A/N: Hello guys! It's been a while! Okay, so with this story I'm going to attempt to post everything up by the end of my finals. I only wrote six chapters so that won't be too hard, but I've been quite busy. I have a lot of assignments and even a presentation to get done, so I haven't posted as much as I wanted to. My finals week is in three weeks, but my assignments are mainly due in less than two. So if you don't hear from me that is why.
And to everyone having to deal with the pains of final exams and papers, GOOD LUCK! I certainly need it . but you guys probably do too. Anyways, I hope this chapter will lighten your spirits and motivate you to get sh*t done. Finally, we'll be getting into the fun stuff. And yes, the OC ends up being a teacher, but that's just how it goes. The romance is something I didn't really get around to throwing into the story, but maybe I did in later chapters? But them hooking up as romantic partners, yeah that hasn't happened yet.
And lastly this is kind of an AU. I don't really follow the timeline of the Host Club, be it the anime or manga, because I'm not that familiar with the entire story line. Also, since Japan has three semesters: summer, winter, and spring (pretty much) that's how I ordered the story. I realized that not all Japanese schools are like this and the Ouran uses the western style, but whatever. I don't care. I'm not familiar with Japanese schools so this is my best guess. ENJOY!
! #$%^&*()
A nice long month has gone by since you first stepped foot in Japan. Due to your study hall you've caught up with all the classes in a diligent manner, bring what could have ended up as a C grade into A's. However you also realized that Asia has a completely different grading system. While your overall grade is relatively high, you're only number fourteen in your class. A bit impressive, but one slip up and you could end up with a B grade, dropping you into a completely different class at the end of the semester. Though you had to admit, having Haruhi's help over the weekends did help immensely. Without her tutoring you wouldn't have caught up with the curriculum as quickly as you did.
Though throughout the day you've noticed shadows looming around you as you walked through the halls. At first you just thought it was the strange lighting, but now you're beginning to suspect you're being followed. And you don't like being followed without knowing who it is.
Yet that wasn't the first thing on your mind right now. Your last remaining item that you wanted with you in Japan, your motorcycle, should be arriving any day now. And you can't wait! And meanwhile you've gotten to know your classmates, some of the upper class students, but you spend a lot of your time with Haruhi, at least on the weekends, and you casually talk to everyone else. You just decided to have a none-giving attitude now, for you weren't interested in the chatter of elitists. You've had enough of that in England and you don't care for it here. And luckily now your hype as a foreigner has died down. Everyone has stopped talking about you, and that's just how you like things to be.
After signing in for Study Hall at the library you sat down at a computer, writing a paper for your history class. You were glad that you've been getting better at these Japanese characters, but you still have your problems. You always have to walk in to the writing center for help with your papers, but you've caught up. This paper is due next week and it's only Tuesday!
You wrote your entire paper, with citations, in about forty five minutes. A new solid record in these Japanese classes of yours. With a content smile you printed out the paper, deciding that later you'll bring this in to the writing center, but not today. You're tired. Instead you spent fifteen minutes browsing the internet, writing down locations of points on the town map of places you'd like to go to. Once that was done you were bored and now that an hour has gone by you could~ leave your study hall. So you decided to do just that.
You decided to find where these shadows were coming from, so the moment they appeared you softly waved your hand in front of your body, the shadows fleeing while leaving a visible trail of magical energy that only you could see behind. You followed that trail curiously, your backpack slung over your shoulder, but you walked as if you weren't following a trail. You were just making your way down the stairs, across the high school, and then down a flight of more stairs that led to a basement area you didn't know existed.
It was a long dark hallway, barely illuminated by light. One light in the middle of the long hallway flickered, making you let out a tired sigh. Noticing an old style candlestick holder and a half melted candle sitting on a table by the stairs, a bit out of place if you had to think, and heck how could no one notice this, you picked up the candle, noticing there weren't any matches. "… Flammula, ambustum~" you spoke in a soft voice, waving your hand over the candle. A little flame appeared on the whisk, illuminating your figure as you began to continue down the hallway, following the trail only you could plainly see.
You ended up at the end of the hallway, taking a turn down another darkened hallway before reaching the end. The room you came upon was Classroom 0-B, your eyebrow rising at this particular sign, for it looked old. You realized that this entire basement level seemed to be quite old, unused, or that's what it seemed. You let in a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, turning the knob and finding yourself at the top of a small flight of stairs. It was only about five steps, but you heard rustling and conversation as you began to descend down, your pretty black shoes clicking atop the stairs as you walked down, the light from your candle showing where you were on the stairs.
"Are we missing someone?"
"I don't believe so…"
"Hmm… there are five of us in the room. That's everyone, right?"
"Could it be a new recruit?!"
"Hush! I think they're at the bottom of the stairs!"
