Shout out to SilverTear13, TartPixie, cookielover789, Mya-sempai, and Liana1225 for their first time reviews! Thanks so much! The story will be coming a close sooner than you think so get in those last minute reviews, faves, and follows! 3
The school year was wrapping up and I was surprised to see my freshman year slip by so quickly! But although it went by in a flash, I considered it pretty fruitful. I found a whole new family and even started going out with a guy I liked. We were getting along pretty well and we had gone on at least five dates that year!
I wonder if you could consider us 'boyfriend, girlfriend' now… I thought distantly.
"Hey, aren't you coming, Senka?" came a familiar voice.
I snapped to and looked up to see the guy I just told you so much about.
"You said you wanted to ride with me so come on!" Hikaru said, gesturing me to climb aboard the carriage.
'Why was there a horse drawn carriage at Ouran Academy?' You might ask and here is my answer: with the school year coming to a close, the school was holding a fair and the entire campus was abuzz with work! Hikaru had volunteered to drive the carriage for the rest of the hosts so we could rehearse for the fair.
"Climb aboard, Senka-chan!" Honey chirped.
"Hm." Mori just grunted.
"Come along, dearest daughter!" Tamaki invited.
"Wait…" I said, looking at Hikaru with a puzzled look, "Since when do you know how to deal with horses?"
"I've always been a talented equestrian," Hikaru bragged, "It's like what sharpshooting is for you."
"Oh, ok!" I shrugged and climbed aboard.
I wasn't exactly going to be with the club on the carriage because Renge had a special one ready for Kimi and I but I did need a ride to the center of campus anyway. We drove around campus until we found Haruhi and Kyoya and when they came along, I hopped off and watched the Host Club drive off with fan-girls at their heels.
"Is that you, Senky-chan?" I heard a familiar voice.
I turned to see Kimi, all dolled up in a dress with Renge who was just as pretty.
"We hardly recognized you! You look great!" Renge squealed.
"Really?" I asked, blushing a little.
I wore a dark, red dress that day with a low V-neck that had ruffles on one of the sleeves. The dress dropped just below my knee where a few inches lower were my black flats. A golden choker was also laced around my neck and my raven hair was done up in a French braid and for once, my bangs were pulled back with it. My forehead felt really naked without my bangs and if I still had them, I'd be blowing at them in nervousness.
The three of us skipped off to the opening ceremonies after touching up our makeup and what not to meet up with the Host Club. The club had an entire main hall all to themselves! It was flooded with not only guests but their parents as well which was pretty strange. I had never seen mom's fan-girl before! The event seemed to be going smoothly until the Elder Shadow King took action.
A loud SLAP sounded through the room and all eyes turned to Kyoya who was being brutally smacked by his father. I had never seen Kyoya's father before but he reminded me much of my own. They were both obsessed with their company, didn't care about their children except that they made their family look good, and had hearts made of ice.
"You are an embarrassment…" he began to say but a voice behind me kept me from hearing.
"To the Miyazaki name," it said.
My bones froze and my eyes turned to horrified orbs of fear. I slowly turned my head to see none other than my father. So he had crawled out of his office, eh?
"It appears Kyoya isn't the only one who is a disgrace," he said sternly, "Home. NOW."
I just stood there in complete shock, his brown eyes staring down at mine. Soon my face was scrunched up in anger and I muttered, "No,"
"Excuse me?" he asked, unamused.
"I said no. Since when do you care about what I do?" I asked with fury in my voice.
"Since I arranged you to marry a boy from the Shizuoka Company," he responded firmly.
Another long pause followed and I looked at him in disbelief. He just smirked at me as if he had won. The Shizuoka family also ran a fire arms company and we had been partners with them for many years but I never thought my father would force me into marrying one of its sons!
"That's right," he said slyly, "You'll be married after you graduate from your senior year. This silly club is going to tarnish your reputation with your fiancé. The fate of our companies is in your hands so don't ruin it."
"Whatever…" I mumbled, staring at my black shoes.
"Fine, look like a slut in front of your future husband" he sighed, "I'll be going now. You'll be meeting your fiancé a few weeks from now so start clearing up some of that acne."
As he left, I clenched my fists in anger. The rest of the hosts were busy with Tamaki and his family troubles. I felt like telling them about it but there was enough drama already and if I had to make The Host King feel anymore guilty about ruining family relationships (he already screwed up Kyoya's), he'd no doubt collapse.
You're right. I thought, enraged. I do hold the future of the company in my hands. And I can do anything I want with it. Even shatter it!
Just then, the doors opened, revealing an elderly but important looking woman.
"Grandmother!" Tamaki beamed, running up to her, "I'm so glad you could make it!"
"Don't patronize me," she scolded with a voice of shattered glass, "You filthy child!"
