Walking into a roomful of 6 teen boys may come off as unnerving... which it had, for Haruhi at least. She was quaking against the door searching aimlessly for the knob, trying to escape. I however, standing a bit more forward resembled the tallest black-haired male with a small blonde on his back, mimicking his blank expression, unamused. Shall I describe these men more vibrantly to you? I will anyways.
In the middle and slightly to the right of the six in a golden embroidered ruby chair was what I was guessing was their leader of sorts. He sat straight and tall in the blue high-class male uniform of our school, his flaxen blonde hair splayed across his forehead but kept tidy elsewhere, bordering his angelic face perfectly. His eyes were a dark sapphire in color, and I could sense the gloat of and airhead aura surrounding him.
( ドラマクイーン) The Drama-Queen
Directly behind him were the identical twins I had met earlier, side by side. Their auburn hair still as I remembered it, spiked and swept backwards, bangs also splayed messily across their foreheads. Here their amber eyes shone with front-wards mischief, small, kind smiles on their faces. They didn't seem as if they remembered me well. The only difference between the two was that their bangs were positioned opposite of the others; like a mirror image. I could feel their aura from here also.. they were up to no good.
( 見せ掛けの悪魔) Devils in Disguise
To the left of the main boy was another blonde boy, this one shorter than all the rest, maybe 4'8" at the least. Unlike the other boy, his hair spiked back and outwards similar to the twins. His eyes were huge and innocent and a deep chocolate brown, rendering him a sweet, cute, and harmless look to his being. With the big smile he wore, I was about to believe him, but again, his aura gave him away. I could sense strength in immense amounts.
( 隠れた力との一つ) One With Hidden Power
Directly behind him was a black-haired male, not the tall one, but the other. This one wore oval glasses on the rim of his nose, arms crossed with authority. His hair itself was kept very tidy, prim and precise at the cut, curving to fit the shape of his head, ending cleanly at the nape of his neck. His eyes were too dark for me to tell their exact color, but I had guess they were grey. He seemed powerful, in a more monetary and business-like way.
( 宝責任) Treasures Responsibility
And then to the farthest left was the man I had compared my expression to. His back was turned to us, and he glanced over his shoulder with lack of emotion. His black hair was spiked too but flipped in all directions, and at a much less drastic scale. His eyes were dark also, a dark grey also I suppose, barely noticeable from where I stood. Just being within the same room as him gave the place a comforted essence. He was a strong-hold...
( 静かに不可解) Silently Mysterious
Haruhi was still twitching and fumbling at the door as I stood there, silent and stoic. She squeaked and mumbled a few times in the process.
"Th-th-this is a Host Club?" she forced out, nervous as all hell.
The two twins spoke in absolute perfect unison, their voices both high but one slightly lighter than the other. It was such a melody, I started to smile.
"Oh wow, they're boys."
The intellectual one spoke monotonously.
"Hikaru, Kaoru. I believe these boys are in the same class as you two, aren't they?"
They continued to speak together.
"Yes but they're shy; they don't act very sociably so we don't know much about them" they said, seemingly bored.
The one with glasses titled his head with a small grunt, seemingly amused.
"Well that wasn't very polite" he said coolly.
The man's head bowed for a split second.
"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club; Mister Honor student."
They all seemed to focus their gaze on Haruhi instead of me, perhaps because she seemed so freaked out... and because the statement was directed towards her. The twins shrugged in the background. The middle, kingly blonde's head shot up.
"What? You must be Haruhi Fujioka!"
He said in awe. Meanwhile, Haruhi was vainly twisting the door-knob trying to run away.
"You're the exceptional honor student we've heard about."
Haruhi froze, even more tense now as she turned nervously.
"How did you know my name?"
"Why, you're infamous. It's not every day that a commoner gains entrance into our academy."
To overlay the insult, oblivious to the fact it was an offending statement, the calmer male added to her title: "Audacious". She thanked him confused as he complimented her nerve and out of nowhere, the blonde swept up behind her swinging an arm over her shoulders.
