Alex Conners: 5'0, Virgo. Positive traits of Virgos: brave, sincere, dynamic, freedom loving, spontaneous, adventurous, takes initiatives, inspiring, and child-like enthusiasm. Negative traits of Virgos: rushing into things, ego, demanding everything immediately, and reacting. Theme song? Probably So in Love with Two, by Mikaila. I don't own any anime or their characters. I only own Alex and I deeply apologize for all the Black Butler references.
March 15. 2:45 P.M.
Pain flared through her body, bones cracking at impact. Body slamming against metal and rolling, flying through air. Her body slammed onto solid concrete, glass scraping against her face. Warmth splattering against her and the excruciating pain of a bullet. Barrel of a gun, cold, and pressed against head-the man's finger on the trigger, pulling slowly-
Alex shot up straight in her seat alarm, a scream starting to rip its way through her throat, when a hand was placed on her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and terrified, not recognizing where she was.
"Alex? Alex, calm down-" She stood and stumbled out of her seat when she turned to look at the man who was speaking to her. She was freaking out, too panic to focus on the voice and figure out who was speaking. She saw a blur of pink as she tripped, falling backwards. She closed her eyes as a small scream flew out of her mouth, terrified.
Alex was reliving her death all over again.
She struggled, thrashing about as the person who caught her tried to hold her down-to stop her from moving. She heard them shouting and she briefly registered the voice as familiar and male. "Let me go!" She shrieked, trying to kick at the man, but with great difficulty due to the Arabian Princess attire she was wearing. "No! Stop it!"
"Alex!" She barely registered the tears streaming down her face-she just wanted out. She didn't want to die-twice. He was going to kill. Rape and kill her. Or kill her, then rape her. Most likely had a pocket knife of some sort, maybe even a gun. "Alex, calm down!"
"I didn't do anything-I don't deserve to die-!" She found herself picked up and carried, then dropped onto a cushion-most likely a couch. She aimed a punch at the man, eyes squeezed shut. She didn't want to look at the face of her killer, she didn't want him to be the last thing she saw as she died. "No! No, no, no, no, no-!"
"Alex!" The voice shouted, clearly aggravated. Alex felt hands pin her arms and legs down, preventing her from injuring anybody. Two, her mind barely registered. There are two people. "Alexandra Connors, look at me!"
"No!" She shouted and felt a hand release her right wrist, moving onto her face and attempting to open her eyes. Hands released her feet and Alex reached up with her right hand, desperate to survive-
The sound of skin hitting against skin echoed in the room and Alex inhaled sharply, opening her eyes when she felt something hard scrape against her knuckles. She swallowed and looked up with alarm and horror when she saw who she had slapped. Her face paled and her hands quickly flew up over to her mouth, kicking Mori's hands away from her as she scuffled backwards and sunk as far back into the couch that she could, knees pulled to her chest.
"I-I-I-Kyo-I-" The tears welled up in her already red eyes faster than one could blink, quickly streaming down her face. Her mouth was dry and her throat was sore, the fear that was residing in her now sunk down in regret, her heart dropping into her stomach. "I-I didn't mean-oh, my god..." What did I just do!?
Kyoya's left cheek was red, his head tilted at an angel from where he was slapped. His glasses flew off of his face at the contact and landed on the ground-not broken, but slightly scratched. His eyes were wide in shock and surprise. Of all people, he didn't expect Alex to be the one to slap him. She was speechless-everyone was speechless. The entire Host Club was.
"Oh, my-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," She flinched, shoulders shaking as she started to curl up in a ball, unable to look at Kyoya. What did she just do? She slapped Kyoya. She slapped Kyoya. She slapped Kyoya. Her best friend. The guy she liked. She liked him, her best friend, and she slapped him. Knocked the glasses right off his face. "I'm sorry," She apologized repeatedly, fearing his reaction, knowing that no matter what she said, he most likely would not forgive her.
Who on earth would forgive someone for slapping them-nonetheless, her?
Kyoya, ignoring her tears and apologies, bent down and picked up his glasses. He observed them for damage and determined it minor, before cleaning them off and putting them back on. He sighed and pushed up his glasses, before turning his gaze back onto the sobbing Alex. Now that he got a good look at her, he could see the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep and the pale-than-usual skin tone. Judging by her reaction, she was suffering from nightmares. He moved his jaw around a bit, ignoring the stinging pain from where he was slapped.
For being a slightly weak girl, she could pack on hell of a slap.
She continued to mumble apologies and shake head head, sobbing. The girl seemed unable to stop, clearly traumatized by her actions. Kyoya sighed, almost debating how profitable the income might be and/or how troublesome it would be, before kneeling down in front of the couch and placing his hands on the girl's shoulders, causing her head to snap up and lock eyes with him, her's red and teary. She swallowed, not sure how she was to respond to the look her was giving her.
He had no idea what the nightmare was about that caused her to reach like that, or why she had broke down so suddenly when she realized it was him she had slapped-he just knew that he didn't like that look on her face. He stared at her intensely for a moment before saying, "Alex. Calm down."
She inhaled sharply as she stared at him, eyes widening. Kyoya barely had time to blink before his midsection was tackled, Alex's face burying into his stomach with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Alex was a hugger, and that was exactly what she needed right now. Inaudible apologies escaped her lips as she cried, unable to calm down.
...About ten minutes after her little fit, Kyoya passed her off to Haruhi-whose face reflected worry.
They were sitting on the couch, far away from the rest of the Hosts who kept glancing at them.
Five minutes until opening.
"Alex, what was that?" Haruhi questioned worriedly, looking down at the girl who had curled up in a ball and was resting her head on Haruhi's lap. "Why were you freaking out like that?"
"Nothing," Alex replied distractedly, obviously tired. She's been having the nightmares ever since she started to except the Hitachiin estate as "home", that she would most likely never leave this dimension. She yawned, eyes drooping slightly, "I just...just had a bad dream, that's all. Nothing I can't handle."
"Alex, you're about to drop." The short haired brunette stressed, looking at her friend in concern. "You're paler than usual and you have bags under your eyes-have you been getting enough sleep?"
