A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back for another chapter of this story.
In this chapter the other characters finally get introduced and it starts the story on officially.
Thank you for all the support and remember to review and favorite.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
Something New
When Valentina had been younger, her mother had taught her the basics of proper etiquette expected of someone of her status. Born into a wealthy family who had at one time been a distant relative of the last Czar of Russia before World War II, her mother had been the epiphany of a proper woman- beautiful, kind, and graceful. Her father as well, a traditional Japanese man, heir to his family's company, grew up with influence and riches. They taught her to respect everyone, no matter their status, but still be confident in her own value because of her family's heritage.
In front of dozens of staring gazes, their words echoed like a persistent bell, reminding her of the blue blood in her veins and how she had nothing to fear. She glanced at the teacher by her side, an elderly woman who she thought would've been pretty at one point. She smiled gently at her, nodding at her encouragingly as the foreign girl once again sighed softly and felt her hands tighten around the yellow dress she had been forced into.
"Hello." She said with a smile, taking notice of the class. Her first few classes in the morning before lunch consisted of third year advanced placement courses before they switched in the noon. Those two remaining classes would consist of first year literature and the history of Japan with classmates younger than her. At least for now she would be with people her own age for the beginning. "I am Watanabe Valentina and I'm a transfer student from Russia who most recently moved here a week before. I hope you all treat me kindly."
Finishing off with a bow, her mouth twitched at the sudden uproar, her last name being thrown around. She had expected students to recognize the influence in the country because of the business, not surprised as it was whispered between a few students. Observing the faces in front of her, Valentina found they all looked the same to her, the only thing standing out being two very familiar faces in the back of the class. One stared at her neutrally and she could already make out the latter squirming in his seat from the excitement of seeing her.
Sitting down at one of the only remaining seats like the teacher instructed her to, Valentina sat in the chair with as much grace as she could muster. Eyes were still watching her and whispers flew around by now as they slowly began to quiet down. She lifted her chin ever so slightly to elude as much confidence as she could, knowing that there may be gossip over the most recent event in her life if the students happened to hear the gossip from older family members. It was no secret as to what had happened to her parents and led her to attend Ouran Academy.
Glancing about, she offered a smile towards Hani who sat right in front of her. It was a wonder to her; they seemed to already be intertwined despite just meeting that day. Shukumei as they called it in Japan. "Lets have fun together, Val-chan!" Hani said, smiling at her brightly while Mori to his right inclined his head.
For once Valentina managed to give a genuine smile
It was only then, classes later however, that Valentina felt the smile wipe off her face fully. She yawned tiredly as a loud bell rung outside of the school, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch. She sighed, waving at a group of girls who had just offered to sit with her at lunch, in which she had politely declined- for the third time as she had been asked earlier from others in between their small breaks before classes.
Hani and Mori had been a constant present throughout it all, having already been persuaded into sitting with the duo at lunch, courtesy of the small eighteen year old. Still and yet she was pleasantly surprised with the beginning outcome of her first day in the school. She had already been introduced to a few of her classmates that she had felt could make potential friends if they began to know each other more. For once she actually felt rather excited at the prospect of being in the school.
"Val-chan!" Hani beamed, making his way towards the girl as she began to pack up, only to launch himself at her. She fumbled with catching him, reflexes kicking in from her training back in her home country, grasping him higher so that he sat in her arms. "Are you ready for lunch?"
"Mitsukuni." Mori said simply, almost strict as his tall figure came upon them. He grabbed hold of the smaller male to relieve Valentina of the weight and put him down simply on the floor.
Valentina smiled slightly. "Yes just give me a moment to get my food."
Reaching into her leather bag to grab the simple food container, she held it in her hands gently so as not to mix the food inside. Hani glanced at her curiously, eyeing the container with wide chocolate eyes. "Why are you bringing your own food Val-chan when you can buy yours here?"
"Actually I'm still not used to Japanese food as I used to when I was younger." The girl said, glancing down at the Souvlaki in her hands. "So my aunt helped me to prepare some Russian food as I slowly get used to everything else."
It had been in kind attempt of attempting to make Valentina feel at home. The action had been appreciative, glad her aunt was kind enough to do so but she still felt the distance. She had not seen the woman since years ago as a young child when her husband and child died tragically in a plane incident during the funeral.
Besides the one time, the woman had kept away, just as her her uncle and family on her father's side because of how her father had disgraced them. He had married a woman outside their culture and suffered the consequences and in turn so had Valentina. She deducted her aunt's sudden interest in taking her in stemmed from guilt at her recently deceased brother.
"Do you miss Russia?" Hani asked as the trio made their way out the classroom towards the dining hall.