"You're welcome!" he cooed.
"You're a hero to other poor people Fujioka! You've shown the world that even a poor person can excel in an elite private academy!"
Yup. Total airhead. Haruhi, disturbed slid away. However, the male just sauntered after her, waving his arms in a content, giddy, and yet dramatically slow motion.
"It must be hard for you to be constantly looked down upon by others~"
"I think you're taking this poor thing too far."
She slid back the other way to escape him, however, he only followed again.
"Spurned, neglected! But that doesn't matter now. Long live the poor!" he said lifting a hand to the skies.
He bowed slightly, hand at his chest.
"We welcome you poor man, to our world" and he swept out his arms to indicate his airs, "of beauty!~~"
Haruhi turned starting towards the door.
"I'm outta here..."
She only turned back upon remembering that I was still here... that and because the youngest boy grabbed her arm cooing in a happy, childishly high voice.
"Heeeey! Come back here Haru-chan! You must be like a super-hero or something, that's so cool!"
"I'm not a hero, I'm an honor student-" she said blandly and then with a realization, shouted.
"AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING HARU-CHAN!?"
I frowned at my usually serene sibling. She must be pretty afraid to have yelled at a little boy. The child, scared for his life, ran back to his place. The blonde slid back into view, an elbow in one hand, the other at his forehead in dismay.
"Who would have thought a famous scholar... would be so openly gay?.."
Haruhi, surprised, looked his way.
"Openly what?.."
"And his brother too" grunted the smarter seeming one.
I frowned slightly as all eyes turned to me for a second. I may look like a guy but I still had a slightly feminine voice. I cleared my throat shaking my head.
"You must be mistaken..."
"Michi Fujioka, the younger of the lone two siblings. Male, if I'm not correct?"
I frowned and nodded with a sigh. The rest of the students already thought me a boy, so I wouldn't want to confuse him. And so that's why I nodded.
"Yes.."
Without further ado, the dramatic blonde slid forward again, thoughtful.
"So tell me what kind of guys you're into~"
He pointed out the silent, tall one first.
"Do you like the strong, silent type?"
Then the crying boy, hugging a bunny.
"The boy Lolita?"
Then the twins whom turned, arms hooked together, devious smirks on their faces.
"How about the mischievous type?"
The one with glasses eyes narrowed slightly as he was introduced.
"Or the cool type~~?"
I was honestly pondering the answer. It was actual kind of fun to think about. Haruhi however was backing up, more nervous than before if possible.
"Uh... I-I.. I-I-It's not like that! We were just looking for a quiet place to study-"
And the boy strode forward stroking the underside of her chin, cupping her face.
"Or maybe~~" he said leaning down so they were face to face, smiling charmingly.
"You're into a guy like me?~"
He started rubbing her chin with his middle finger, eyes narrowing trying to look more fanciful.
"Whaddya say~~?"
Haruhi made an almost barely audible squeak and leaped back and away from him.. knocking into a vase... She had tried catching it... and failed. And now, we were both indebted to the Host Club. Since we had no money, Tamaki said we had to pay with our bodies. 8 million yen... Starting that very day, though I did nothing in particular and was only added to help my "brother".. we were Hosts.
Our first day, had just begun. And Haruhi and I (she was basically the Club Dog) were examining the activities of the other members. The room was full of girls crowded energetically about the tables around the room, conversing with the others. Tamaki as I had thought, works with his charm and seduction to woo the girls. Upon examining the groceries I had helped her buy, Tamaki seemed surprised, holding up a clear canister of instant coffee.
"Hey... wait a minute... what is this?"
"Just what it looks like..." Haruhi said bluntly.
"It's coffee..."
"I've never seen this brand before. Is this the kind that's already ground?"
"What do you mean? It's instant coffee."
Two girls across on a sofa tilted their heads utterly boggled.
"It's... instant?"
Tamaki's eyes widened excitedly.
