Just Be Friends
Chapter 3: Visiting the Host Club
"(Your first name)-chan, is it okay if you visit Music Room #3 at the end of school?"
"Anyways, see you later, (Your first name)-chan~" says Hikaru.
"If you don't know where the room is, we'd gladly accompany you there~" says Kaoru. You hesitantly nodded and they were off, waving you a hand of farewell.
As much as you wanted to reject their offer, you didn't want to be rude so you accepted their invite. Throughout the whole day, you were debating whether you should go or not; but in the end, you can't just runaway because the twins invited you nicely. Time was ticking a lot and as it flies, you didn't realize that it was the end of your first day.
You gathered your things and headed right at the door when you were suddenly blocked by the auburn haired twins. They seemed to look really excited that you accepted their invite to that "room".
"So, (Your first name)-chan, you don't know where Music Room #3 is right?" says Hikaru, with a slight smirk on his face.
"Yes. I'll just ask some people for some directions but I have to visit my brothers first."
"Brothers? They study here in Ouran?" asks Kaoru.
"Mhm. I promise I'm going to that room, okay?"
"You don't want us to come with you? We can escort you and we'll go straight to the Music Room." Kaoru insisted.
"It's fine. You two can go ahead. I still have to check on them that's all." You smiled at them and headed for the door, "Anyways, see you two later."
As you left, the twins gave each other a mischievous smile and together said,
"Let's have some fun, (Your first name)-chan~"
~At the hallways~
You've been passing multiple hallways for the past 10 minutes now; you got to admit, Ouran sure is one huge school, that you have no idea where the hell you are passing by. As if you were in some labyrinth that you can never ever escape! It took you a lot of time to realize that you have been passing by numerous hallways, which were all quite the same, that you've been telling yourself how stupid you are from not noticing.
You decided to go and ask some students where the Middle School building is; at first, you were too shy to talk to anyone, but it seems that even though this is a school full of rich students, you came to conclude that not all are spoiled and bratty people, but there are some who are kind and very helpful.
As you finally found the Middle School building, you tried your best not to get lost again and just make sure that you don't look like a helpless bunny. You passed by some classrooms and you saw children of the same age as your brothers, chatting, playing, and having a great time with each other. Seeing this made you smile; having the thought of getting friends during first day was one of the best experiences you received when you got out at home.
Those happy thoughts were now conquering your mind until you remembered something that worried you earlier: how your brothers would not gain any friends at all. Fear and worry started to control your thoughts that you didn't realized that you were running, desperately looking for them.
'This is bad… Len and Ren would probably think they don't belong to this school… But they shouldn't be discouraged; I encouraged them not to care about what others think of them and to always keep a smile at all times! I'm sure they didn't stop… right?'
Negative thoughts were just conquering your mind so quickly that you didn't realize the sound of children's laughter at the building's garden. You looked up to see a bunch of kids playing a game of tag; they were all spreading away from each other and some were just practically running away from who was it. At that point, you eyed those kids running away: it was your brothers!
They were both happy, laughing, and… having fun with their friends… 'Sigh… I worried myself over nothing… I'm such a caring big sister… haha…' was what you thought. From the moment your brothers were born, you were like a happy kid jumping over the sight of delicious candy. They were like your first friends, best friends to be exact. You could say that the Hitachiin twins "were" your "first friends", but they just pushed you away like you're nothing.
As you were growing up, you promised that you'd treasure your brothers. They are the reason what brought you to be happy all the time from all your loneliness back in the past. It might sound crazy, but it isn't; you love them so tenderly, that your parents have said that you were a good example to your twin brothers. These thoughts made you shed some tears: you got to admit, even though you tried your best not to look bad in-front of others, but it all changed when you discovered you have the confidence to face anything that can possibly hurt you in the present or even the future.
You didn't notice that your brothers stopped in their tracks, and noticed you covering your face.
"Onee-chan? Is something wrong?" the twins asked in concern. You wiped off some tears and smiled assuring them that everything was alright.
"It's nothing you two. Onee-chan is completely fine. I'm just happy that you two made some friends."
"We followed your advice, Onee-chan! We smiled as much as possible and everyone seemed to like us." answers Len.