Tamaki's grandmother then called over a rather pretty looking woman by the name of Éclair. Her hair was light brown and her eyes were the deepest blue I had ever seen! However, there was a glint of pure malice in her eyes behind all this beauty.
"You will be her personal escort for the remainder of the festival," she said, then walked away sourly.
Tamaki left with Éclair and didn't come back for hours. I was left with the rest of the club.
"So does Tamaki…," Hikaru began.
"….Really plan on spending the rest of the fair with some stranger?" Kaoru finished.
"I wonder who she is anyway" I thought aloud.
"I can tell you," Renge said, walking up to us.
Her spark of life had left her eyes and much more serious and dull look had replaced it.
"Éclair Tonair: she's the youngest daughter of her family. They descend from royalty." She said monotonously.
"Wow. She must be pretty rich." I said although my expression said something else.
"Hey, you ok, Senka-chan?" Honey asked innocently.
I guess my face did looked pretty troubled ever since my father told me of my fate. I just shrugged and smiled.
"Oh, it's nothing!" I lied as best I could.
"By the way, are your parents here?" Kaoru asked.
"…no…" I said distantly which only made them worry even more.
"Now that I think about it, we've never met your mother," Honey said.
"No…you haven't" I sighed.
"Uh…Senka?" a voice asked but I couldn't tell who it was because I was concentrating on holding back tears.
"I'm fine!" I said abruptly and walked off into the crowd.
I milled around the guests for a little while, trying to calm myself down and when I came back to the hosts, Haruhi was with them.
"Where's Tamaki? Has he come back yet?" I asked curiously.
"Our 'king' is in the club room and entertaining Éclair," Haruhi explained, looking irked.
"Well, well, well," Kaoru cooed.
"Sounds like someone's a little jealous!" Hikaru chimed in and we all nodded in agreement.
"That's not it!" she protested, "I just think he's being more irresponsible than usual today! He's pretty impulsive."
"True, but he's only doing this because of his grandmother," Kyoya explained coolly.
"That reminds me," Haruhi said, "Tamaki's grandmother was pretty mean to him earlier. Why was that?"
"Yeah, I'm in the dark on this one too," I said.
All the hosts seemed to shift around uncomfortably. Even the two devils squirmed a bit.
"Well…everyone else knows about it," Hikaru mumbled.
"See, Tamaki is an illegitimate son," Kaoru explained.
"Twenty years ago, the head of the Suoh family died at a young age. For political reasons, Tamaki's father was rushed into a marriage but he ended up falling in love with a woman he met in Paris," Hikaru told us.
"Not long after, Tama-chan was born," Honey added on cutely.
"Tamaki's grandmother wouldn't allow Tamaki's father to marry the French woman. So because of Tamaki's mother's poor health, she stayed in France and raised Tamaki until he was fourteen. All was well until business on his mom's side went belly-up and when they were forced into debt…" Kaoru said with his twin cutting in.
"…The Boss's grandmother came up with a proposal. She offered for him to live an easy life in Japan but in exchange, he would never be able to see his mother again. He agreed to go and he hasn't seen her since. His mother went into hiding from shame," Hikaru finished up rather grimly.
"Wow…" Haruhi and I both breathed in shock.
By now, the sun was beginning to set and all the guests had gone for the day. I couldn't help but sympathize with Tamaki. My mother never even cared about me, she just sent me off as a burden to my father and went on with her whorish ways. All that left me with was a neglecting father, much like Tamaki's but unlike Tamaki, I wasn't as bright and happy about life. For many of my middle school years, the world was just a blob of darkness that existed in complete boredom. However, my position was a little better off in a way. I was searching for her and ending up with some leads so I really had no room to complain.
"It's easy to feel sorry for him," Kyoya pointed out, "But his hardships helped mold him into the person he is today. The Host Club is his refuge so when all is said and done, he still has us."
Just then, as if fate was flipping its middle fingers at us, the doors swung open. Tamaki was there with a reluctant look painted on his face and Éclair stood by him with her cut-throat expression.
"I have an important announcement," he said seriously, "As of today, Lady Éclair Tonair and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Ouran Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the fair."
NO! I almost screamed out loud. First I'm forced into a marriage and now poor Tamaki is too!? And my only family is being ripped apart! NO! JUST NO! Wake me up from this nightmare!
Senka: This is HORRIBLE!
Kimi: You know what else is horrible?
Senka: WHAT?!
Kimi: THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST!
Kimi and Senka: NOOOOOOOO!
Kimi: But stay tuned at the end of the next chapter for a special announcement that'll lift your spirits!
Senka: Next time, the final chapter: Ends and Epilogues
(That's right folks, next chapter IS the last chapter. I just want to thank all of you so much for supporting my first fic so much :')! It just warms my heart every time someone reviews my story! Thanks so much, everyone! I just can't express how thankful I am for you!)