"Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins."
- Charles Eastman
0-0-0As Harry was making his way to class Monday morning he noticed a flier hung next to the classroom door, proclaiming it to be 'Physical Examination Day' in big fancy lettering. Quickly making a small call he made sure he now had a private room thanks to GripTide's connections.
He had no wish for others to see his scars.
Ending the call, Harry knew one thing for sure; he knew today was going to be interesting.
Around third period the announcement went over the school intercoms for the high school students to report for their Physical Examination.
Making their way as a class to the examination rooms he noticed the twins acting strangely; hovering over Haruhi as if they were her bodyguards and acting altogether jittery. Having the doctors and nurses lined up on either side of hallway was all together on the creepy side. It was a lot different from the mafia welcome he had received; at least he knew the smiles were genuine and not forced.
Standing to the side of the room he wasn't waiting long before a doctor came to escort him to his private room.
"Lord Potter-Black-sama, if you will please remove your clothing?"
That wasn't creepy at all.
Removing his top and pants Harry left his boxers on; there was no way in the world anyone was ever going to get him to remove his nickers for an examination. Didn't that just scream role play!
Patiently waiting as the doctor took his measurements and weighed him, it was about halfway through the examination when he noticed the feeling of someone watching him; besides the physicians. Scanning the room it didn't take him long to find the one responsible; someone was watching him from behind one of the dark drapes.
As he sensed nothing negative coming from their aura, Harry deciding they might just be shy and were just waiting to use the room after him or hiding from the creepy doctors. He would just wait and see what happened regardless of their motives. Turning back to the doctor Harry decided he'd deal with it after his examination finally finished.
0-
Noticing he had been spotted Umehito smiled; the way his Kitten had dismissed him so casually was so adorable; like a kitten who's decided his not eating fish today.
When he had received his mother's missive last night he was surprised to discover Kyoya Ootori was to be a rival for his Kittens affections; he didn't count the Weasley chit as she was not approved as a candidate by ether his Kitten or his Kitten's family. Her rejected status also said a thousand words.
Rejected statuses simply don't appear if the choosing parties dismiss the candidate, they had to commit a violation of the betrothal bylaws.
"Hello Mr. Pervy Peeping Tom" sang an approaching musical voice cheekily
Coming back from his reminiscing he quickly responded with "Hello Kitten" before his Kitten noticed the laps in attention, though he probably already did. He couldn't argue against the peeping tom comment as he did like to watch his fiancée changing. It also appeared he had shocked Hadrian with his Kitten comment; if only momentarily. The boy recovered quickly.
"Why were you watching me? The doctors have already gone"
"Because I wished to meet my fiancé" replied Umehito while staring into Harry's eyes intently; judging from what his informants had gathered from his Kittens previous school he was not one who tolerated liars easily. Though he wondered if those at his previous school realized how perfect a body his betrothed possessed? What was not to love of an adorable boy with wiry muscles and little bulk?
"My Fiancé?" tilting his head to the side Harry resembled a confused, curious kitten "which one?" he could tell the man before him was handsome but it was too covered up by the unusually heavy clothing to really be sure…
"Umehito Nekozawa" pulling his hood back, he was still wearing his wig but at least his Hadrian could see his face. He was safe in the artificial lighting.
"Pleasure to meet you again Umehito Nekozawa, I'm Hadrian Potter-Black" chirped a cheerful Hadrian.
"Again?" had they bumped in the hall or something? But he would have remembered that happening.
"You helped me when I was gawking at the pleasure devices and picked me out some books a while back."
Blinking it took him more than a moment to process that fact. He remembered the day Hadrian was talking about but the boy he'd helped/toyed with didn't much resemble his Hadrian. The boy he'd met had dirty coloured hair and horrid cloudy blue eyes.
"You look different." Umehito finally deadpanned, causing Harry to grin cheekily at him again.
"So do you. When I realised what I was staring at but still had no clue I threw up a weak glamour to change my hair and eye colour." He'd learnt that less was more when it came to deceptions. One had to fight the urge to elaborate for the con to be believable.
