A.N.: Did anyone else notice how the character dropdown doesn't feature Nekozawa? I tried to apply to have his name added but I seem to be being ignored. So if anyone else wants to give that a try…
Incidentally, I have an awesome new beta now, so three cheers to Leafygirl. Between the two of us we've fixed chapters one and two, so some changes have been made if you care to re-check.
Woo, transitional chapter!
It had been nearly two weeks since Haruhi had attended the meeting with the Black Magic Club, or seen any of its members- with the exception of Shinobu Kokoro, who would sometimes visit the Host Club. But then, Shinobu would mostly designate herself to Tamaki, and while she would wave at Haruhi and smile timidly from across the room, she never went to sit with her. Haruhi wasn't certain if it was out of shyness or disinterest, but it really didn't matter anyhow. After explaining to Tamaki that Haruhi had spoken to Shinobu about the incident the other week, when the distraught girl fled in tears after misunderstanding something Haruhi had said, she was able to convince her club president that everything was fine and there was no cause for alarm. Afterward, Tamaki had paid special attention to Shinobu for one afternoon, much to her delight, and there were no hard feelings. No one knew that Haruhi had gone to Nekozawa's club a second time, and she preferred to keep it that way- not because it was a secret, but because she knew that Tamaki and the twins would probably make a bigger fuss about it than was really necessary.
Despite her loss of contact with Nekozawa and his club (not that it really concerned her), she did keep the tiny Bereznoff keychain he had given her. After all, it had been a gift given with entirely good intentions, or so she had been lead to believe. And besides, it did actually help her pull out her house keys when she fished around in her pocket and gripped the small wooden cat. Functionality saved the trinket from the bottom of a drawer to remain in her everyday life. Anyone who would have recognized it had yet to notice.
It was two weeks to the day of her last visit, on the day both clubs held their respective conferences. The last of the young women were leaving the third music room, still blushing brightly from their meeting with their preferred hosts, and the club members were talking amongst themselves before calling it a night. Hunny and Mori were the first to leave, as they had training every day after school, followed quickly by Kyouya, who just wanted to go home, leaving the room to Tamaki, Haruhi, and the Hitachiin twins.
"Haaa-ru-hiiii!" a pair of playful voices chimed as the girl suddenly found herself once again flanked on either side, "What are you doing this weekend?"
"Homework and housekeeping," Haruhi replied easily, stepping away from them with a blank expression on her face.
"That's dull," they replied in unison. Hikaru grinned to the left of her. "You should come over to our place, instead!"
"That is outrageously inappropriate!" Tamaki quickly objected, pulling the startled girl away from them and into his arms and crushing her against his chest. "I won't have you two ruffians harassing my daughter!"
"No one will harass her," Kaoru denied, "We just want to play with her."
"If you don't mind, I have a train to catch," Haruhi excused herself, ignoring her company.
"Haruhi! Promise you won't go with them this weekend!" Tamaki called in a panic.
"I promise," she quickly replied, her face deadpan.
"Oh, I see," Kaoru began with a malicious gleam in his eye. "Tono, you want Haruhi to go to your house this weekend, don't you?"
"Arrange some alone time?" Hikaru continued, feigning being scandalized, "How dirty!"
"I- How- What- Nothing of the sort!" Tamaki protested in obvious humiliation, his face red, the brothers' provocation having clearly succeeded in flustering their president. "-I would never be so unrefined as to- unless of course, Haruhi, you WANTED to come over this weekend- but you would be perfectly- it wouldn't be anything like- like- like THEM!"
"Have a good weekend, Senpai," she dismissed, turning her back to his exaggerated despair.
"Are you listening, Kaoru?" Hikaru began, nodding slyly towards his twin. "He can't even deny it. His intentions are completely impure."
"Mmm, you're right, Hikaru," Kaoru agreed thoughtfully. "And he thinks Haruhi should worry about us. How tragic."
"Did someone say magic...?"
The door opened, saving Tamaki from one Hell but throwing him into another as a dark shadow swept into the room, chilling the air and causing him to stumble back in terror while greeted by a sinister smile and a grinning cat puppet.
"...If you're looking for magic, you must come to the Black Magic Club," Nekozawa continued ominously as he entered the room, followed, to the Host Club's surprise, by two of his other club members in matching black hooded robes pulled down over their faces. "We're having a special this week on blood magic, for extra-potent, extra-long lasting curses, guaranteed to follow through for generations to come, or your money back. Don't delay! Act today!"
"I knew this day would come!" Tamaki exclaimed dramatically, frozen in shock. "Away! Back, you devil! I don't have the blood you crave!"
"Are you so sure we're here for you, Suoh-Kun?" Nekozawa glanced darkly over in Tamaki's direction, smirking black-heartedly. "But of course it's possible that blood of your... breeding may come in quite handy, so if you would just accompany us down to the nurse's office..."