"Whoa. I've heard of this before, it's Commoner's coffee! You just add hot water!"
The one girl spoke to the other.
"I didn't know there was such a thing.."
"So it's true then. Poor people don't even have enough free time to grind their own coffee beans.."
A whole group had gathered behind their couch, and a bigger mixed group of girls, Kyouya, and the twins behind us.
"Commoners are pretty smart.."
"100 grams for 300 yen?"
"That's a lot less than what we normally pay..."
"Fine, we'll go back and get something else... Excuse me for not buying you guys expensive coffee..."
But as she spoke, Tamaki's hand rose in a signal for her to stop.
"No, I'll keep it."
He said standing abruptly.
"I'm going to give it a try."
He spoke confidently, each sentence causing the crowd too gasp in surprise and respect. He lifted it like a weapon, determined.
"I will drink this coffee!"
The crowd "aahed" and clapped, including the twins, obviously impressed. What a long day this will be... -_- And so the Commoner's coffee was made and drunk. A snobby red-head opposed when she thought no-one had heard, but I knew... even if my sister believed her excuse of her talking to herself.
"Hahahahaha~ So he had this nightmare that made him bolt right out of bed."
Hikaru proclaimed with a grin. Kaoru jolted, putting his hands on the table, seemingly in dismay.
"Hikaru! Don't tell them that story!"
He sat back, a finger crooked at his lip, tears rimming his eyes. He was flustered.
"I asked you not to tell anyone that." he looked down and away, betrayed.
"Why are you so mean to me...?"
Hikaru sat a little straighter, shocked.
"I'm sorry Kaoru..."
The girls across their table were holding hands in suspense. Hikaru took Kaoru's face in both hands, coming close enough their noses were less than a centimeter away.
"I didn't mean to upset you.." he said softly.
"But you were so adorable when it happened I had to tell them... I'm sorry..."
"I forgive you.." Kaoru whispered holding his gaze intimately.
The girls squealed and nearly fell off of the couch. I groaned in annoyance looking away. Okay... brotherly love; definitely not my thing. Yuck!
Honey and Mori had their own little act where Honey would be super cute and Mori would basically be his wall to lean on. I had to admit, they were kind of adorable together... but the prospect still didn't interest me. Kyouya of course, wooed through intelligence, which I wasn't the best at that either. So what were my sister and I supposed to do? We didn't even have the basic uniform! I looked male in every way, and apparently so had she- or... at least we had a hint of female looks...
Tamaki slid over smiling, serene.
"You guys are gonna have to work hard to pay off that debt~ You especially, my little nerd~"
He blew into Haruhi's ear and she jumped away panting hard as if she had just experienced a heart-attack. I snickered, immediately catching the attention of the twins who smirked at her reaction also. Haruhi held the back of her neck, in her other hand was Hone's bunny; Usa-chan.
"Please don't do that again..." she said as he straightened.
Tamaki had already switched subjects, looking from one of us to the other.
"You'll need make-overs or no girl will look twice at you; either of you."
I opened my mouth but Haruhi answered for the both of us.
"Yeah well I'm not trying to get girls to look at me... neither is Michi."
Tamaki seemed slightly surprised though he looked indifferent.
"Are you kidding me?"
Where'd he get that rose? He held it out, his other hand at his chest, looking quite attractive as he always tried to be.
"That's the most important thing!" he declared softly.
"You have to learn to be gentlemen and please the ladies, like me~~~"
"I just don't think it's all that important..."
Tamaki looked utterly taken aback here.
"Why should we care about appearances and labels anyway?"
She looked up at him saying smartly,
"I mean, all that really matter is on the inside right?"
She looked away again, and I smiled.
"I don't even understand why you have a Host Club in the first place."
"It's a cruel reality isn't it?"
Haruhi glanced to him sideways, annoyed. Air-Head Mode: HOLY MOTHER MARY; ON.
"It's not often that God creates such a perfect person as moi[1]~"
He hugged himself smiling.
"Beautiful both inside and out~"
"Say what...?"