"Also, everyone had such a hard time depicting who's who! Our friends were just so happy to meet us~" says Ren.
You and your brothers started talking about your experiences for just this one day. It took a couple minutes before you realized it was somewhat getting late. And then it hit you… you are suppose to visit Music Room #3!
"Oh uhm… Len, Ren, can you two go ahead and head home? I promised some friends that I'll meet them in this room you see… Just tell Gregory to pick me up in an hour."
"Eh? Onee-chan is already hanging out with her friends?" asked Len.
"Don't you want to talk about what happened during our first day of school?" continues Ren.
"Well, yes I want to… But they insisted for me to go there. Just tell Mom and Dad that I'll be a little late."
"Okay, Onee-chan! Be sure to come back safely~" they both said, and there on, you three parted your ways; your brothers going to the front gate and you heading for Music Room #3, if you can even find it.
'Okay… I should have at least asked them where that is so that I wouldn't ask someone else.'
You were now in the High School building and now passing through endless hallways; yes, you are lost and there is not a single person present in each hallway you had passed by. You've been going around in circles and you have no idea how to get to that stupid room when every single floor looks exactly the same.
'Ughh… This is just the worst! I just hope there's somebody who coul-' the moment you were thinking about these things, you didn't realize that you bumped onto someone… again!
'What is with me and bumping onto people… Is God giving me a sign?' Apparently, this is your third incident on bumping onto someone. First was Kyoya-senpai, who is such a nice, cool, good-looking and helpful senpai; then goes to the auburn-haired boy, which you didn't recognize that he was one of the Hitachiin twins, Kaoru, and lastly, we have… a little boy? The person right in-front of you does not look like a high school student… but maybe he is?
The "boy" in-front of you possesses a babyish face and is extremely short in height; his hair is also short, with a honey-blond color. He also has this adorable pink stuffed bunny with him. Knowing that you and this person were still on the floor, you stood up and were supposed to extend a hand to help the little boy but a taller guy carried him.
This taller guy has an imposing figure, making him have a wild appearance. He possessed spiky black hair, dark gray eyes and a darker skin tone than the little boy. You then continued observing the two males in-front of you: you're definitely thinking that they are siblings.
"Takashi~ We should get some cake and ice cream!" says the little boy.
"We still have to go to the Music Room," says the taller boy.
'Did he just say Music Room?!' you stood up quickly and dusted some parts of your uniform. You calmed yourself down then started speaking.
"Uhm… Excuse me?" the two males looked at you. You looked at the little boy and bowed down, "I'm really sorry for bumping onto you. I was spacing out so I really didn't mean it so I apologize."
"Wahh! You're a really pretty girl~ And it's okay! I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose." You sighed in relief; this boy sure is energetic.
"We still have to go to the Music Room," the guy named "Takashi" repeated.
"Ah right! We really have to go. Well, Miss, I hope to see you around~" as they walked away, you instantly realized you forgot to asked them about the Music Room.
"Ahh wait! I'm sorry if I'm stopping you but can you tell me where this place is?"
"What place, Miss?" the little boy replied.
"Uhm… Music Room #3?" you asked quite hesitantly.
"Music Room #3? That's where we're going! Do you want to go with us, Miss?" the little boy chirped.
"Sure thing? I'm sorry if I'm a bother to you two…"
"Don't worry about it! We're willing to help you anyways~ I almost forgot. My name is Haninozuka Mitsukuni but you can call me 'Honey'. And this person with me is Morinozuka Takashi but you can call him 'Mori'. What about you?" he smiled happily.
"Well… I'm (Your last name) (Your first name). It's nice to meet you, Honey, Mori," you smiled shyly as you finished introducing yourself. Bumping onto someone sure makes you meet new people.
The three of you now walked towards the location of the Music Room. You and Honey continuously talked about a bunch of things and Mori was there, silently walking along with you two. Before you know it, you three were now in-front of the Music Room.
"Ah, (Your first name)-chan! We have to go in first. Just go in after a few seconds~ I'm sure you'd love to meet everyone." Honey said, little flowers surrounding him.