"Did they have to be so repugnant?" Umehito finally decided his Mate was a sadist. The shade of orange his hair had been would have been better off shaved, while his eyes a horrid washed out blue…putting them together was just nasty!
"Yes. Otherwise I would have had a kinky female clerk try and hook up with me rather than some pervy blond vampire." this time it was Harry who deadpanned, causing Umehito to laugh this time. His usual act with Beelzenef forgotten.
-0-Escorting Haruhi Fujioka to her private room after the Host Clubs spectacle where a thoroughly threatened nurse and doctor awaited, Kyoya noticed the door to the private examination room next to Fujioka's slightly ajar. Peeking in he was surprised to find his potential mate and his new rival conversing amicably.
"Mr. Nekozawa, may I speak with you for a moment in private?" inquired Kyoya civilly with an obviously fake smile, making the previously at easy Umehito pivot sharply to face this new potential threat; best not to scare the darling Neko just yet when he snapped the vampires neck.
"All right" turning back to his Harry, obviously snubbing the murderous crow "I will see you later?" Umehito inquired happily of his future mate.
"Yep, I normally hang at the maze temple during lunch with Ritsu." While Umehito seemed to know what the little Neko was talking about Kyoya was out of the loop. He had never heard of an area on campus being referred to as such.
He didn't like being out of the loop.
Nodding his acceptance Umehito followed the currently most powerful second year out into the hall and into one of the currently unused examination rooms, it wasn't long before the stare-off began.
"My Nekozawa, trying to rob me of my future mate now are we? How very unsporting of you." Kyoya remarked, starting the battle of wills. Seeing the bloody Vampire encroaching on territory he had come to consider his own was ruffling his feathers.
"Oh Ootori! I was unaware you Crows were so…slow when acquiring what you wanted. Has your nest fallen so low off the tree?!" Taunted the peeved Vampire, unaware his and the Crow Demons feelings matched. He had been having such a lovely conversation with his beloved as well before they had been rudely interrupted by the crow.
"Not slow just cautious Nekozawa. As you should be." now Kyoya's feathers were really ruffled, as his grandmother had neglected to inform him of an engagement until a week prier of receiving the missive this morning; giving him little time to prepare. He was unaware the women was actually his mother thanks to his resentful father claiming otherwise.
"Beelzenef says otherwise~" Umehito grinned under the hood of his robe noticing how ruffled Kyoya had become. Crows and Veela were so easy to ruffle when it came to those they considered nest mates, but it peeved him to discover Kyoya was actually interested in his Hadrian. The boy never seemed to have more than money signs floating around his head any other time he had met him. He had thought the boy fancied the Veela or Twins.
Bloody Necromancer and his dumb pet spirit "Beelzenef is wrong. How about we settle this matter civilly?" raining in his temper Kyoya reminded himself to think with a level head and not a hot one. Plans flashing through his mind he finally settled on the one that could buy him the most time and advantages he needed, as it appeared the vampire was two steps ahead of him. He needed to catch up.
"I'm listening" Umehito decided to humour the crow, pretending to be bored as he leaned against the examination table. Barely holding onto a semblance of his usually firm mask before the security cameras and Kyoya. He would still have to confiscate the recording as it was and locate Kyoya's secondary server.
"I propose we enter into a Formal Mating Contract; to be more specific a Shimizu (Clear Water) contract." Initiating a Shimizu contract meant that all candidates would live in the same house as the submissive in order for all parties to get to know each other better, but what was most significant to this contract was the fact that no penetrative intercourse could take place until the submissive decided who was worthy enough to fully mate with. Umehito had probably planned to place a claiming mark the first chance he got; this mating contract if active thankfully prevented such cheats.
"Agreed" Umehito knew if Hadrian ever found out he'd manipulated him into mating the boy would skin him alive. This contract at least gave the illusion of playing fair, which he had very little intention of doing.
"You won't win you know."
"We'll see."
"We shall."
Shaking hands on the matter both made their way to contact their magical lawyers in order to negotiate the particulars of their contract. Neither boy had any intention of losing.