"I understand how you feel since not everyone is blessed as I am, but you must console yourself otherwise or else how would you go on living?.. And think about this Haruhi. Why do you think they put pieces of art in museums? Because beauty should be shared with the world!"
His erratic movements were making me want to giggle more than anything, but I held it back. Haruhi seemed to be calculating something.
"And those born beautiful should promote others just the same~ That's why I started this club in the first place! I did it for those who were starved for beauty! For those working day and night, pursuing beauty!"
I smirked slightly, crossing one arm at my waist, my other elbow propped on it, my hand covering my mouth. Was this guy serious? What a buffoon!
"And although your looks may be average and though you may have normal characteristics; I've chosen to share my expertise with you!" he grabbed a glass of water, moving to a small table to demonstrate.
"Here's a tip: When setting down your glass, extend your pinkie first as a cushion, and that way when you set it down, you won't be making a lot of noise. Gentlemen do make very little sounds. It's almost like it makes things much more finer. I like to check my movements carefully."
He started towards us, still gleeful.
"But above all else you two you must remember"
he bent at a 75 degree angle looking at us to the side,
"how effective a glance from the side can be~~"
Haruhi pounded a fist into her palm.
"Hah, I've got it!"
Tamaki seemed confused as she lifted her index-finger having a eureka moment.
"Oh, did I strike a chord with you-"
"Obnoxious!"
I then proceeded to burst out in a fit of laughter, muted by my hand. Tamaki completely paled and sat in a corner, knees bent to his head in shame and depression.
"Ah I'm sorry... Tamaki-senpai..."
The twins Hikaru and Kaoru slid up on either side of her, leaning on her head laughing.
"You're a hero alright~!"
"Uh-huh!"
Haruhi put a hand to the back of her head. I glanced to Mori, now at my right side and flashed him a small smile before looking back to the others.
"I'm sorry senpai... but your lesson did strike a small chord with me..."
Tamaki begun to stand... and turned around more than better, but ecstatic now.
"Really, it did? Let me teach you more; my friend!"
"Well he got over that quick..."
"Boss?" Kaoru said with the tilt of his head.
Tamaki wiggled his fingers, hand still open towards us.
"Call me king!~~"
"You can teach them all the basics of hosting-" Hikaru removed his hand from her head.
"But they're not going to get very far with the ladies if they don't look the part you know... They're not really Host Club material... maybe if we changed a few things it might help..."
Out of nowhere, Hikaru pulled off Haruhi's glasses.
"Hey, I need those! I used to have contacts but i lost them on the first day of school!"
She whined helplessly. With a slight 'hn' from Mori, he grabbed a hair-band putting my hair out of my face. I growled a little in protest but did little more. Kyouya leaned over to examine me, eyebrows raising as Tamaki rushed to see Haruhi's face. He stepped back snapping his fingers, his face shadowed.
"Hikaru, Kaoru" he demanded.
They saluted from behind.
"Got it!"
They each grabbed one of her arms rushing out. He pointed to Kyouya.
"Kyouya, my hair stylist!" he was already contacting via phone.
"Mori-senpai, go to the eye-doctor and get him some contact lenses!"
Hone jumped up, eyes wide and glittering.
"What about me Tama-chan?"
"Hone-senpai!"
"Yes sir!" he said hopefully.
"You!... Go have some cake."
Hone stalked off in disappointment as Tamaki turned to point at me.
"Michi."
"?" I looked to him confused.
He turned his hand upside-down waggling his finger in a c'mere motion.
"You'll be coming with me."
Documentation: (Courtesy of Michi-Chan)
So... we got completely made-over. WTF? Tamaki had taken me into one large room that happened to have dressing rooms within it. Hikaru and Kaoru had just been shoved from one which I guessed Haruhi must be in. They looked so funny confused! Haha, I'd definitely remember to befriend them. Maybe someday they'd remember my name! I had to admit... looking in the mirror now.. even if I hated it... I did look pretty cool... for a guy...