"Sure. Is this something I should look forward for?"
"I guess you'd get to meet a lot of new people. So, see you later~" he hugged you for a few seconds then entered the room with Mori. After those few seconds of waiting, you placed your hand to the door knob; at first you were hesitant in opening it, but you remembered that you promised the twins that you'd go since you accepted the invitation.
You turned the knob and as you slowly opened the door, red rose petals flew out from the room.
"Welcome!" the voices of a group of boys filled your ears.
Right near the door are 7 beautiful boys, waiting for you to enter the said room. There was this one guy who was sitting on a chair: he has pale-blond hair and violet eyes; he also is quite tall and has a slender build. At his back were 6 other boys: the boys on his left were Mori and Honey along with… Kyoya-senpai? And on his right is a cute, somewhat short boy, who has large and shiny brown eyes, and beside him are… the twins!
'Oh my… Someone tell me I'm not in those cliché shoujo animes that have multiple possible lovers in the series?!'
"Oh, it's (Your first name)-chan!" says the auburn-haired twins.
"Well it isn't (Your first name)," says Kyoya, "Hikaru and Kaoru, our guest is in the same class as you, right?"
"Yes, she is. She's apparently a transferee student," they replied.
Kyoya smiled, "I know. We bumped onto each other earlier."
"Welcome to Ouran Host Club, (Your first name)-san," he continued.
"Oh! So you're the new student everyone in the Host Club is talking about," the guy with pale-blond hair said.
"Uhm… What do you mean everyone is talking about?"
"Apparently, you met almost everyone in the Host Club," he said as he went closer to you. "I haven't introduced myself." He took your hand, kissed it, and gave you a welcoming smile, "I'm Suoh Tamaki and welcome to Ouran Host Club." Your cheeks slightly turned pink.
Then, the cute-looking boy approached you. "(Your first name)-san, we're also in the same class. I'm Fujioka Haruhi, it's a pleasure to meet you," he finished giving his cute smile.
"It's nice to meet you too, Haruhi-kun," you replied, ending the introductions. Now, you were questioning, why would this school have a Host Club? As you were thinking about it, a pair of hands grabbed both your arms: it was Honey.
"Hey! (Your first name)-chan! (Your first name)-chan! (Your first name)-chan, I told you that you'd meet new people~"
"Y-yeah… I-I guess?" you answered, "Uhm… What am I supposed to do here? I just went here since Hikaru and Kaoru invited me earlier."
"Hmm… How about we identify what your preference is? We're apparently done entertaining our guests earlier." Tamaki suggested.
"Eh? Preference?"
"The wild type?" Referring to Mori.
"The boy Lolita type?" Referring to Honey.
"The little devil type?" Referring to the Hitachiin Twins.
"The cool type?" Referring to Kyoya.
"Or maybe…" Tamaki placed his hand on your chin, "…you'd like to try me? How about it?"
'God… Please tell me I'm not in a Reverse Harem Shoujo anime?! I'm just dreaming right? Haha… Please wake up already, self!'
"U-uhm… What about Haruhi-kun?" you asked, looking away from Tamaki's gaze.
"I'm just new here, (Your first name)-san. So, I really don't have a specific preference yet," Haruhi said while laughing a bit.
"W-well I really don't have a choice yet… So…"
"It's okay, (Your first name)-san. We're not pressuring you or anything." Haruhi said, with a reassuring smile; it made your cheeks warm.
"Anyways… Uhm… Since I really don't have anything to do here, I'll get going then. Thank you so much for entertaining me?" You turned your back and headed for the door until two hands touched your shoulders. You looked back seeing the Hitachiin twins.
"(Your first name)-chan, why did you come here late?" says Hikaru.
"You didn't get to experience what's it like here in the Host Club," Kaoru continues.
"I'm sorry. I actually got lost in finding the Middle School building. I also didn't know where the Music Room was so I was grateful for Honey and Mori for accompanying me here," you laughed shyly.
"We could have accompanied you, (Your first name)-chan. We did offer that to you earlier," Kaoru said.
"I'm really sorry. It's just that I really want to try and be independent even though I'm new to this school."