"Yeah," Alex replied, not really paying attention. She wanted to sleep, but was afraid. She was afraid of the ghosts from her death coming back to haunt her in her sleep. She always woke up in the middle of the night, multiple times, sweating and her heart pounding fast. She was always too frightened to go back to sleep. She just turned on her laptop and stayed up the rest of the night. She mumbled to Haruhi, barely raising her voice as she tried to fight off the sleepiness, "Plenty... Four...no, five-hours?" She yawned and her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, "It usually isn't this bad..." She mumbled to herself, not really paying attention to Haruhi, so she barely noticed the girl's eyes widen as she continued to talk to herself, "They weren't as bad last week..."
Haruhi questioned softly, trying to figure out what was wrong with her friend, "What isn't as bad?"
"The nightmares..." Haruhi looked at her questionably. Alex seemed to realize what she said and shook her head, "Nothing. I'm fine."
"Alex-" Haruhi was cut off by Tamaki.
"Positions! It's opening time!"
They ran and greeted as the doors opened, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club."
They were more than surprised to see an elementary boy scream and fall to his butt on the ground, looking at them like they were aliens.
"Oh," Hikaru commented, "It's just a kid."
Kaoru chuckled at his brother, "Not only that, it's just a boy."
Alex felt her eyebrow twitch slightly, "You realize that it's a "he" and not an object?" The twins started blankly at her, causing her to sweatdrop. She fought back a yawn. Tamaki tried to be friendly and asked with a smile, outstretching a hand towards the kid,
"What's wrong, little boy?"
SKIPPPING OUT OF PURE AND UNCONTROLLABLE ANGER!
"So, how's it goin', Boss?" Hikaru asked Tamaki as he Kaoru tried to hold back their laughter, arms wrapped around each other, "That's an adorable little apprentice you got there." They watched as Tamaki fumed, and Hikaru blinked and turned his head to look at his brother when Kaoru pulled away.
"Hikaru..." Kaoru began, looking hurt. His eyes were sad and diverted from his brother, his thumb against his chin, pressing up against his bottom lip, "Do you wish you had a little brother like Shiro?
"Kaoru," Hikaru began and quickly embraced his brother, kissing his forehead before burying his face into his hair and inhaling deeply. He then pulled back and resting his chin on Kaoru's head, but not before placing another soft kiss against his brother's temple, "Don't be ridiculous. I could search the whole world and never find a better brother than you, Kaoru."
"Hikaru..." Alex felt a small grin form at the scene, just as two of their guests squealed.
The second one, the light haired brunette, exclaimed, "This is the best brotherly love in the world!" Shiro was clearly repulsed by them when he stepped back, gripping onto the table ledge so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"They're homos! And they're brothers! They have the exact same face! That makes this insectuous!" Tamaki appeared behind Shiro with his arms crossed, stern.
"I think what you mean to say was incestuous." Shiro looked at him in disgust and alarm and barely had time to come up with a response before Mitskuni jumped out of nowhere and latched onto Shiro's back, his arms around his neck and legs around his waist.
"Hey, Shiro-Chan! You wanna have a piece of cake with me!? We have three kinds; chocolate, strawberry, and lime." Mitskuni let out a small gasp when Shiro pushed him off.
"Hey, back off!" He glared at the blonde, who now had tears in his eyes. "What grade are you in anyway; why are you wearing a high school uniform!?" Alex felt her eyebrow twitch, irritated at the boy. Alex loved kids, don't get her wrong, but when they made some like Mitskuni cry...
She was about to intervene when Mori beat her to it. His shadow loomed over Shiro and Mitskuni, causing the two of them to look up at the tall giant. Shiro let out a strangled cry at the sight of the giant with his hands on his hips.
"Something wrong, Mitskuni?"
"That's not fair!" Shiro shrieked, "A little kid like you isn't supposed to have a cool, bigger friend like him!" Mitskuni let out a cry as he jumped up onto Mori's arm, holding onto the tall man tightly. Mori said nothing, merely blinking and looked down at Mitskuni to see if he was alright.
"And what's wrong with having a cool, bigger friend like him?" Alex demanded, crossing her arms. Shiro looked at her, a little more than surprised and taken-aback by the scars on her face.
"What the heck happened to you? Did you get mauled by a cat or something?" Alex felt her eyebrow twitch at that and ignored the pang in her chest at the reminder of her scars.
"Nooo, it was a car crash, if you must know. And for you information, Mori and Honey are in the same class. They're both eighteen." She remembered Haruhi's words about how she never called Mitskuni that and how she should get more sleep. She got plenty of sleep! And, she also ate three slices of chocolate cake and a lolipop to keep her functioning, and to settle her stomach ache she took an ibuprofen.
Shiro looked at her alarmed, the back at the two cousins. He backed up, shocked, "What!?" He bumped straight into Haruhi, who was carrying a tea tray. Haruhi managed to prevent anything from breaking as she and Shiro both regained their balance.
Haruhi leaned over slightly to look at him. She asked with a gentle smile, "Are you alright? I know, it's kinda hard getting used to all the weirdos around here. It took me awhile to get adjusted to all the craziness, so don't freak out. I'm sure you'll get used to it."
Alex complained, "But Haruhi~! You're part of the group, so that means you're just as weird as the rest of us!" Haruhi stood up and looked at Alex with a grin.
"Not really. If anything, I'm the only normal person here." Alex faked hurt as she gained an offended look, a hand pressed against her chest. Haruhi seemed to notice Shiro staring at her and looked down at him, questioning curiously, "Something wrong?"
"Are you a crossdresser?" He asked blatantly. Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all froze, alarmed. Tamaki quickly ran over and clamped a hand over the boy's eyes,
"Okay, that's enough! I think Shiro should take care of the tea for us, don't you?"
"Wow, Haruhi," Kaoru commented with an awkward smile, "You're looking extra manly today!"
Hikaru chuckled at his brother's words, the same nervous look on his face, "Do as the boss says and let Shiro take care of that tea set; it's part of his training! You're too macho for tea sets!"
The twins and Tamaki laughed nervously, while Alex face-palmed at their obvious behavior. Haruhi sighed as she gave them all dry looks. Shiro removed Tamaki's hand from his face, annoyed. After a few moments, Haruhi handed the tea set to Shiro, not letting go until the boy had a firm grip on it.