The moment you stepped at the bottom of the stairs you were greeted with five students, dressed in Gothic attire, posing as you stepped around a curtain. "Welcome unfortunate soul~ to the Black Magic Club. Are you hear to be cursed~~?"
"Me? Certainly not," you snorted, noticing that around the room candles were lit, illuminating parts of the room, but not everywhere. "I doubt you could manage that," you mumbled under your breath, but the only girl in this particular club huffed in reply.
"You belittle our powers~!? I can curse~~ you for the rest of your days here –"
"Try, what is it? Reiko Kanazuki? Or Kanazuki Reiko? Whatever," you shook your head before looking at the girl with a tired, slightly annoyed, but confident look on your face. "Try as you might, I doubt you can do much to me, but to start a fight isn't why I'm here," you huffed as you took a few steps forward, following the trail upon the ground, finding that it stopped in front of a particular student.
You looked up at the boy sitting in the chair, the only male with dark hair, but also the only one with a wig on his head. You narrowed your eyes and snorted in disgust, holding the candle up to your face so you could see the boy better and he could see just how ticked off you looked. "So you're the one sending little shadows to follow me around."
"Huh?" he blinked in confusion and from the mop of black hair you could see his startled blue gaze.
"You heard me. I felt this for almost three weeks now. Every single time I walk down a hallway or walk into a public place in the academy I sense shadows following me. You're Umehito Nekozawa, president of this club, or whatever, right? Well, do stop following me around like that. At least come up and talk to me or something. I don't like being followed."
)(*&^%$# !
Umehito stared at you in shock as you stood looming over him, a harsh look in your gaze as you glared down at him. First off, he never expected you to come down here. When his magic retreated back towards him he didn't think nothing of it, but then you appeared just a few moments later. Secondly, he wasn't really following you, most of the time. He was just watching you from afar. Thirdly, he was curious about you ever since he met you in Host Club. He wanted to know if you had any sort of link with magic as well, but he never seemed to notice anything from you. And being in different grades it was hard to keep an eye on you.
Yet… there were times that he couldn't help but wonder if you did. You did things that… were strange, but certainly caught his eyes.
Noticing you were looking at him, putting the candle down on a stand beside you, your arms now crossed over your chest as you waited for an answer, he grinned deviously and stood to his feet, now looking down on you. "You seem to know~ a lot about magic. I was wondering~ if you would show your true~~ colors."
"True colours?" you asked in a confused tone of voice before letting out an annoyed snort. "Look boy, I don't even know you. You act as if you are above me, but if you are trifling in magic you are not –"
"I think I have every right to ask you what you know. You seem to know~ the differences between magic, but you never gave our club a chance," he stated, gesturing to the group.
You blinked, looking at the students dressed in Gothic clothing, the darkness of the room, the images all around, and you pouted, turning back to their president. "I don't fear the occult, alright? All I see here are children who know nothing. What you are doing here isn't a game. Sure, the more you believe the more your magic may or may not work, but if you trifle with the wrong sort of energies of the universe you're going to die. I'm just going to throw that out there on the table. You will die if you continue to trifle in dark magic," you snorted in disgust, narrowing your eyes at Umehito. "I just want to say you should stop following me like that. I have enough problems as it is. I'm already fearful for my life at the moment. Using magic to track me will only make me suspicious… Got it?"
"I suppose so –"
"You shouldn't be so harsh to our president," the girl spoke up, walking up to you and narrowing her gaze. "We are all trying to harness magic and the occult. You have a personal bias, don't you?"
"I do," you spoke firmly, glaring now at her. "I've seen enough people die by doing something wrong or using the wrong spell to make me hate dark magic… And if you must know," you sighed deeply, putting your hands to your sides simply, "I am a primary user of light magic. I try to keep away from dark magic. Even if I desired to use all forms of magic I promised my uncle I would stay away from dark magic entirely, since I'm here in Japan under his care. So, if you must know why I never came here, sir," you turned back to the president, "is because I made a promise and I intend to keep it. Sorry."
He stared at you, blinking in confusion, but then someone else in the room snapped the thick air that was surrounding the atmosphere. "Wait a minute," one of the students began, looking to you. "That candleholder, I deliberately left it on the stand without any matches. Do you have a lighter or something?" he asked, your eyes blinking a couple of times before you sighed deeply.
"I lit it, of course. You are magic wielders, right? Then you must know such magic exists –"
"You lit the candle on your own?!" he gasped and you narrowed your eyes at him. "With magic!?"
"I said that, didn't I?" you snorted in disgust. "Don't ignore what I say –"
"Ah! Mr. President," you heard one of the other students say, getting Umehito's attention. "I recall why I feel as if I've heard her name before."
"What do you mean?" Reiko asked, the boy coughing into his hand.
"I-I mean, I did a little bit of research. I swear this: Underwood, that family, they are a family of magic wielders. Some of the strongest in the world. They say that they come from the famous wizard Merlin from the King Arthur stories."