"Well next time, don't think that way. If you want, we can be your personal guide so that you won't get lost from time to time." Hikaru suggested with a mischievous smile.
"I guess so…"
"Since you arrived late, come back again tomorrow. We'll surely entertain you!" The twins said in unison.
"Uhm… Sure. At the same time, right?"
"Yes. Make sure you don't be late!" says Hikaru.
"You already know where the Music Room is so… Please don't get lost," added Kaoru.
After that you decided to go home. All throughout the day, you were thinking if it's even still possible that you and the Hitachiin twins would become friends. But then again, positivity was with you.
'Maybe I still have a chance to start anew. I mean, they don't even remember me so… Maybe we can be friends by then! They've taken a liking to me as well so I think this will work out just fine… right?'
~The Next Day, After Class~
As classes ended, you packed up your things and went straight for the door. You noticed that the twins weren't even here anymore. 'They probably went ahead.' You thought.
As you remembered the directions to where Music Room #3 is located, you successfully found your destination.
~The Host Club is now open for business~
You grabbed on the door knob and opened it slowly. The moment you opened the door, the sound of chattering resounded to your ears. You entered seeing the Music Room filled with lots and lots of girls, making you think that this Host Club is actually really popular.
At first you questioned yourself, how are the members of the Host Club going to entertain you when all of them are occupied? As you were still thinking about it, you heard a cool voice.
"Well, (Your first name)-san, welcome to the Host Club." It was Kyoya.
"Ah, Kyoya-senpai. I didn't notice you were there."
"It's fine. I just saw you entering few seconds ago."
"Uhm… If you don't mind, how come everyone is all occupied?"
"Well, we're only a few members so we have to at least accommodate more than 1 guest." 'Isn't that a lot of hard work?' you thought.
"Kyoya-senpai, how can I be entertained by a host; everyone sure is busy handling a lot of guests huh? I don't want to bother them too much if I add myself to those who are being entertained."
Kyoya smiled, "You're a really considerate girl, (Your first name)-san. How about I accompany you for now?"
"Eh? But aren't you accommodating any guests?"
"I don't really do that, (Your first name)-san. I'm the vice president of this club and I'm in charge of the planning and financial aspects, so you can't really get me as a Host. But just this once, I'll accompany you." Kyoya stretched out his hand and smiled. You blushed a bit, nodded, and you reached out your hand to his. 'Nothing is happening between us okay! He's just accompanying that's all…'
You and Kyoya observed Tamaki, who is well-known as the "King" of the Host Club, Honey and Mori having a cute and collected personality, and Haruhi with a natural affinity to others and a sweet face, it all sums up that they're all doing their job well done.
You two went near a table where the twins are. You two weren't that close but it's a distance away so that you'd get to observe their actions. Seeing that you'd see them act as Hosts was something new to you. 'I wonder what would it be like to see their other personality other than I experienced in the past? Maybe it's something I could look forward to.' As you thought of this, you heard a distinct laugh from Hikaru.
"Hahaha… So then, he had this terrible dream, and when he bolted up form it…"
"Hikaru! Not that story!" Kaoru interrupted, "You're awful, telling that story in-front of others," he ended, looking really embarrassed.
"Kaoru…" Hikaru widened his eyes a bit and then went closer to Kaoru, placing his hands to his cheeks, "I'm sorry, Kaoru. You were just so cute when it happened, I couldn't help myself."
"Hikaru…"
"Waah! What beautiful brotherly love!" their guests said.
"What did I just see?" you questioned.
"It's just Hikaru and Kaoru's known entertainment to their guests: to show a very affectionate brotherly love." Kyoya said.
As you were still weird-ed out by the twins' actions, you came to notice Haruhi being introduced by Tamaki to one of his regular guests. While the introduction was happening, Haruhi gives a somewhat bashful hello causing Tamaki to twirl him; Haruhi cries out for help from Mori, rescuing Haruhi by lifting him up; you then noticed Tamaki's regular guest, Ayanokoji, giving off a glare to Haruhi.
"Kyoya-senpai?"
"What's the matter, (Your first name)-san?" Kyoya looked at you.