"Now, be careful with it-it's pretty heavy." Haruhi let go and Shiro let out a grunt and dropped it just as quick as he was handed it. Alex jumped, letting a small shriek at the sound of glasses breaking, and moved backwards out of fear of getting cut.
"It's not my fault I dropped it," Shiro stated, acting like a spoiled brat. He looked up at Haruhi, "It's your fault 'cause you're the one who made me take it in the first place." Alex's eyebrow twitched and she quickly reacted, doing what she did to her baby cousins whenever they started to act like brats and fight-she smacked him upside the head.
There was a silence, which was only broken by Shiro glaring at Alex and snapping as he rubbed the spot Alex smacked on his head, "What the heck was that for!?"
"For acting like a spoiled little brat!" She snapped, giving him a stern look. Shiro was clearly taken aback, "Don't go blaming other people for something you did! Haruhi didn't drop it, you dropped it because you didn't even put any effort into holding the damn thing up!" Okay, Alex didn't usually curse around children, but she was tired and when she was tired she was rude. And when she's rude she tends to curse and snap at people, "So stop acting like a spoiled little brat and blaming other people when it was clearly your fault. You should've at least attempted to hold it up. My eight-year-old cousin Mikeala could hold that thing up if she wanted, and she's eight! You're what; ten?"
"Eleven!" Shiro snapped, ticked off at getting lectured, "I don't have to take anything from you, Scarface! What's with those scars, anyway? I'm fairly certain a car crash would look much worse." Alex paused, alarmed at the nickname.
Scarface? He called me...Scarface? She was no warrior cat, but even she understood how much Brightheart/Scarface must have when Bluestar gave her that name. Alex was quickly enveloped in a depressed aura, far away from Shiro. She frowned, looking down at her feet as she debated how true that nickname was. I-I really am a Scarface... Alex normally didn't let how much insult get to her show on her face, but that one hit hard. She only agreed to wear the hairclips and not cover up her scars, is because Hikaru and Kaoru said she looked fine and that the scars gave her character. Not mention she just didn't like a ton of makeup on her face.
She felt an arm on her left shoulder and a hand on the back of her head and looked up to see Kaoru with a tick mark on his head. To her right stood Hikaru, who also looked irritated.
First Haruhi, now Alex-What next?
"Haruhi, that's another one hundred thousand yen," Kyoya told her, marking that down in his book. "And Shiro," The boy looked up at Kyoya and almost froze at the terrifying smile that was sent his way, "Please don't go insulting anymore of our Hosts, and please, do us all a favor and stop breaking what doesn't belong to you."
"You should just make your crossdresser and Scarface do all of your stupid chores! Besides, you can just clean up with this!" He quickly grabbed a light blue curtain off from a shelf and placed it on the broken glass and spilled tea, "It absorbs really well!" He exclaimed in slight surprise.
Kyoya's smile seemed to grow as a dark aura formed around him, "What are you doing with my new special tailor-made curtain?" Tamaki quickly got up in Shiro's face, screaming.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? WHO'S EVIL SERVANT ARE YOU!?"
Shiro glared at the blonde, peeved, "DON'T MAKE A CHILD HOLD SOMETHING HEAVY LIKE THAT! BE GRATEFUL I EVEN WIPED THE MESS UP!"
Alex mumbled sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "Oh, yeah, we're really grateful." Kyoya looked as if he were about to kill.
"The scars give her character, you little brat!" Hikaru and Kaoru snapped, glaring at Shiro. Apparently nobody liked Shiro...
"She looks like that Scottish actor, Tommy Flanagan!" Alex blinked, not understanding the reference. "She's hideous!" I knowthat... Instead of moping, she asked in confusion,
"Uh, who?" Kyoya explained, still smiling a shit-eating grin,
"He's a Scottish actor who died in 2001. He was known for having very distinctive scars on his face." Alex felt her heart sink into her stomach again.
Tamaki felt his eyebrows twitch, his fists shaking, "You won't get anywhere with that attitude...and I'm not going to let you disrespect both Haruhi and Alex! So," He stood and pointed at Shiro, "Put this brat in isolation!"
Hikaru and Kaoru quickly saluted, "Sir, yes, sir!" They quickly ran over to a cabinet and opened it, pulling on the long rope that was inside. Out of nowhere a cage fell down and collapsed around Shiro, separating him from everyone else in the room.
"What is this!?" Shiro demanded, grabbing onto the bars, "Why'd you put me in a cage all of a sudden?"
"Yeah," Haruhi agreed, sweatdropping, "and where'd it come from?"
Alex shrugged, shaking her head slowly, "I don't know, Haruhi...I don't know." Haruhi glanced at Alex and asked, worried for her own sanity,
"This is supposed to be a music room, right?"
"This is no way to treat your loyal apprentice," Shiro snapped as he grabbed onto the bars and jumped up, his feet pressing against the bars, "NOW LET ME OUT OF THIS CAGE!" Tamaki paused in his sipping of tea out of a cup. He was sitting down in a chair, not that far away from the cage, actually.
"Not until you learned you lesson. I made you my apprentice because I thought you were serious about becoming a host, but I guess I was wrong," He let out an overly dramatic sigh. Tamaki took another sip of his tea as Shiro ranted.
"I am serious! Totally serious!" Tamaki was unconvinced, merely drinking his tea calmly, "I want you to teach me how to make a woman happy!" Alex watched the kid fall to his knees, still clutching the bars. If Alex was being honest, she would say that she felt a little sorry for the kid. "I'm running out of time," His voice trembled slightly, "Please, won't you teach me? You're a Host because you like girls; you like bringing a smile to a girl's face...That's why you do it, right?" He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
Tamaki pulled the cup away from his mouth, looking at the boy with half-lidded eyes.
"Please, won't you teach me to be like you!?" He finally lifted his head, moving his face closer to the bars to get a better view of Tamaki, "You're a genius at it! You're...The King!"
"Yes, and Kyoya's the Queen," Alex added, earning a whack in the head by a book. Worth it~! She watched in surprise, though slight expectancy, as Tamaki's eyes widened at the names. Tamaki quickly stood with a smile, his arms crossed.