"That true?" Umehito asked and you let an annoyed growl leave your breath.
"You know, I may not know you sir, but I'm trying my hardest not to kill you right now," you snorted, sighing deeply as you ran a hand through your hair, pushing your stray hairs and some of your bangs off to the side.
"… Mrs. Underwood?" he continued to ask, your head turning to him, a pout upon your face.
"You're just ignorant children," you grumbled under your breath, a sad look crossing your face before you tugged on your backpack, putting the strap on one side in a not so painful spot on your shoulders. "You know nothing of magic," you said sadly, "and I'm not teaching you. I'm sorry… but if you insist, I will demonstrate," you stated, bluntly, noticing a few unlit candles around the room.
The five black magic members watched as you waved your hand in front of you, a bored look on your face, though your tone of voice was strict and demanding. "Flammarum, ardebit~" you spoke, their heads turning to watch in shock and awe as you illuminated not just one candle, but the rest of the candles in the room. The lights became so bright that the president suddenly shrieked in terror, making you flinch back in confusion, your hand falling to your side.
"Quick, blow out some of these candles!" one of the guys in the club said. "Our president will die if we don't! –"
"Extinguere~" you spoke, motioning your hand in the other direction. The candles around the room flickered before burning out, one after the other, before only a few candles remained flickering, the ones on the edges of the room. It kept the room lit; every corner of the room now seeable, but the lights weren't as harsh as earlier. You watched as the shrieking man stopped and put down his hands from his face, a tired sigh leaving your breath as you turned, gesturing with your hand casually as you looked over your shoulder. "See? You guys know nothing of magic, and honestly I'd prefer to not be bothered by this anymore," you finished, ascending up the stairs, ignoring the confused and shocked stares in your direction, the door closing behind you as you walked down the dark hallway, biting down on your bottom lip.
Well… that was just basic magic. You just can't use dark magic. But… now what'll happen? "I wonder if my motorcycle is here yet?" you mumbled under your breath, snorting at your annoying yellow dress. "… The only perk would be to wear something less… bright and yellow," you grumbled, looking at your cell phone to notice that the afternoon activities are almost over, meaning you should make your way across the campus to the Ouran Elementary School.
! #$%^&*()
You sat outside on a rather gloomy day, your head in your hands as you scrunched your knees to your chest. Every so often you munched on your sandwich, your back against the trunk of a tree as you watched the soft grass move with the breeze, the gray clouds overhead rolling and moving across the sky. You were stupid. You showed that you know magic. If others find out… they will laugh at you or try to use you. You wish you were back home. You had people you trust back there, but here? No, you have no one. Not at this school.
"I'm a fool," you mumbled, taking one last bite of your sandwich. You looked at your cell phone, noticing you still had a lot of time till lunch was over; noticing all you had left was a can of your favorite soda. You opened the top and began to sip, debating if you should just try to find a new high school or not.
You heard rustling from behind you and turned your head slightly, seeing a figure dressed in black robes, noticing you were sitting against the tree, watching the storm clouds roll across the sky. "You think it'll rain?" you decided to ask, the man glancing up to the sky as well.
"Perhaps," he responded, turning back to you while you turned back forward, sipping on your drink and, he quickly realized, looking quite miserable. "… Underwood-chan, is something wrong?"
"You could say that," you snorted, watching as the man walked around the tree to stare at you from the front, your eyes now glaring daggers at him. "Yesterday, I did something stupid. I shouldn't have shown you my magic. Now you and your little friends will go around the school and start rumors, how I'm some sort of freak, or if not that you'll blackmail me… So no, I'm not alright, not now."
"We haven't… Well I wouldn't tell anyone about your powers if you don't want me to," he spoke, your head looking up at him, staring at him suspiciously. Even if he looked quite creepy and ghastly, you've seen worse. What confused you was his tone of voice, how sweet and nice he sounded. Why? What did he want from this… transaction? "We were just all startled, is all. Why do you hate us so much?"
"… I don't hate… you," you frowned, putting your legs down. You looked at him with a sad look upon your face; your eyes showing just how saddened you are will all of this. "It's just… Ah… I don't… Can I be frank with you?"
He gave you a curious look before trying to give you a light smile, which seemed to be a bit crude from underneath his black hood. "Of course you can."
"From the very beginning, I've known that I'm capable of great things as a magic wielder, a magus as the term would be. I used to love magic. I truly did. I loved everything I could do. It's just… everything became difficult after a while," you pouted, your eyes looking to the grass by your hand. "Normal humans laughed at me whenever I brought up the idea. They said that magic wasn't real. They would think I'm just being fictitious and reading too many magical stories. I was both verbally and, at times, physically abused. Even though I've seen with my own eyes what magic can do… I grew quiet about it.