-0-0-Making his way home after school, Harry was still stunned after today's events.
That was Umehito Nekozawa?
He hadn't realized until he had left but he couldn't believe how comfortable and safe he had felt when conversing with him! And that boy with him! While Umehito was cute-handsome the other boy had his dark-handsome thing going on …I wonder who he is?
Leaving such thoughts for later Harry reminded himself that he still needed to read those books on Demons and Spirits he had purchased the other day before he fantasizedabout handsome men. But first he better call one of his Japanese informants in order to look into both of his fiancés. Really, he should have done that before stepping foot into the school! Pulling his phone out Harry bashed off a text to Keji and Gara.
Checking the time while he was at it he finally noticed how late it was, even the clubs would be finishing/starting up by now. Setting off in a sprinting run he made the last peak train just in time, and only then with the aid of his classmate; Haruhi.
"Thanks for that" thanked Harry out of breath, referring to her yanking him onto the train in the nick of time; even if by his collar.
"You're welcome, so how have you been finding Ouran?"
"Alright so far, the people seem to be a bit weird but nice, you? Any friends beside the twins?" small talk was hard as far as he was concerned. It was hard to find people you clicked with without having to force it and topics were next to imposable to find with girls.
"I'm managing. The president of the club I'm in insists on calling everyone in the club his son or daughter, well except Kyoya he goes by 'Mother'." The hint of irritation was hard to miss but…
"Mother? Why Mother?" what an odd thing to call a host… was the man a cross-dresser or maybe it was a fetish?
"I think it's because he runs the club or something."
They talked the rest of the 30 minute ride and finally got off at their stop, well, Harry fell on his ass as the door opened. This surprised Haruhi as the new kid continued to walk with her all the way to her apartment and finally passed her door on the second floor to come to a rest at the rooms two doors down at the corner of the complex, when he finally entered she rushed to the door to find 'Potter-Black' embezzled in simple mocking text on the door.
How did I not notice Potter-Black lived practically next door to me?
Making her way back to her own apartment she contemplated if joining the Host Club had impaired her observation skills or was that something weird that rich people could do? She'd invite Potter-Black over for dinner next Friday; that would give her time to plan and tell her dad. With a plan in mind she set to work planning dinner for that night and wrote a list of things she'd need for next Friday.
She felt bad and stupid for not realizing sooner.
.
Waking earlier than normal the next day Haruhi decided she might as well head to school and hit the library.
Making her way to the station she hadn't expected to see Potter-Black there already waiting for the train to arrive; at least now she knew why she hadn't seen him before in the mornings. He caught an earlier train.
"Good morning Potter-Black-san, you're quite the early riser" smiling at the familiar voice Harry looked up from his sketch pad to the approaching Haruhi.
"Good morning Miss Fujioka, it's rare to see you up and about so early. Where are you heading?"
"I'm heading for the school library, what about you?"
"I'm heading to the cooking and art rooms, the headmaster recons I should join a club or something" at least he thought that's what the headmaster meant when he had sent him a PDF brochure from every single club on campus last night…
"Why the Cooking and Art clubs? Why not another club?" she remembered seeing a member of the track team approach him after one of their PE classes.
"Well, I can cook and draw pretty well so I think I'll be happier in one of those clubs than if I would be if I went into something sporty like the track team. What about you?" The real reason he was choosing those clubs was because he assumed they would be much quieter compared to the others.
"I'm in the Host Club"
Thinking back on what the turn 'host' meant from his manga research notes he could only recall the reference to Hentai and yaoi…
"So…you have sex with the clients?" he didn't think a school would allow it but…when in Rome. And Japan had a huge porn industry.
"What! No, we just talk and serve drinks like tea" blinking, Haruhi realized she should have probably looked up the various references to 'host club' beforehand so she hadn't been blindsided like this.
Like immediately.
"What types of tea? Any English?" he could use a nice cup of tea, the Japanese stuff just tasted like bitter water to him. The Chinese green tea was good though, until you got to the bottom.
"We have Earl Grey, English Breakfast and peppermint?" at least they were the more popular English blends she had to make for the hosts and customers. They talked the rest of the way to school.
