly, making sure the blonde had no other rivals. 'Hope I don't come off as some strange fan girl' she thought realizing the sudden randomness of her question, turning slightly red with embarrassment
"I am not concerned with what other people want. If you must know, we are just friends. That's all we shall ever be. Good day!" Kyouya said with a hint of annoyance. Why did she want to know anyways? He walked off in his costume.
'Thank god!!' she thought letting out a huge sigh, but then realized just who she annoyed. She chased after him and grabbed his arm, "Look, I'm not trying to get on your bad side. I'm trying to help some one okay? No need to get upset", she explained staring up at him.
"Very well. Just who are you trying to help?" Kyouya asked. Time was running short, he needed to go join everyone because customers were waiting.
'Oops, shouldn't have said that,' she thought, a sweat drop appearing. She nervously glanced around for the 'princely' blonde, finally finding him with Haruhi. "Oh.. you wouldn't know him really, he's just an old friend of the family that moved here a while back," she replied trying hard not to look like she was lying but was slightly failing since she was more concerned that the boy she was trying to help might mess up the whole thing.
Kyouya saw through Alexa's lies but didn't pressure for more info. He would find out in due time. He excused himself and went to see to his customers with a charming smile.
When he walked off, she frowned but she soon got over it as he exited the crowded room. 'That was a disaster,' she thought darkly, sighing leaning against a wall outside of the room. Taking her mind away from the interaction with the shadow king, she started planning of how to convince the dense Haruhi, that her sempai considered her more than a daughter.
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After Kyouya's description of roles, Tamaki ran over to the costumes and handed them to the other hosts. He held his up and smiled brightly. "Ah, yes. I am the prince and Haruhi is... my mousey princess!". This prompted Hikaru to roll his eyes at Tamaki and went off to get changed.
Haruhi rolled her eyes at Tamaki, then quickly began her host duties. 'Does that guy even know the story?' she thought, remembering what he called her. She soon shrugged it off and decided to focus her attention on trying to get rid of her debt
Kaoru quickly got changed into his toy soldier outfit and waited for Hikaru.
Tamaki ran off to get changed and, when he returned, he was still in his joyous mood. He stood up, tall and straight, and admired himself in a mirror that was nearby on the wall. He smiled proudly at his regal image before turning to begin his host duties.
Mori went to go get changed into his outfit silently, with no complaints and no comments.
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Long after they officially opened the club for the day, and after being swarmed by her usual number of customers, Haruhi began to feel a little tired. She excused herself and walked over to a corner where hopefully no one would spot her, then tried to regain some energy.
Unfortunately, Tamaki spotted Haruhi drifting away from her customers. "Excuse me my delicate young flowers, but I must leave you for a moment. I shall return."
He walked over to where Haruhi was. "Leaving your customers?" asked Tamaki with his little princely grin on.
She jumped when she heard Tamaki's voice behind her, but then sighed and turned around. "No; I'm a little tired so I'm taking a quick break," she explained, leaning against the wall.
Tamaki, completely disregarding the "little" in front of "tired", started to freak out slightly. "Kyouya isn't working you too hard, is he? Are there too many customers for you to handle? If you need any help, daddy's here!"
"Sempai..." Haruhi groaned, not really in the mood for his dramatics. She glanced up and saw that he looked worried, but only replied, "I'm a little tired because of homework, Kyouya-sempai isn't making me work that hard."
"Oh. That's good." said Tamaki, calming down for once. He glanced over his shoulder, back at his customers, who were waiting eagerly. He put on his more regal look and flashed them a smile. "If anything is wrong, Haruhi, do not hesitate to call!" With that said, he took long strides back to the waiting girls.
She sighed and watched him make his way to his customers. "You can be so strange sempai," she murmured but soon returned to the girls she had excused herself from earlier.
Hunni bounced over to his customers after he changed into his sugar-plum faery costume. Mori followed after him, wearing his costume. He glanced over at Haruhi quickly. She had gone back to her customers now and Mori decided to return his attention to his customers, seeing that she was fine and just needed to rest for a while.
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Nekozawa finished the last touches on his costume. Looking in the mirror, he admired his "outfit." He wore a black long haired wig and a girls' school uniform. With his creative genius, he had put enough makeup on to look like a girl. He went to slip into the crowd of girls, hoping to catch a glance of Hikaru.
Kaoru was entertaining some girls with a "toy soldier march." He wondered where Hikaru was. While doing his march, Kaoru saw a girl who seemed somewhat familiar. He hadn't seen her, but she looked like someone he'd seen before. Suddenly it clicked, Nekozawa must have a twin sister! The resemblance was staggering!
Nekozawa saw Kaoru looking at him and ducked. Where was his Hikaru?
Just then Hikaru marched out in his uniform. He saw Kaoru and marched over.
'Ah! There you are!" Kaoru thought. He marched in time with his twin. He was ecstatic at his twin's appearance.
Kyouya suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Something was not right. He brushed off the feeling, not wanting to worry the customers.
Tamaki glanced around at how many customers they had today. It seemed that his plan was a complete success!
His gaze stopped on a girl that he had not seen around before... at least, he didn't think he had ever seen her before. He walked elegantly over to the mysterious girl. "Hello there." he said with a charming tone. "I haven't seen you around before."
Hikaru kept step with his twin. His eyes traveled over the customers and stopped suddenly. Who was that girl? She looked like.... no, it couldn't be! A girl looked exactly like Nekozawa!!!! Did he have a twin? She was cute! He couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
Nekozawa watched Hikaru with a smile. Why was he staring? Neko. adjusted his wig. Hikaru looked so handsome in his uniform. He looked away blushing.
Haruhi looked over and spotted a really strange sight. 'Why is Nekozawa dressed like a girl?' she thought. She excused herself once more and walked over to him.
"What are you doing Nekozawa?" she asked gesturing to his attire.
'Nekozawa?' thought Tamaki, confused. He glanced to Haruhi then at the "girl" again. Wait... there was a slight resemblance... no... Tamaki couldn't see it. "Haruhi?" said Tamaki, still confused. "This is not Nekozawa. This is a girl."
Another girl turned around at the sound of the blonde's voice. She raised her ornate opera glasses to her blue eyes, grinning at the sight of the reason she was back in this wretched place. "Oh, I finally found you," she said as she walks up to Tamaki. "I've been looking all over for you." Despite the irritation, she smiled.
A/N: Yes unfortunately the conniving French girl is back. She'll be making numerous appearances but I promise that this is a TamakixHaruhi fic! Well hope you enjoyed it and please review and I'll see you next chapter.