"I noticed that Tamaki's regular guest seem to look mad. I feel like she's intensely jealous of Haruhi."
"Oh, you mean Ayanokoji? I do notice. In truth, she does like Tamaki's attention so surely her face says that Haruhi should just go."
"That seems awful…" You excused yourself from Kyoya and told yourself that you should help Haruhi in this situation. As you were walking by the hallways, you noticed a person in the school fountain. When you looked closely, it was Haruhi! You ran really quickly to help him out and when you got there, Tamaki was helping him out. You didn't approach the 2 hosts but you did notice Ayanokoji from the window, the same window where you spotted Haruhi earlier.
When Tamaki left, leaving Haruhi to fix his belongings, you approached him and helped him out.
"Haruhi-kun, are you alright? Your stuff became such a mess," you asked him with concern.
"I'm fine (Your first name)-san. I accidentally dropped it out the window," he replied bashfully.
"Haruhi-kun, please don't say that. And it's impossible for your things to be dropped out the window! There's surely a person who doesn't like you, Haruhi-kun."
"Don't worry about me, (Your first name)-san. I'm sure this will stop soon," he answered reassuringly.
You both headed back to the Music Room, and as you both got there, Ayanokoji requested for Haruhi. You suspected that she has something planned to ruin Haruhi's reputation but you didn't want to interrupt, so you watched from the sidelines. As you were observing them two, suddenly two familiar voices echoed to your ears.
"(Your first name)-chan~ How about we entertain you right now?" Hikaru asked.
"We were really busy earlier so we hope we can entertain you now," Kaoru finished.
"Oh, hello. Well I'd love to but I'm keeping an eye on Haruhi," you answered.
"Keeping an eye on Haruhi? Is there something wrong?" Kaoru asked.
"Maybe she wants Haruhi to entertain her," Hikaru responded, with an upset tone.
"No, no. It's not like that. It's just that… Earlier, I saw Haruhi in the fountain and I noticed that his things were there. He told me that he accidentally dropped his things but I doubt he did. When I went down to help him, Tamaki was there helping him out. I didn't approach them but I did see Tamaki's regular guest, Ayanokoji, watching from the window where I spotted Haruhi."
"We have to tell Sir!" Hikaru says.
"Sir? Who are you talking about?"
"It's Tamaki, (Your first name)-chan," Kaoru answered.
"Ohh. You really don't have to tell him you kno-" before you could even finish, the twins left. You continued observing Haruhi and Ayanokoji until the situation became the center of attention: the table fell, having to see both of them on the floor, Ayanokoji on the bottom and Haruhi on top. Ayanokoji then cries out that Haruhi has "assaulted" her leaving you to head towards them but stop when the twins dump water on her.
As the scene was still on-going, Tamaki helped Ayanokoji to stand up; pleadingly, she continues to accuse Haruhi for "assaulting" her but the tables were turned when Tamaki straightforwardly says that Ayanokoji was the one who threw Haruhi's things in the fountain. In the end, she called Tamaki an idiot and just left running away in humiliation.
Tamaki helped Haruhi to stand up, letting you approached him right away. As much as you were so concerned over Haruhi, you smiled happily to see that one of your friends doesn't have to worry over the bullying he had to experience, especially since he's new to the Host Club.
"Haruhi-kun! Are you alright?" you asked him, as you didn't realize that you've already hugged him.
"I-I'm fine, (Your first name)-san," Haruhi replied, a bit embarrassed of your hug; you let go of him then something hit you… 'Wait… I felt something on his chest area. Don't tell me… Haruhi's a girl?!'
"Haruhi-kun, please don't make me worry! I told you someone doesn't like you. If I didn't even tell you a thing about it, you could have…"
"(Your first name)-san, you don't have to cry. I'm fine really. I really thank you for noticing what's happening," Haruhi said reassuringly, you didn't even noticed that you were indeed crying.
"Ah… I-I'm sorry… I-it's just that… I-I'm not used to this kind of things…" you said as you wiped off some tears.
"What do you mean (Your first name)?" Tamaki asked.