"Well, you may be a brat, but I admire your desire to become a Host. So, I'll teach you." Tamaki hugged himself, sparkles appearing around him as he said, "You know, Shiro, you and I are so much alike!"
Alex snorted loudly and clamped her hands over her mouth when Haruhi commented sympathetically,
"You poor kid." Shiro stood, eyes wide with happiness, as he clutched onto the bars.
"You'll help me become the kind of person that can make any woman happy!?"
"Of course." Tamaki replied with a smile, "Making every woman," He added then as an afterthought, "and man happy is the sole purpose of being a Host. If this is what you want, Shiro, then you'll have to figure out a way to work with the material you already have." He was only confusing the poor boy.
"What does that mean?" Shiro questioned, leaving Kyoya to explain everything.
"You see, here at the Ouran Host Club, our policy's to use our individual personality traits to meet the needs of our guests." Shiro had whirled around to stare at the mysterious glasses character, pressing his back up against the cage. "For example, there's Tamaki, who is the "Princely" type." Tamaki quickly whirled out two white roses and crossed his arms, holding the roses out to his sides. His eyes were closed and he had a pleasant smile on his face. "There's the "strong, silent" type," Mori pulled out a dark blue rose, back turned to everyone, "The "Boy-lolita" type," Mitskuni held up Usa-Chan, who he had hold onto a bright pink rose, "The "Little-Devil" type," Hikaru and Kaoru linked their arms together, Hikaru holding a blue rose while Kaoru held up an Orange, smirks on their faces, "The "Sarcastic, Childish" type," Alex fumbled to grab a green rose from her jacket and held up to her chest, giving the kid a peace sign with her left hand. She grinned, "and the "Cool" type." Kyoya finished, smirking as he held up a lavender rose. "It's all about variety." Alex ignored the fact that the way he said that caused her to look up at him with a small smile, excitement bubbling up in her stomach.
"And now our group is complete, with the addition of Haruhi," Kyoya continued as he crossed his arms with a smirk, catching Alex's look, "The "natural"."
Haruhi fumbled to catch the red rose that Tamaki threw at her, blinking in confusion as she pointed at herself, "The "Natural"?"
Kyoya nodded and continued, "It would seem that right now we have the perfect blend of characteristics, so its going to be difficult to find a new type for Shiro."
"If you go by his age," Hikaru began, observing Shiro, "He should be the "Boy-lolita" type."
"But Honey-Sempai's already got that covered," Kaoru finished, completely his brother's thoughts. Mitskuni looked up at them with teary eyes, scared.
"Is he gonna replace me?" Alex frowned and shook her head, reaching a hand up and ruffling the blonde's hair. He looked up at her with wide, tearful eyes.
"Nah, 'course not, Mitskuni. No one can replace someone as adorable as you. Besides, where would the Host Club be without our favorite cake-loving, Bunny-fan, blonde?" Mitskuni nodded, grabbing onto Alex's arm and giving her a hug. Alex will be honest, Mitskuni reminded her of her other cousin, Erin, who was ten. Erin was Mikeala's older brother, and younger brother of his sister, Ally. Eric was really childish and adorable, and got scared easily. He was also slightly selfish.
Alex then paused and gave the Host Club members a look, ignoring the surprised way they were looking at her, "Seriously, all you can come up with is "Boy-lolita"!? Haven't you heard of "Gothic-lolita" or "Punk-lolita" or "Sweet-lolita"?" All she received were blank looks. She sighed and placed a hand on Mitskuni's shoulder, whose arms were wrapped around her waist, "Oh, dear...I have a lot of work to do." Renge apparently decided not to make a guest star appearance, so that left Alex to do the work. She started to explain, or at least, attempt too, "Okay, there are many, many types of lolita. Mitskuni here, just happens to be the adorable, "Boy-lolita" one who craves sweets and stuffed animals and pink, pink, pink. There is also the "Goth-lolita" which includes frills, frills, frills, and," She attempted to imitate Nekozawa, "Utter darkness..." She cleared her throat, trying to get to the point, "Then there's the "Mischievous-Lolita".
Renge finally decided to appear on her stage, the room shaking as she came out of the ground, exclaiming, "Very good, very-well informed, Alexy!" Alex made a face at the name, but decided not to comment. "Alex is right, there are plenty of girls out there who have a thing for younger boys or boys with baby-faces," Many looks were shot towards Mitskuni and Alex, but they decided to ignore them. Renge, casting a look at Alex's round face, added, "Same thing goes with men and girls with baby-faces. These people would be considered "Shota-Fans". So Shota can be a fairly broad category so its important to know that the genre can be broken down into many smaller sub-categories. For example, "Shota-Fans" would favor a boy like Haninozuka-Sempai or a girl like Alex,"
"Since when was I a lolita!?" She demanded, utterly confused at how she was put into the "Shota" category, "I'm taller than Mitskuni! I'm 5'0!"
Renge sighed and almost rolled her eyes, "You're a younger girl with a baby face, that makes you look around twelve, albeit you are taller than most Lolitas, but with you're baby-face, you are most definitely a lolita. You are..."Cosplay" Lolita!"
"Still not a lolita," She mumbled to herself. Kyoya was jotting down everything Renge was saying in his little black book, getting as much information about the new "Type" that he could. "Cosplay" type, I'm not even a lolita..."
"This little boy is different," Renge said, focusing back onto Shiro. "If I had to pick a character for him...Yes!" She pointed at him, "He'd be the "Naughty-Boy" type without a doubt!"
"The "Naughty" type?" They watched as the cage was lifted off of him and stood on the sidelines as Renge put him through "training". Once they were done Tamaki clapped his hands, an awed smile on his face.
"That was amazing, Renge! I never knew you were such a good couch!" Alex stared at him strangely for that. That would be more like torment...
Renge burst out laughing and was cut off by Shiro.
"I've had enough of you people!" Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, "This is so stupid, none of this is ever gonna help me make her happy!"
"Who's "Her"?" Haruhi questioned to no one as she watched Shiro get up and run away.
"Wait, Shiro!' Tamaki called after the boy, outstretching a hand, "We haven't taught you how to apply the techniques you've learned yet!" Renge sighed, hands on her hips as she stood back onto her stage.