"Waugh! Call a priest!"
Two beams of light suddenly shot towards Tamaki's tormentor. Startled, Nekozawa fell back with a shriek, into his club members as the Hitachiin twins held their flashlights steadily on him.
"Your skin is an unhealthy color, Nekozawa. It's sort of grotesque."
"You should think about a tanning salon. I hear they make vast improvements in the safety of those things all the time."
"Hey, quit that!" a black robed boy whom Haruhi recognized to be Jun shouted at the twins, shielding his president who was muttering indecipherable curses from behind him, cowering painfully. "We have a reason to be here!"
Haruhi sighed. "Perhaps it would have been a good idea to start with that, then." Haruhi shook her head unsympathetically. The twins flicked off their flashlights.
Drawing upright, Nekozawa attempted to compose himself, though a few smell beads of sweat were now obvious on his face. He scowled at the twins, who were clearly unimpressed, having decided that now the most interesting thing would be to see what he does next.
"As he said," he began, "We are not without purpose today. A sacred ritual has been planned for tomorrow night, but as it is, we're down by one body. So we've come to make an arrangement." He grinned menacingly from under his hood, waving Bereznoff at the Host Club as if the doll was part of his committee. Tamaki swallowed his breath as Nekozawa glanced at each of them.
"Now, there's no need to jump to volunteer," he quickly continued, "as we've already chosen which host we will be designating. And how lucky for us! He's still here."
On that ominous cue, Nekozawa's two club members beside him suddenly dashed forward in a black flash. Hooking their arms under Haruhi's, they sped out the door, taking the bewildered girl with them, and leaving the rest of the Host Club in puzzled shock.
"HARUHI!" Tamaki shouted in surprise. He started towards the door, when Nekozawa held up Bereznoff in what could be assumed to be a halting gesture.
"If you go after him now, I promise we will curse you for a lifetime. We'll return your club member unharmed and with probably very little emotional trauma, as long as you don't interfere. Understand? -Good, I'm glad we could come to this agreement." Before they could object, he backed quickly out of the room and down the hall towards Ouran's art wing. Tamaki turned furiously towards Kaoru and Hikaru.
"This is entirely your fault for stealing that puppet! Now he's CURSING us by kidnapping Haruhi! Who knows what monstrous things they'll do!" he accused in a horrified frenzy.
"Don't worry about Haruhi, Tono," Kaoru waved dismissingly, unaffected. "She's a capable girl. She can handle herself."
"Maybe we should have kept that flashlight on him, though," Hikaru thought aloud.
Elsewhere, the Black Magic Club finally released their captive just outside the backstage door in the theater department. Their original goal was to meet outside their club office, but as neither of them were used to strenuous physical exertion, they decided that near their club was a good enough spot to stop and catch their breath.
"What is going on? What is this about?" Haruhi demanded. One boy held up a finger to indicate that he needed a moment, panting as he leaned against a wall.
"Good sir," he began, revealing himself as Taro, "If you would..." (pant, pant) "...be so kind as to..." (pant, gasp) "...to... uh... MAN, I should have joined an athletic club..."
"These stupid things are hot as Hell!" Jun complained, throwing off his robe and sitting against the wall to rest.
"I see you don't abduct people often," Haruhi observed dryly. The sound of footsteps drew their attention down the hall, where Nekozawa rounded a corner and approached them.
"Ah! I'm glad you could make it, Fujioka," he smiled pleasantly at Haruhi.
"As if I had a choice!" she shot back, enraged. "May I ask why you dragged me here? But please make it quick, I have a train to catch."
"Then we won't waste your time," Nekozawa began seriously, pulling his hood back over his shoulders. He cleared his throat.
"As a club event, the Black Magic Club purchased tickets to see a theatrical production that will be presented tomorrow evening."
"By a very renowned director," Taro quickly added. Nekozawa continued.
"…But just yesterday, Miss Kokoro informed us that she will be unable to attend. Apparently, her parents have some rules about who she is seen in public with. In any case, as a result, we now have an extra ticket, and she has selected YOU to be her replacement."
"I'll pass."
Nekozawa bit his lip. "You don't take time to consider things, do you?" he laughed uneasily, with a trace of disappointment at how quick she was to reject his offer. "We went to a great deal of effort to invite you..."
"I thank you for the invitation but I've made plans to study this weekend, and there are some dishes that need to be done," she politely explained. "Shinobu can ask someone else, I'm sure they'd be happy to come."
"But, you see..." Nekozawa brushed his bangs aside to look into her eyes, so that she could see his sincerity. And she could. "We agreed on you, Haruhi. We don't intend to invite anyone else. We like you," he smiled. He then quickly added, "Plus, you may be the only one who can stand to be in our company for more than three minutes at a time."