"Ever since I was young, I've been staying at my house as long as I can remember… I never got to experience the outside world so all these past 10 years I've been curious what's it like here. When I found out that I'll be studying here in Ouran, I was really happy because for once, I'd actually get to experience something outside home. I was afraid I won't get to meet new people but in fact, the opposite happened. I'm truly grateful to meet everyone because I'll truly treasure our friendship. So, when Haruhi was bullied… I really thought that I should protect him because he's my friend, and as much as I don't want to see him suffering, I just want to make sure that he's alright and always smiling," you ended. As you looked at everyone else, it's either they looked like they're about to cry or they're feeling really pitiful.
"*sniff* (Your first name), I didn't know you had such a past…" Tamaki said, as he looked like he won't stop crying.
"(Your first name)-san, I didn't know what you were feeling. Thank you," Haruhi said bashfully.
After that little revelation of your past experiences, the Host Club members approached you either they reassure you about your stay here in Ouran or even how all in the past won't matter anymore; there were even some people from the guests who said the same things as well. As for today, you felt so happy that the day ended with you helping a new friend of yours and surely, maybe unforgettable memories will be cast down to the present and will replace your past ones.
'God, thank you so much for having me experience wonderful things here in the outside world. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to meet new people and become friends with them. Continue to guide me throughout my journey and hopefully, I'd make wonderful memories with everyone!' you thought as you smiled to yourself. You didn't notice that as there were many people surrounding you, the Hitachiin twins are watching from the distance.
"Hikaru, I have a feeling we've met her before."
"What do you mean? I've never seen her before."
"But surely there must be a part of you that remembers."
"Kaoru, I'm sure we have not met (Your first name)-chan from the past."
"But isn't the name (Your last name) familiar to you?"
"You're right I guess. We'll find out soon. But right now, we should focus more on our new toy~"
"I guess we should. Who knows what's going to happen since she didn't experience anything from the outside world," I sighed. (Your first name) is some mysterious girl I say. We'll probably get some answers when we hang out more.
"Kaoru, are you even listening?"
"Oh, ah… What is it?"
"(Your first name)-chan should really visit the Host Club regularly, don't you think?"
"That's a perfect idea! We'd get to know her more."
We both looked at her, and smiled mischievously…
"(Your first name), I hope you're ready for the Hitachiin Brothers~"
AN: Hallo everybody! I'm so so so so sorry for not updating ; - ; I've been really busy lately so I apologize for not updating this story for like 7 months again- Since I'm currently am having my semester break, I'll try my best to upload 3 chapters so that the first story would end (this chapter is part of the 3 chapters). If I don't get to upload the other 2, once again, I'm deeply sorry for not updating. The thing is, this year, I'm in my last year in the Junior High School Curriculum (so I'm like Grade 10 at the moment). And since our country was so late in implementing the K-12 system, I still have 2 years in high school. Since I'm technically a senior during my last stay in the Junior HS department, things go busy for us, like TOO MUCH so please do understand that I'm going through too much stuff because this year is hell year ; v ; For those who are patient enough to wait for updates, thank you so much for understanding. I know you guys want to read more but time and I aren't coordinating well. I'll list down some things why I can't update: 1. Yeah School, Being a Senior = Hell of a Stressful Year, 2. Activities in Art Club = yes I'm in Art Club and our Moderator decided to make us submit 7 outputs (technically paintings) before our yearly exhibit on February, he also wants us to at least finish 4 of them during the semester break (I haven't even done anything *cries*). 3. Time and Laziness = I apologize really ; v ; I have a lot of things to do and really I'd love to finish some chapters but the ideas I have in mind per chapter went out of my head—As for an apology, I'll make a preview of the next 2 chapters (both are based from episode 2 of the original series): in Chapter 4 titled "Crazy Tea Party" is based on the first half of that episode, which is when they decided to have a south tropics theme during the regular Host activities and in Chapter 5 titled "Bringing Back Cruelty" is based on the second half of that episode, when they decided to hold a dance party. I won't explain any further since this is just a preview but this finishes the first story "The Past and a New Beginning" c: I'll also make sure you guys would enjoy these chapters so please stay tuned. Once again, thank you for supporting this story and hope to see you till the very end~ -chibichoco o 3 o