At the mention of such, Valentina could feel the homesickness in her stomach churning. She smiled almost bitterly, looking down as her wavy hair fell in her face. "A lot actually. But this is also part of my culture so I should most likely get used to this."
Mori's watchful eyes glanced at her slightly, and the dark haired girl felt herself look away from his knowing eyes, as if he knew how she felt. Hani seemed oblivious to such but he frowned sadly while the girl patted his head. "Don't worry Val-chan! You'll go back to Russia soon to see your family right?" In response the girl nodded only slightly, making her way down the hall with the duo.
If only he knew the truth that she had no more family to go back to Russia for. Others did but she did not expect everyone in the school to have heard the tragic story of the Watanabe head and their parentless daughter.
She pushed her feelings behind her.
Valentina took in the curious gazes on her figure. She had begun to become accustomed to the constant stares throughout the day, taking it as mere curiosity of a new student in the school. However, with quick observation, the girl had pinpointed it as a mixture of her new face in the halls and the fact that Hani and Mori seemed to be on good terms with her. Lunch had been a prime example of such, with hordes of girls swooning and surrounding the two, much to her amusement and confusion.
Now, although, the eyes upon her lithe figure were because she stood before her remaining afternoon classes for the next two periods- and she was two years senior to every single figure before her. Valentine vaguely hoped Japanese I and Japanese History for first years would not be as bad as she imagined it to be.
"Hello. I'm Watanabe Valentina." She said with a smile, the repetition of reintroducing herself becoming dull. They seemed rather plain in her eyes, but skimming over the sea of faces she caught sight of three interesting faces. There were two very similar looking boys in the class with another girl by their side. No- a male, she thought, taking in his short hair despite his feminine face and small frame. "I most recently moved here from Russia. I am technically a third year but due to my little knowledge of the country I must take a few first years classes. I hope you all treat me kindly." She finished off with a bow, wincing as the class erupted in a fury of applause.
Sitting down at the seat the teacher instructed her to sit at, Valentina began to unload the materials needed for the class. Glancing about, she noticed that she was behind the boy she mistaken for a girl before, face buried in a book as the pair of twins looked at her curiously before grinning at her. She knew this would be a long class for sure.
Focusing forward, surprisingly enough the time went by quickly. The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Valentina smiled brightly, content that her first day had gone without any mishap or misconduct on her part. The students were already filling out, a few girls lingering around the desks before her as Valentina observed curiously.
The desks belonged to the trio she had saw earlier, having taken notice during the break between the two classes that they reminded her of Mori and Hani in their popularity with girls. Valentina recalled the duo from before mentioning a club they were apart of with some younger friends of theirs and she wondered if the trio before her were apart of it.
Feeling a sudden ominous feeling, Valentina glanced to her side as she stood up from her seat, coming face to face with two smiling faces. The twins from before now stood before her, almost like snakes as they flanked her sides. Looking back, they were the only ones left in the room. She hadn't noticed the other girls leave much to her chagrin.
Two pairs of arms slunk towards her waist and shoulders, and the seventeen year old glanced at their green eyes curiously as they leaned in close to her. She felt her personal space being snatched from her in an instant as their flaming hair and handsome faces grinned at her.
"You're the new girl!"
"Watanabe-San right?"
"She's pretty!"
"Like a model!"
For a moment, Valentina found herself at a lost for words as she attempted to shrug them off. "Yes. And you are?"
"I'm Hikaru." One of them introduced as she managed to untangle herself from them, his hair parted opposites from his brother's. "And I'm Kaoru."
Wrapping their arms around one another, they smirked charmingly. "We're the Hitachiin twins."
Valentina blinked at that, grinning slightly at them. "I'm Watanabe- San but I'd prefer Valentina if you don't mind."
"Ah it must be a foreign thing. That's so strange."
"Exotic Kaoru, not strange!"
The two seemed to banter slightly, and Valentina rose an eyebrow in amusement and confusion. She didn't see why they were talking about her using her first name considering they did too, but then again she supposed that was to save confusion. Behind them, she could see a hand coming up from behind their rather tall figures, nowhere near Mori's from before, but still greater compared to the other males she had seem. They were pushed away from each other and Valentina watched as the feminine male from before split them apart and chided them slightly. "Stop that you two! You're scaring her you weirdos." He stated rather bluntly, and she took note that even his voice sounded rather feminine.
She frowned in confusion.
"Sorry about them, they can be a little annoying sometimes." He- she?- said, offering her a hand with a kind smile. Soft features glanced at her, large brown eyes blinking to take in the girl before him. For a moment Valentina stared at how feminine he looked, taking in his delicate stature and girly features. "I'm Fujioka Haruhi, but you could just call me by first name since you're letting us."