"I swear, younger boys are good-for-nothing." The room started to shake as her stage turned around in circles, moving back into the ground, "I went through all that trouble to couch him, and he quits." Once Renge vanished, Tamaki commented incredulously,
"I can't believe he ditched us just because he didn't like the lesson. What a selfish, little brat!"
"There aren't many people who'd enjoy that kind of lesson," Haruhi spoke, a hand on her hip. Tamaki turned around to look at her. "But never mind that, were you listening to what he said? He said he was gonna run out of time; what do you think he means by that?"
"He also said "I just want to make her happy"." Alex added in her ten cents, still debating on why she was considered a "Lolita".
"Alex is right. We think that, maybe, it's a girl."
March 16
"Alright men, it's time to initiate our mission," Haruhi, Alex, and Mitskuni looked around the dark room in confusion, everyone's eyes gleaming. Even Mori and Kyoya's eyes were glowing in the darkness of the room.
"Whattya mean?" Haruhi questioned, watching as Alex hid behind her. She was confused; why was Alex hiding?
"What mission?" Mitskuni asked curiously. Alex gripped Haruhi's shoulders tightly and demanded,
"What is it?" She didn't like the looks in their eyes.
"We're going to infiltrate the Elementary School," Tamaki explained and grinned evilly and eyed them, "You three are going in." They swallowed, sweat beaded down their faces and chills ran down their spine.
"But where are we going?" Mitskuni and Haruhi asked in complete unison, while Alex tried to sneak out of the room only to be caught by the twins.
"How did we let them talk us into this?" Haruhi questioned Alex and Mitskuni, hiding behind the wall. Haruhi wore a long wig with a straight fringe, the hair stopping at her lower back. Alex's hair was messy as ever, and they both wore the brown Ouran Middle School Uniforms. Mitskuni's hair remained the same and he wore the Elementary students green uniform.
"I feel naked," Alex stated bluntly, "Why couldn't I have worn the guys uniform? Or at least a pair of leggings?" All she had was a pair of socks that went up to her calf. She could handle dresses, but skirts were pushing-and she was forced into one. Alex let out a sigh, "I miss America..." The skirt stopped a mid-thigh on both her and Haruhi, the outfits apparently made to fit them.
"It'll be okay," Mitskuni whispered to them, "It was so easy to sneak in, and wearing this uniform, I really do look like I belong in Elementary school.
"Sneak in?" Alex questioned, eyeing the blonde questionably, "All the kids can see us!" It was true, and quite a few elementary schoolers were pointing at them and whispering.
"Yeah, that's true," Haruhi said, speaking to the both of them. "I can understand why they wanted you to wear the Elementary school uniform-I mean, we are sneaking into an Elementary School and you totally fit in, Sempai..."
"But what we don't get is why we have to dress up in the middle-school uniform." Alex found it kind of ironic. Since she was fifteen, back in her dimension she'd be going up into High School and out of Middle School, and here she was back in middle school again.
"Why even bother with disguises; we stick out like a sore thumb," Haruhi grumbled to herself. Alex blinked when she heard the sounds of doors opening and debated looking behind her. She did so and caught Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki staring at the three of them-more specifically, Haruhi. Mori and Kyoya were hiding in the background in the darkness, and she looked on in confusion when she swore that Kyoya was looking at her.
"There's a reason," She heard Tamaki say, just as Mitskuni grabbed both hers and Haruhi's arms, "a damn good reason."
"This way, Haru-Chan, Lexi-Chan!" Alex stumbled backwards, Mitskuni grabbing her arm while she was turned around, and heard Kyoya say,
"So in other words you just wanted to see her dressed up like that?" Before they were out of hearing. Alex ended up running backwards-very awkwardly, before managing to turn around and run properly. They arrived rather quickly to the classroom, Mitskuni exclaiming,
"This is it! Shiro-Chan's classroom!" He opened the doors and raised his voice excitedly, "When I was in Elementary School, this way my classroom, too!" He laughed as he ran into the room.
Haruhi and Alex walked into the room, Alex sitting down at a random desk lazily while Haruhi placed her hand on one, noting, "There's nobody here."
"Any idea where they went?" Alex asked and she and Haruhi both jumped at the sudden noise of Mitskuni playing a clarinet that he found on a desk. "Whoa! What the hell-!?" Haruhi quickly shushed her and Alex sank back in the almost-too-small seat. "I feel so short..."
"Don't just play that because it's there!" Haruhi scolded, trying to get Mitskuni to stop playing, "What if someone finds us!?" Mitskuni pouted, but did as told anyway and set it back where he found it.
The rest of the Host Club then walked in, Tamaki commenting loudly, "So the kid's classroom is empty, is it?"
"This sure takes me back." Hikaru and Kaoru spoke, hands in their pockets. Kaoru spoke in bemused wonder,
"I wonder if doodles are still on may desk?"
Kyoya replied, "Doubtful, the school changes the desks every year."
"Let's check out the cafeteria after this," Hikaru suggested, grinning. Kaoru said,
"I wanna see the old gym."
"Good idea, Kaoru!"
Haruhi turned to the male Host Club members annoyed, whisper/shouting angrily, "If you're just gonna barge in here like that, then why did we have to wear these stupid disguises!?"
"Don't worry about it," Hikaru told her, clearly laid-back.
Kaoru nodded, "There's no one here to catch us." As if to prove him wrong, the footsteps of a teacher echoed down the hall. Everyone ducked down, except for Alex who stumbled out of the seat and knelt down between Mori and Kyoya, pushing the seat back into the desk, "If the teacher finds us..."
"We'll have a hard time explaining why we snuck in," Hikaru finished. Alex glared at them and hissed,
"Shut up, already! Do you wanna get caught? Now calm your breathing and don't say a word!" Feeling like she was going to get caught, she attempted to duck lower, only to still feel paranoid.
"Keep your lips, zipped!" She made a zipping motion with her hand to her mouth, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki all copying her movements with red faces. Once the footsteps faded away, Haruhi got up from her spot on the floor and peered out the doorway. Alex observed the way her tense shoulders relaxed and figured that the teacher was gone, "Looks like he's gone." Everyone stood up and Haruhi ran back over, "But you guys, we came here to get the scoop on Shiro, so what do you think we should do now?" Alex realized that Kyoya and Mitskuni were gone and looked around, finding them looking at some pictures.