"We're sort of universally rejected," Jun agreed with resignation. "But you came to two meetings and didn't even buy anything, so we sort of unofficially inducted you into the club."
"Don't say it like that! It sounds like we want him in the 'Loser Club'!" Taro snapped, elbowing Jun in the side.
"You're the only member of the 'Loser Club'," Jun muttered. "Ponce."
"Look, I don't need to be in any more clubs!" Haruhi explained, throwing up her hands defensively. "I have a lot of work to do, my own club aside. Thank you again, but I have a train to catch. Good afternoon." With a polite bow, she turned away and proceeded down the hall. Undaunted, Nekozawa followed, aware that Haruhi was doing her best to ignore him, scowling visibly.
"Let me just ask one question, Fujioka," Nekozawa began from behind her, matching her steps. "Just to make it clear, you're rejecting our invitation because you're too busy, and NOT because you have a strong aversion to spending time with the Black Magic Club?"
"You don't particularly bother me," she replied nonchalantly, her eyes staring ahead of her. "No more than anyone in the Host Club. I just have no interest in seeing a play tomorrow."
A smile stretched across his face; his disappointment lifted with this new bit of information. "So, as I see it, our case isn't hopeless. If it isn't us, it's time constraints. You're afraid you won't get any studying done, but isn't it true that some classes offer extra credit if you write an essay on a novel you've read or a play you've seen outside of class? So isn't it possible that you could use this opportunity as an excuse to improve your grade...?"
That was sly, approaching this on an academic level, Haruhi thought as she slowed down to consider his words. But it wasn't completely without merit. She had a literature class that she could easily earn a few extra marks in for such an essay. She'd just never considered it before because she assumed seeing a play was something she would never have the opportunity to do, and was never bothered by it.
Encouraged by seeing that she was reflecting on his words, Nekozawa began to think with satisfaction that he might actually pull this off. If all went according to plan, he might have Haruhi Fujioka on his list of allies in this school- which was a depressingly short list.
"Please don't say no, you have nothing to lose," he continued, determined to win. "How about if before the show we buy you dinner?"
She stopped walking. He stopped several paces behind her. She didn't turn around.
"I don't need you to buy me anything," she replied curtly.
"It's not a bribe, it's a thank you gift," he responded carefully, approaching her slowly. "From Shinobu. And, from me, for returning Bereznoff, where others would have thrown him away."
He was directly behind her now, separated by merely inches. There was a long pause, while he waited in anticipation for her decision.
Finally, Haruhi sighed, and turned to look up at him in defeat. "What is this play?"
Nekozawa smiled jubilantly. "It's called The Woman in Black," he began excitedly. "You won't regret this. I swear that on this cursed doll, Bereznoff." The puppet waved at her, and Haruhi shook her head, somewhat overwhelmed.
How do I keep ending up in these situations? She berated herself.
"We'll come for you at five tomorrow evening," he explained, backing away with a victorious smile. "I look forward to it, Haruhi."
Without responding, she turned away and left the theater department. Nekozawa watched until she had turned the corner and was out of sight before returning to his peers.
Haruhi Fujioka was a well-respected person at the school, practical and agreeable, and had many fans- as well the attention of Tamaki Suoh. Despite Fujioka's rather low class, the impression she left on others- on very powerful people- was astounding. A dark, rather malicious part of Nekozawa, a part of him that viewed Tamaki as somewhat of a rival, wanted to capture Haruhi's attention just to frustrate the Host Club president, to see how their relationship changed, to force Suoh to acknowledge him as more of a social threat than he appeared. But mostly, Nekozawa was intensely curious as to what Haruhi's power was over the Host Club, why they were all so determined to keep her, to impress her. Was it just because, as a scholarship student, they were all fascinated by their difference in class and upbringing? Could that explain why the entire club so obviously doted on her?
Nekozawa resolved to find out. Haruhi had some power, and he wanted a part of it.
"So?" Jun asked casually, leaning against the wall, "How'd it go? What'd he say?"
Nekozawa grinned, pulling his hood back over his wig, shadowing his eyes. "He'll come."
"Wonderful news! Shinobu will be pleased," Taro smiled delightedly. He then smirked wryly at his club president. "And perhaps she will not be alone in her joy?"
Nekozawa raised an eyebrow at him while Jun snickered. "Implying...?"
"Camaraderie, of course!" Taro was quick to respond cheerily. "It would be nice if he DID join our club, wouldn't it? 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition'."
"That would indeed be interesting," Nekozawa replied. "We'll see. It's time to go, now. Let's lock up the club room."
"'With duty and desire we follow you'," Taro smiled, falling in step behind his president as Jun retrieved his robe.