Even her name sounded feminine Valentina noticed, reaching out to take the offered hand. It felt as soft and delicate as her own.. "It's nice to meet you Haruhi- kun."
Behind her, an arm wrapped around her shoulders to lean on them. "You should hang out with us one day, Valentina-San."
Another arm joined that one. "He's right, we can get your measurements while we're at it." He glanced at his brother, Hikaru if she remembered properly. "We can use her to try on some of mom's designs."
"Designs?" Valentina asked, finding herself backing away slightly in hesitation.
"Our moms a famous fashion designer." One of them said, sounding almost smug. "You haven't heard of the Hitachiin name yet? Your aunt has worked with our mother before."
Indeed Valentina had heard of the name, weather it be in Russia or Japan. Her own aunt who had taken her in was a well known designer, having started her own business outside the family's and on more than one occasion done a collab with the twin's mother.
She nodded her head in recognition. "Of course. I have more than a few of your mother's designs in my closet."
The twin's grinned at the fact and Valentina knew that compliments were a quick way to get on their good graces. Keeping the fact to herself, she caught sight of Haruhi glancing down at a watch on his thin wrist before looking up. He seemed momentarily distracted at he got the twin's attention and glanced at Valentina.
"It's almost four. We're going to be late for the Club guys." He stated, beginning to pick up his stuff.
"Eh, but Haruhi we have a meeting today," One of them began.
The next one took over, "The Host Club starts later on."
The Host Club. Now the facts began to add up, as if Valentina had finally found the missing piece to a puzzle. Valentina could recall the short eighteen year old from before mentioning that him and Mori were apart of the same club. Whatever it was, it was the main reason for their well known popularity through the school and as Valentine could suppose, the same went for the group before her.
Haruhi rolled his eyes. "Yeah but Kyouya- senpai will be upset if we're late." He replied. Turning to Valentina, he gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Valentina- senpai but we have to get to our club before we're late. It was nice meeting you though and we'll see you tomorrow!"
Valentina nodded. "It's fine. I wouldn't want to hold you three up. It was a pleasure."
Beginning to pick up her own bag, she waved at the trio as they left. "Oh and Valentina- san, you should stop by the club! We still need your measurements!" One of the twins called back before they disappeared through the door.
The auburn haired girl chuckled despite herself. Hani had said something similarly along those lines.
The hallways of Ouran were crowded after school hours, yellow and blue mixing in as everyone seemed to have a destination. Girls in groups giggled and all seemed to be going towards a certain direction. The boys around her glanced at her appreciatively and even the girls looked at her, altogether curiously. Whispers as she passed jumped off the walls, out of random people she had never seen and her name slipped out their mouths.
Holding her bag and books close, Valentina attempted to ignore the pointed stares and whispers, sure that the story would already be getting out by now, like a twisted game of telephone. She didn't even know any of them, and as she made her way down the hallway, her name seemed to be the buzz among them. Her hands became clenched as she kept her eyes ahead.
The day had gone well for her and the idea was comforting that her sudden transfer would not be too hard. Hani and Mori she could see becoming closer with, perhaps even friends one day, and the younger trio before seemed well in their intentions, if not slightly weird. Her classes were average enough and she grasped all of them easily so far.
Lunch out of the whole day had been the most interesting. Hani was a talkative lunch partner while Mori gave his input in one word or simply a grunt, acting almost like the parent to the smaller boy. She enjoyed the fact about the taller male, finding herself more and more curious of what went between his short answers and intense gaze.
The duo had talked of their friends, who were all younger than them and due to the fact had different lunch periods, mentioning they should introduce her to them soon. Looking back at it, Valentina supposed the twins and the feminine boy were apart of the people they had mentioned. It would explain why they were all so well known and the reason why girls flooded around them in hordes, blushing and swooning at Hani's cuteness and Mori's silent yet penetrating gaze.
She had been rather surprised at first, realizing the attention was almost annoying as they all but pointedly ignored Valentina. It was rather irksome to the foreign girl, and she wondered how they dealt with all the attention the apparent "host club" they were part of brought. By the end of the day, she had managed to learn quite a lot of them, such as the fact that the duo were cousins by marriage. It helped explain their close relationship and the understanding between the talkative midget and silent giant.
She could find herself becoming more curious of the two of them.
The two had parted from her when dropping her off at her first class after lunch, mentioning she should stop by their club once again to which she had promised "one day". Now even the other members of the club had invited her, recalling the twin's last remark, finding herself more interested in the group of males.