"Well, here's something interesting," Kyoya told them, just as Alex stood next to him.
"What'd you find?" Haruhi questioned. Kyoya said nothing, merely pointing at the picture that had Shiro and some girl playing piano together, Shiro actually smiling. "That's Shiro!" Haruhi exclaimed, causing Alex to mutter sarcastically,
"Brilliant deduction, Watson, care to listen to what Sherlock has to say next?" Haruhi eyed her friend worriedly, knowing how tired she must be.
"Alex, maybe you should head back to your house, you need your sleep-" Alex cut in, tired of this conversation that kept on repeating itself,
"I'm fine, Haruhi. I got plenty of sleep."
"Four hours isn't-"
"I'm fine. Okay?" Alex tried to change the subject and said with a wry smile, "Who knew Shiro could smile?" Haruhi frowned, her and some of the other members eyeing her worriedly, but agreed.
"He looks like he's enjoying himself. With that smile on his face, I had no idea he could look sweet."
"Yeah," Tamaki agreed, a distant look in his eyes.
...
"There he is!" Mitskuni declared, pointing at the boy who was siting on the windowsill, "There's Shiro-Chan!" They watched as the girl from the photo approached Shiro, saying something to him. The voices were hazy, but they were able to make out the girl's piano playing just fine. Alex felt a small smile spread across her face as she listened, this being one of her favorite songs.
A girl walked through the doors and into the hallway, causing Tamaki to pull out a white rose and hold it out to her as he got down on one knee, "Pardon me, mademoiselle," He apologized, before smiling at her, "I have never seen a rose more lovely than you, my dear. Here, this is for you." The girl, with a huge blush, took the rose from him and stared at it as though she was enchanted. He spoke, "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about that young lady playing the piano? Do you know her?"
The girl nodded, "That's Hina Kamishiro."
"Her name is Hina?" Tamaki inquired, causing the girl to nod with a small smile.
"That's right," The girl confirmed, then said with a warning look in her eyes, "But you better not fall in love with her."
Tamaki was curious, if not slightly amused, "Why?"
"Didn't you know?" The girl questioned in confusion, surprised that this beautiful man knew nothing, "Hina has to move away soon. Her dad just got a new job in Germany, so they have to move there at the end of the week."
Nobody noticed the door opening. They only noticed when Shiro demanded, "What do you think you're doing!? I want you idiots to leave, immediately!"
"No can do, "Young Master"." Alex mocked, quoting Sebastian. Tamaki quickly stood up, his bangs covering his eyes so no one could read his expression, and quickly picked Shiro up and slung him over his shoulder.
"Ah, that's Mori-Sempai's technique!" Hikaru exclaimed in surprise when he saw the way that he slung Shiro over his shoulder.
"Don't steal other people's techniques!" Kaoru added, scolding Tamaki. Mori nodded in agreement, seeing how he hasn't had the chance to use his technique recently.
"Put me down! What are you doing!?" Shiro stopped struggling when he caught sight of Hina staring at him worriedly in the doorway. A small blush spread across his cheeks as he locked eyes with her before screaming and thrashing again."Put me down! Just let me go! Where exactly are you taking me!?"
"It's time to go gentlemen, ladies."
"Put me down you stupid King!" He thrashed and nearly fell off of Tamaki's shoulder. Tamaki, pacing a hand on Shiro's back, exclaimed irritated,
"Don't do stupid stuff kid!"
"IDIOTIC KING!"
"SHUT UP OR I'LL THROW YOU DOWN!" Tamaki tried to calm himself, angered, "You're the one being an idiot!" He lectured as they walked back to the High School, "How do you make a girl happy"? Don't make me laugh. Even if you asked us so much, we wouldn't answer you."
Shiro looked furious and confused at the same time, "What-!?"
"Because you don't want to make girls in general happy, no, you only wanted to make her happy, right? Hina Kamishiro. We can't teach you how to make her happy-that's something only you can do. When you like someone, you have to gather up the courage to tell them how you feel! You didn't come to me to be a full-fledged Host, you came to be a full-fledged man."
Shiro stopped thrashing and yelling. He merely looked down and let Tamaki carry him into the club room, saying, "Forget it...I'm out of time. I just wanted to hear her play, before she left for good." He let out a small gasp when Tamaki set him down on the ground next to a grand piano.
"That piece you played," Tamaki questioned as he pulled out a chair and sat down, "That Mozart Sonata D-Major for two pianos, isn't it?" He opened the piano cover and smirked, stretching out his fingers and running them along the keys, "Easy."
"Since when was there a piano?" Haruhi questioned. Alex blinked and grinned,
"Since forever."
Kaoru spoke, "Well, this is a music room after all." Hikaru nodded in agreement, smirking.
"So why wouldn't it have a Grand piano?"
"It is a music room, after all." Kyoya told her, just as Alex sat down at the table with him, Mitskuni, and Mori.
"It is a music room." Mori said in monotone.
"Its always been there," Mitskuni explained, ready to bite into a piece of cake, "We've just had it covered up."
Tamaki looked up at Shiro with a gentle smile, able to play beautifully without even looking at the keys, and said, "From what it looked like to me, that girl, Hina, wanted nothing more than to play the piano with you. You will spend your morning, lunch, recesses, and afternoon here with me in piano lessons.
March 23
"Welcome, Princess," The Host Club greeted as Hina opened the door and was gently pelted with rose petals. Alex, being the only girl, had to wear a white dress while everyone else wore white tuxedos. "We've been waiting."
Tamaki bowed to Hina, saying with a hand against his chest and a smile on his face, "I present to you,Shiro Takaoji's...," He slowly moved out of the way and extended an arm towards the grand piano that Shiro was sitting out, "piano recital." There was an extra one, just for Hina. Tamaki quickly walked towards the extra piano and pulled out the chair like a gentleman, extending a hand to the piano and saying with a smile, "If you'd please, Princess."