Just before they parted at the entrance hall, Haruhi remembered her plans for Friday.
"By the way, would you like to come to dinner next Friday?"
"Why?" was it a trap?
"I want to welcome you to the building. I know it's a little late but I thought it could be fun."
"Sure. But I get to bring the desert!" at least she wasn't screaming fan-girly things. It was a good start to a good day. He would give her the benefit of the doubt regarding her motives for now.
Waving goodbye Harry wondered towards the cooking and art rooms. He wanted to check out their equipment first before he decided to commit.
-0-0-News of Haruhi's dinner guest didn't go down well with Tamaki.
Every attempt he made to even find Potter-Black during lunch breaks had failed, such a fishy character near his precious daughter…he wouldn't allow it!
And mother was acting most curious ever since he had heard Potter-Black would be at his precious daughters…what if it was a plot to deflower his little flower!? And Haruhi had forbidden them from her home! The Devil Twins weren't handling the news any better; they were so devastated by the news they had actually begun to Fight!
Oh! He must consult with mother! He simply must be able to convince Haruhi to reconsider not allowing them to attend! As soon as class ends he was going to do so…well…after class…but he would do it!
-0-0-
The week until the dinner passed relatively peacefully for Harry, though he saw the same could not be said of Haruhi who had acted like a buffer between the two twins pretending to fight; he knew they were pretending as he'd heard it when he was on the toilet and the twins were using the urinals, laughing about the reactions they were getting from the host club members and clients.
Some of it was really quite hilarious from what he'd heard.
He was just putting the finishing touches on the cakes and mousse when he heard a commotion outside, peaking the door open a crack he noticed seven boys making the ruckus following behind a resigned Haruhi…when did that happen?
Closing the door Harry made his way back to the kitchen to cook something quick as it appeared the boys were joining them; he had made enough but he still wanted to make some cookies just in case they were big eaters.
By the time he was supposed to be arriving Harry appeared carrying an assortment of different treats ranging from different Cakes, Cookies and Mousse.
-0-0-Mitsukuni could smell it, it wasn't the same as the first cake but it still held the same underling scent from the creator mixed in.
Mitsukuni was quite glad for his Fox-Rabbit heritage as it gave him a powerful sense of smell, almost the same as a full-blooded pure daemon. The worst part of the situation was the fact that Takashi could also smell it even if the scent wasn't as strong for him, but the fact that Haruhi was fully human worked in his favour as it meant Takashi couldn't openly act on what he knew. Hearing someone knocking on the door he waited; maybe the Fates decided to grant him mercy in his search? Its taken them long enough!
Answering the door Haruhi contemplated how to tell Potter-Black the Host Club members would be joining them; she hadn't been able to before as she'd only cracked yesterday and he hadn't been home when she'd tried earlier.
"Hello Haruhi sorry I'm late, were would you like me to put this?"
Looking at the pile of boxes and covered glass bowls she was amazed he could even carry it all let alone have made it all; the whole building could smell when the complexes little baker started making a master piece; it made the whole building smell yummy and everyone within it hungry.
Taking two of the bowls she quickly showed him to the kitchen where he could relieve himself of his burdens. Looking at everything she saw he had brought different types of cookies cakes and mousses.
Looking at the cookies a moment she decided to put them on a big plate to take out now as dinner was still cooking and would still be for another hour. She hadn't been prepared to host eight people and so didn't have the sufficient amount of ingredients beforehand.
"And who's this lovely specimen Haruhi?" inquired Haruhi's dad Ryoji, better known as Ranka Fujioka. Haruhi had set him to watch the food while she had answered the door. Looking at the little beauty before him Ranka just wanted to dress him up and squeeze the life out of him! The boy was a rare androgynous beauty!
"Hadrian Potter-Black-san, our neighbor from three doors down."
Ranka's eyebrows rose in shock. The Baker? This little beauty was the reclusive baker? Ranka was tickled pink!
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Fujioka. Thank you for having me" he was polite too! Just like Kyoya darling.