Continuing with her search, Valentina walked through the halls on a task to find the library. Despite it being her first day, the teachers had not been merciful on the amount of work she had been given due to the fact that she missed information and was behind. She planned on going to the library right away to catch up to the best of her abilities as she made her way through the school.
Almost faintly reminded of earlier that morning, the mixed girl wandered aimlessly in search of one of the four libraries. She had never been good at directions, walking up richly rugged stairs to the fourth floor of the grand architect of the school where she passed by chandeliers and dozens of doors. A few people mingled here and there though she pointedly ignored the gazes as she walked by, irked slightly at the rudeness and blunt of their gazes.
Valentina huffed, making her way down a random hallway. She felt like earlier that day when she had first came, lost and confused as she took in the expensive art on the walls around her. The hallway she was in particular was rich in decor with tiled flooring and arched halls, a large window allowing a view of the outside campus.
She paused slightly and looked outside to see if she could figure out where she was. It looked like the side of the school if anything, she supposed- not that it helped. Valentina sighed, collapsing on the large window sill and sitting down as she glanced at a pair of large doors further down the hallway in the center. Sitting up, Valentina stood and began walking to them.
Up close the doors were French as many of the others were, having heard from Hani that the headmaster had a love for the culture and used it as example for much of the structure for the school. It towered over her as she glanced up, the sign for the room inside reading Music Room #3. There were distinctly muffled voices coming from within which Valentina took as a good sign. She could ask for directions and be on her way in less than a few minutes.
Turning the golden knob, Valentina began to push the door on the right open ever so slightly, attempting to take a peek in. The room itself was large, larger than any of the classrooms and far more emptier than she expected for a music room. Dozens of tables and sofas littered the room in an organized fashion, large windows giving the room a natural light combined with the chandelier's own glow.
She heard them first before she saw them. To her right was a small group of people, seven in total either standing or sitting around a large table. One of the twin's voices, the more sarcastic one, was mentioning someone by the name of "Kasanoda" and in the background was the constant noise of someone typing on a keyboard. Another voice, barely distinguishable from the other despite being more gentler, agreed with his brother.
"I say we just keep an eye on him." It was one of the twins.
Another voice sounded, sounding slightly dry and almost agitated. "Your idea of keeping an eye on him would be to tie him up and threaten him with a bat, Hikaru."
Valentina stayed still, keeping the door ever so slightly open just to peek in. The group had yet to notice her yet and Valentina felt that she was walking in on a conversation she shouldn't hear. Moving her arm as to close it as gently possible, she found herself pausing at the next words.
"I don't think Nova-kun will tell anyone Haru-chan's secret. Right, Takashi?" Valentina recognized the voice instantly. It was Hani. "It's been a week since the last time we saw him when playing hide and seek with everyone else."
So this was the infamous Host Club of Ouran Academy
"He won't say anything." Valentina perked up at the sound of Mori's voice. It was the most she had ever heard him speak and she found she liked the deep rhythm of his voice.
"You may be right Mori-senpai but that does not hide the fact that Bossa nova-kun has feelings for my dear daughter!" Another voice said, loud and exuberant in it's tone. "As her father I won't allow it! What if he uses her secret as ransom to go out with her?
Valentina found she didn't have it in herself to leave. Her parents had taught her that it was rude to eavesdrop but she could not deny the amount of curiosity coursing through her body at the conversation. What secret could they be referring to?
"Senpai, stop that!" Haruhi said from somewhere inside, sounding upset. "Like I said, I don't care if others find out I'm a girl. And Kasanoda-kun would never do that!"
At the boys- no girls- words, Valentina's eyebrows rose. That meant Haruhi was truly a girl as she had guessed but she hadn't known it was a secret. As to why it would even be kept in the dark, Valentina did not know.
Leaning in to catch a better view of the meeting, Valentina froze. There was something vibrating near her hip, an annoying tone cutting through the air like a knife. In an instant Valentine knew it was her phone, fumbling to stop it quickly before her aunt decided to call her again. Valentina knew with a sinking feeling that she had been caught, hearing the noise of footsteps coming her way.
She could run. She was surely faster than anyone there because of her training back at Russia but Valentina knew that would be the improper way to handle the situation.
Frazzled, she turned when the doors suddenly swung open fully, seven pairs of eyes staring her down with a tall blond in the center raising a hand. His finger and thumb snapped together and in an instant the towering figure of Mori came forward.
"Get her Mori-senpai!"
Valentina froze.
A/N: Did I do a typical cliffhanger? Yes I did.
I had fun writing this chapter and I can't wait even more so for the next ones coming up. I'm excited for this story and I can't wait to get it really started and rolling.
I hope you guys liked it and favorite or review to give me feedback on anything.
Thank you guys again!
-Cass