There was a small silence before Hina smiled at Shiro, Shiro actually smiling back. He said, "Let's play together, Hina."
She smiled at him, clearly happy, "Okay!"
Alex couldn't help but grin as she watched the show, and her grin only grew wider when she saw Tamaki and Haruhi smile at each other.
"We did a good thing," The blonde told Haruhi. She nodded, smiling softly.
"He loves with all his heart...So I guess, that's one more way that Shiro takes after you, huh, Sempai?" He looked down at her with a smile, enjoying the small look of surprise on Haruhi's face, but enjoying the smile that came after even more as he said,
"Why, yes, I'd say so."
Alex quickly poked Kyoya in the arm, causing him to look down at her with a raised eyebrow. She told him with a grin, ignoring the small bubbly feeling in her stomach and the fact that her face heated up slightly when he looked at her, "I think blondie's been holding out on us, huh? You should try and get him to play piano for the guests, I'm sure the girls will love that."
Kyoya smirked as he pushed up his glasses, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were complimenting Tamaki."
"Nope!" She punched him lightly in the shoulder, "That's Haruhi's job. However, when it comes to you, well, who else is gonna compliment you on scaring the crap out of people?"
He looked at her with slightly wide eyes for a moment before smirking, not saying anything as he turned his head back to stare at the kids playing the piano.
April 2
"So you're exchanging emails with Hina everyday now that she's in Germany?" Haruhi questioned curiously, slightly surprised. Shiro smirked,
"Yeah, more or less. I like her, but she can get pretty jealous for an Elementary school girl," He told Haruhi and Alex, surrounded by all of Tamaki's "Former" guests. He was officially a side-Host, seeing how he was still in Elementary. Shiro then addressed the girls, saying with a smirk, "She'd be upset if she knew I was with all you ladies, so let's keep this our little secret."
Alex spoke to Haruhi, slightly worried, "I don't know if I should be worried over the fact that he'll either be a heartbreaker or just an out-right playboy in the future." Haruhi sweatdropped at Alex and then noticed something.
"Hey, you look better today." Alex blinked at Haruhi in surprise, then realized what she meant. Alex was actually able to sleep without any nightmares last night, and it took more than just the twins jumping on her bed to wake her up. They literally splashed her face with icy cold water.
"Um, yeah, I was able to get some sleep last night."
"What about the last two, three weeks?" Alex lied easily,
"Yeah, plenty."
Haruhi didn't believe her and turned and walked away, clearly planning on talking to the twins. Alex sweatdropped, Not my fault I can't sleep-blame Akari and that Angel dude she kept on ranting about. Speaking of that, why can't I contact her? That was one thing that bugged Alex-Akari can contact her, but Alex can't contact Akari. And Alex had been trying, believe me, she was trying.
That's what she did when she couldn't fall asleep. She sit cross-legged and attempt to contact Akari, via mental link. So far, not working. Alex snapped out of her thoughts when Tamaki started to rage at the fact that Shiro had stolen all of his guests.
"You brat...what are you doing...those are my guests!" He snapped, flames appearing behind him. Shiro smirked at him.
"Looks like they've found someone better; it's so easy to steal your customers. I think there's a new Host King in town."
Hikaru and Kaoru quickly grabbed Tamaki's waist and shoulders, attempting to hold him down.
"I thought he'd make it through without exploding this time!" Kaoru exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to pin down Tamaki.
"We should've known he was going to blow up sooner or later!" Hikaru cried out, Tamaki struggling against them.
Haruhi said dryly, "Shiro really does have a lot in common with Tamaki-Sempai..." She looked at Alex for confirmation, "You getting the feeling that Tamaki-Sempai was a spoiled brat when he was a kid, too?"
Alex grinned cheekily when Tamaki forced his gaze onto them, "Oh, yes. Very."
"I was not a spoiled brat! I was nothing like him when I was a kid! I was a sweet, innocent, precocious child! You hear me~!?" After finally managed to calm him down, the twins sighed.
"This is beginning to get exhausting..." The twins then paused, remembering something.
... Later, at the Hitachiin Estate, at night...
Alex was currently on her laptop, refusing to go to sleep, when Hikaru and Kaoru barged into her room. She looked up in alarm, seeing them in nothing but their pajama bottoms, "What the hell are you two-hey, get off! No, not my laptop!" She shrieked when Hikaru picked her up and slung her over his shoulder while Kaoru unplugged her laptop and closed it. "Hey, where are you guys-No, get off!" She pounded her fists on Hikaru's back, "Let go of me! I'm not a ragdoll!" She grew more than alarmed when Hikaru and Kaoru carried her out into the hall and and after a few moments, opened the door to their room.
Alex's eyes widened frantically, all the worst possible scenarios entering her mind. Her thrashing started to get worse and Hikaru winced as he nearly avoided a kick to the face.
"Stop-thrashing!" He shouted and finally managed to throw her onto the bed, which was covered by Hikaru and Kaoru's blue and orange blankets. "There! Jeez, makes me wonder what you're reaction would be if Kyoya-Sempai did that?" Alex's face burned at the thought and growled through gritted teeth,
"Don't bring him into this! And what the hell were you guys doing!?"
"Haruhi told us that you weren't getting enough sleep," Hikaru began with a frown. Alex tensed and Kaoru noticed, continuing,
"And we noticed it also, so, as a solution, we're making you sleep with us to make sure you do sleep."
"No! No, no, no, no, no, no-" Hikaru realized why she was protesting so much and smirked.
"Do you want to sleep with us?"
"No! I wanna sleep in my own bed!"
"Then we'll sleep with you."
"No."
"Yes."
"You will not-!" She didn't have much of a choice as the twins were already climbing into the bed, wrapping their arms around her to make sure she couldn't escape. She wriggled a few times and growled, "I hate you both!"
"Hate you too."
"Night."
"Night."
"...I will murder you both painfully in my sleep." Alex sighed as the lights turned off, "You won't let me escape, will you?"
"Nope."
"...G'night." Jerks...
...