"Your very welcome sweetie, and call me Ranka!"
"Thank you Ranka, please call me Harry." Noticing the dear looking past him, Ranka wondered what the dear was looking at "Umm Ranka…do you mind if I help you with dinner?"
"Not at all! But are you sure? You are a guest after all"
"I'm sure. The cooking should calm my nerves." Seeing the boys nervous smile Ranka understood then that the boy probably cooked when nervous. Considering the boy was basically a hermit from what he had seen he realised Harry-chan was bound to be uncomfortable around so many rowdy boys.
While this was being decided Haruhi returned to the dining room in order to contain the chaos that was the Host Club while her father and Potter-Black made dinner and chatted. Hopefully her dad could put Potter-Black-san at ease before he had to meet the host club members.
"Who was that Haruhi?" inquired Mitsukuni innocently, making Takashi tense; he had recognised Potter-Black and knew he would be unable to hide the identity of the Baker for much longer, but he still didn't expect it to be discovered like this. He was surprised he had been able to keep the Bakers identity a secret for this long already but still…
"Potter-Black; he's in class 1A with me and the twins"
Listening to Harahi and Huni talk about his betrothed Kyoya gained more information than he had had previously in his files; the files didn't even specify where the boy lived! This was both frustrating and had made it extremely difficult for him and Nekozawa when trying to organize and negotiate the contract for the courtship. It appeared information on Hadrian Potter-Black was heavily monitored and restricted no matter who was asking.
It was probably the work of those blood thirsty Goblins; they were useful little buggers if you knew how to handle them, but the Ootori family like most purebloods had yet to discover how exactly that was possible. From what he was currently hearing Harry was a friendly if distrusting young man who liked to cook and draw who was having trouble deciding what club to join.
Patiently waiting the half hour it took for dinner to be ready while nursing some tea Kyoya was pleasantly surprised to discover his beloved could cook outside of baking. It would have been torturous if he had to eat sweets and take out for the rest of his life. He had no intention of hiring a maid or butler for his own home in the future.
"Dinners ready!" called Ranka as he and Harry started bringing the food out.
Turning around Kyoya had to move more fully under the low table at the site of his beloved; he had come into the room relaxed and carrying food while wearing an adorable pink frilly apron, though that could have just been because his new 'beloved' was wearing it while the scent of mating pheromones were in the air. Hadrian was likely coming into a very light heat faze.
Looking down he noticed the food had been laid out while he was observing and contemplating his fiancé, he noticed that along with the Miso soup and rice he was expecting of a commoners dish he also found garlic bread and a couple pies of various fillings outlaid among the traditional Japanese commoner foods.
"Did you make all this Potter-Black" inquired Tamaki, cooking was such a commoner thing he was smitten with the idea. Conveniently forgetting he was supposed to be interrogating the boy before him.
"No, I merely helped Ranka in the kitchen"
"Mr. Potter-Black," interrupted Kyoya "if a prince on a white horse appeared before you what would you do?"
"I think I'd want to see him fall of that horse…" catching Harry off guard caused Kyoya to receive the first thought that appeared in the boys mind. It was definitely an amusing one. The data he had gathered on personality tests had suggested that the answers to riddle like questions were the best indicators of ingrained personalities.
"And if he wasn't one to begin with? What would you do?"
"Probably trip him, why?"
"No reason, just curious." So Harry wasn't the type to tolerate the princely type…his interactions with Tamaki could prove interesting.
The Host Club plus Harry and Ranka ate and talked till late, though the way Huni had attached himself to Potter-Black was hilarious it also irked Kyoya to see; perhaps he should lower Huni's quality of cake in the club…it was also curious how his beloved was able to easily talk without actually saying anything new or useful.
It was a good skill to have but annoying when it was used against you.
It wasn't long before it was time for everyone to leave as time passed quickly and pleasantly like this. Tamaki and Kyoya's limo's soon arrived to take everyone home, leaving the Fujioka's and a pensive Potter-Black to retire to bed.
The next morning Harry received two missives with a letter from Umehito Nekozawa and Kyoya Ootori.