"However, over time, people sought me out. I made friends, but enemies as well. I swear… I had more enemies then friends," you frowned, a tired sigh leaving your breath. "And life grew harder. I just stopped trying to get any better. I was pressured to keep training, though, and so I did. I had potential, they say. I could become the very best in the world, a prodigy. Many mages have died over the centuries, many families being cut off from their magical ties for one reason or another. My trait is a dominative one. Magic is in my blood. I can never lose it. It's as normal as breathing, for me.
"But… I just… When everything took a turn for the worse and I was left all alone… My uncle let me stay with him," you told the upperclassman, "and he told me this is my chance at a new life. Yet I was just fine back home. I had friends I could count on. I'm back to square one. If I say anything, people will think I'm a freak… I get enough pressure as it is. I tried to be honest with you guys. I'm just telling you what I saw in your club," you finished, sipping on your soda, thinking just how much you've screwed up… and it's only been about a month since school started.
You noticed, after you had talked, how silent it got. You looked up to the student and pouted. "What? You have nothing to say? I shared something that I'll later regret telling you. So tell me, what are you going to do with this information?"
He looked down at you, noticing the worried look in your eyes, but the anger on your face. You were hiding behind a tough mask, but deep down you were scared and afraid, and for once it wasn't directed at him. You had a past he could kind of relate to, in a way. He sat down in front of you, your eyes staring at him slightly startled as he opened his mouth. "Underwood-chan, if I may speak, I… understand where you are coming from. I've been interested in the occult. Some say it's a curse of my family. I also have this energy inside of me," he spoke, his hand revealing itself from underneath his robes and you saw how pale he is, "and… I don't know what to do with it, to be honest –"
"You hold magic. I know. It's small and unstable, but if you cultivate it, if you actually care to try to become a magus, your skills can grow as well," you stated, the boy now looking at you, noticing the calm, collected look on your face.
He smiled meekly to you. "I don't know who you are, but you are right: I know nothing of magic. However, I believe magic to be real. I may not have seen it, at least… well… I saw what you could do, sure, but I still believe it to be real, even if I haven't seen magic. I don't desire power, if that's what you're thinking, nor do I care to blackmail you. I just… want to know a bit more about you. That's all."
You narrowed your eyes, staring into the darkness of his hood. You could barely see his eyes, but you could see how sincere he seemed. He desired knowledge. He was interested in you. That look… it was familiar, and you just hope you were doing the right thing.
"… Do you keep stalking me because you want me to join your club? Huh? I told you why I don't like dark magic, right? The occult. And even so I promised not to participate in such… activities."
"Stalking?" he blushed. "W-well… I confess, perhaps I would like for you to join the Black Magic Club, but if you don't want to… that's fine."
You paused for a long moment before smiling meekly. "That girl, Reiko right? I noticed her outfit. Is that something you can wear all the time or just during club hours?"
"Our Gothic outfits?" he stared at you curiously and you nodded your head, once.
"Is simply black clothing acceptable? Or is that attire a sort of dress code for the club?"
"W-well… Sadly, you cannot change your uniform until afternoon activities begin. It's not a dress code, but the black magic members like to wear Gothic attire. It's not really a dress code. We mainly read from spell books and try spells we've read, even creating potions and placing curses on people. Everyone gets a black cloak and a beelzefef doll if they want," he grinned, holding up his cat puppet doll, your eyes being drawn to the cloth around his hand. "What do you say~? Would you like to participate?"
"Hmm… I-I still don't know," you pouted, turning to the boy, a sad, tired look on your face. "I just… don't think… it's a good idea."
"Please," he decided to ask once more, not really sure why he wanted you in the club so badly, but for some reason he did. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you wish, you can look at every spell and charm we try to chant. You don't even have to wear the cloak. You can just arrive to the club, if you wish. You're not obligated to come every day, but you can sign up for the club as your afternoon activity."
You close your eyes and sighed, deeply. Well, what can you lose? And it could be fun, you guess. The club was actually harmless. While there was magical energy in the air, it wasn't foul or harmful. Maybe… you could try it? And just not participate, like the man said.
You opened your eyes, putting your soda down as you smiled meekly, holding out your hand to the upperclassman. "Alright, Mr. Nekozawa. I will try out your club, but only for a short while. After that, we'll see."
"Sounds like a plan Underwood-chan –"
"Call me Trixie," you smiled, grasping his hand and shaking it. "I don't like to be called by my last name constantly. So call me Trixie." You barely noticed the happy grin on his face as you have him the okay to use your nickname, but you were just wondering how this'll all go. You were worried for your future, worried about what will come from this. You just wanted to disappear… but it seems like you can't, not at this academy.
)(*&^%$# !
flammula, ambustum – (Latin) 'little flame, burn'
flammarum, ardebit – (Latin) 'flames, burn'
extinguere – (Latin) 'extinguish'