"Al-Al-E-Lex-Ale-Ex-Al-Ex," The voice was full of static and hard to make out, and Alex barely recognized it as her own. A person, Alex only able to see the outlines of their face and body, formed in the pitch darkness. "Ho-ol-hol-ld-hold o-n-on." The scene flashed and Alex blacked, before waking up in a completely white room with no color whatsoever. She found herself lying on a bed with a pair of light brown eyes staring down at her. Alex blinked, blinked again, then again, and screamed.
Akari bolt straight up, standing while clutching her left arm. There was a nice, big bandage wrapping around from her shoulder to just below her elbow with blood stains. Her arm seemed to be completely useless-fitting, considering that's what Alex's arm was for the most part. Alex scuffled backwards until she had her back pressed firm against the cold white wall, ignoring the fear and horror that passed through her body at the images that went through her mind the moment her back touched the wall.
Is that-Is that how her parents were murdered? Alex was horrified. Her mem-Akari's memory of her and her parents murder was fuzzy in her mind, as it was not really her memory, but Akari's. The man was vicious. With the crazed look in his eyes, the blood splattered against his face and clothes, the smell of oil grease staining his hands and dagger... Alex swallowed and shook her, trying to push the memories that were Akari's out of her mind and focus on the girl herself.
Akari had cut her bangs, so they now hung above her eyebrows sloppily and she also wore a pair of black, thin-rimmed glasses. Around her was one of those light blue dresses that tied around the back with the white polkadots. Her feet were bare and dirty, as were her hands-they were calloused, as if working on a wood project.
"Al-Alex?" Akari's voice was soft and apologetic, her eyes sad and pained, "I-I need to talk to you. Please don't be angry with me." Alex was deeply confused.
"What-How are you able to speak properly, you were all statc-y a few moments ago-" She paused, before rage filled through her as tears welled up in her eyes as she glared at the shy brunette, "What the hell, Akari!? I've been trying to contact you for months! Months! Those days when I couldn't sleep-why the hell didn't you reply!?"
"I-I couldn't. It-it doesn't work like that, Alex." Akari spoke, flinching at the tone of voice, "It was the Angel's idea. Only I can communicate with you, you can't communicate with me-well, I can contact you. You can't contact me. That make sense?" She didn't seem to wait for an answer as she continued, "Anyway, I can-I can only contact you to inform you on something or in case I needed to do some important. Alex...I know I took your life away from you, and I know you hate me for it, so I wanted to try and pay you back as best as I could for giving me back my life."
Alex quickly put the pieces together, her gaze flickering over to Akari's bandaged left arm and then her own. She then looked at Akari's teary, red eyes and frowned deeply, panic flowing through her. She swallowed, voice raising in pitch slightly, "Akari...what did you do?"
The girl smiled apologetically at her and said, "You know that term, an eye-for-an-eye, or was it a saying?" Akari paused, confusing her self before shaking her head and giving a small, shaky smile at Alex. Her grip on her bloody right arm tightened and she swallowed, clearly in pain. "I...Well, Angel told me that I could give you back something that you would have never gained if I didn't take your life for my own, and that was if I got rid of something of mine that you already lost so you coudl get it back, unless we both have lost the same thing at the same time. Please don't be angry at me for doing this for you. I'm only trying to pay you back. I'm not entirely selfish."
Alex's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, completely and fully alarm. She could barely speak, her mouth forming the words but her voice refusing to come out. After a few moments, pain struck her arm and she cried out in pain, her head banging against the wall behind her and sending images flashing through her head.
Twisted grin and greasy hands. Painful feeling of blade slicing through skin and meat. Anguished cried of those around her. Blood. Blood. Blood was everywhere. Covered the walls and covered the floor, covered his hands and his twisted, horrific face. Rotten teeth and gleaming brown eyes- Alex jumped, barely snapped out of it as she fell off the bed and onto her left side, crying out in protest. Her arm hurt. Bad. It felt as though someone was sticking needles into her arm and yanking on them, causing her to bleed.
"A-Akari," Alex gasped, rolling onto her back and flinching in pain, a silent scream ripping out of her throat, "What-What did you do!?" She shouted before letting out a full-fledged scream. She could hear Akari's footsteps and barely registered the doppleganger lift her head and rest it on her lap, a bloody and calloused hand resting against the pained girl's cheek. Alex let out another scream, her arm appearing to have a spasm as the muscle and nerves moved back into the right places, forming and fusing together to go back to the way they were before the accident. She let out another piercing scream and Akari flinched, arms twitching as her nerves tried to make her cover her eyes.
Akari however looked down at Alex with a soft, sad smile, "I'm sorry..." Tears leaked from her eyes and trailed down her face, before splashing onto Alex's cheeks, fusing with her own tears. Alex was screaming so hard now, that her voice wouldn't even come out. "I'm so sorry, I'm trying to make this better, I promise. With full use of your left arm, you'll be able to live normally for the most part. You'll still have your scars, the Angel's powers won't rid you of them, but it will heal all the torn muscle and nerves and put them back in the right places. Okay? You won't have to hate on yourself anymore and you'll be able to live long." A small, bitter smile formed on Akari's childish features, "Maybe one day, I'll be able to sacrifice my life to bring back yours. Just like you did for me, right?"
Alex's back arched and her arm shot out, almost clocking Akari in the face as she let out another silent scream.
Akari calmly brushed a tear off of Alex's cheek with her thumb, smiling softly as she leaned down and kissed the girl's forehead. Akari closed her eyes as she watched Alex start to fade, the dream coming to an end and Alex's arm healing the rest of the way, "Wake up now, Alex-Chan. Those twins are getting worried about you. And keep in mind," Akari's voice started to fade, but it seemed like a whisper in Alex's ear, "there's no need to be afraid. You're home now, you're safe, and you have a new family that love you. I love you, too, Alex-Chan. You have given me so much, and at a great cost...Thank you...Stay brave for me?"
Alex woke up to see two pairs of caramel eyes staring worriedly at her, clearly alarmed and frightened. Alex shot up and quickly wrapped her arms around Hikaru, as he was the closest twin, and buried her face into his shoulder as she cried.
Note, I will MOST LIKELY be REWRITING the last chapter. It disappointed me. Ten again, the rewrite might disappoint me even more. Who knows? I tried to make this chapter betterthan all my other crappy ones I wrote. XD Sorry for the, um, graphicness and horror of some of these chapters.