"I'd like to thank Tracey4t and artsygeek9796 for helping me. Before you read this, you'll have to go back to the beginning because one of my friends decided to quit writing and since I was using her OC, my other friends had to make a new one.
Mayumi was reading a book about modeling as she casually walked down the hallway.
"Hey Mayumi," she heard the twins call out.
The girl turned to see them walking past holding some clothes bags.
"Check it out, it's for our cosplay today," said Hikaru, holding them up for her to see.
She looked in and her eyes shone in wonder. "Kimonos?"
"Yeah, our mother's designs, " said Kaoru, "Pretty cool, huh?"
"They're amazing," said Mayumi in awe, each garment beautifully ornamented with traditional patterns and colors, "But why is one a girl's kimono?"
"Well since Haruhi looks so much like a girl we figured we have her dressed like a feminine guy," the twins started to explain.
"That's mean!" Mayumi cried.
"Oh it's not that bad," Kaoru insisted.
"Yeah, a lot of our guests like seeing Haruhi dressed up as a girl. She makes such a pretty one," said Hikaru.
"Are you trying to show everyone that she really 'is' a girl?"
"Uh, well no," said Hikaru.
"It's just she's good looking as a boy or a girl," Kaoru explained.
"Maybe I should come when the club is open so I can tell if you're telling the truth or not," Mayumi sneered at them.
"Go for it, we'd love to see you there," said Hikaru, "If fact, if you come early you can try on Haruhi's kimono before club starts. I'd bet you'd look great in it."
"We'll see," said Mayumi. She walked off and pulled out her sketchpad. She decided she'd try her luck with drawing her own kimono, feeling inspired after seeing the host club's.
About half an hour before the club opened, Mayumi opened the door to see the room filled with Japanese flower arrangements and pictures of Japanese writings.
'Cool,' she thought. She looked around looking for the club.
"Are you sure I should be wearing this kimono?" she heard Haruhi asking.
"We had it made just for you," said the twins.
"And you would look so cute in it!" said Tamaki.
"But, it's a girl's kimono," said Haruhi.
"What, you can pull it off," said Kaoru.
"Yeah, the only other person who could pull it off is Mayumi," said Hikaru.
"I heard that," she said loudly, announcing her presence.
"Oh Mayumi, hi," Hikaru said as he came out of the changing room smirking, "You're just in time to try on Haruhi's kimono before club starts."
"You sure none of the other club members won't mind?"
"Not at all, it may help make Haruhi feel more at ease if she knows how the kimono looks on another," said Kyoya.
"Alright." She walked to the changing room. She turned to them and said with a deadly glare, "Don't look, or I'll clobber you all!"
And with that she closed the curtain.
"Is that a challenge?" the twins taunted. The two were smacked upside the head by Tamaki.
"Don't you dare say such a thing in regards to a lady!" He scolded.
Mayumi rolled her eyes and starts changing.
"I can't wait to see you in it Mayu-chan," said Hunny cheerfully.
"Would seeing her in the kimono make you feel better about wearing it Haruhi?" Kyoya asked.
Haruhi shrugs. "I don't think it really matters."
After about a minute, Mayumi pulled back the curtain. She came out in the pink kimono looking very regal. White swans illustrated on the skirt and draping sleeves made her look delicate and graceful. If it wasn't for the fact that her hair wasn't done she probably could have passed for a noble woman.
"Well?" she asked, meeting their eyes.
There was a hush over the hosts as they all stared at her.
"It's nice," Kaoru said at last.
"But your hair's all wrong! We must fix it!" Hikaru quickly added. Both he and his brother linked arms with Mayumi and dragged her off.
"Um, does this mean I'm not wearing that kimono after all?" Haruhi asked confused.
"Hey!" Mayumi called out to Haruhi.
"Yes?" Haruhi asked.
"Aren't you going to say anything? This is supposed to be your kimono isn't it?" asked Mayumi.
"Yeah, but you know how these two get," said Haruhi with a shrug.
'Yeah right,' Mayumi thought, 'you just don't want to wear it.'
"We could always call for another one for Haruhi to wear," said Hikaru.
"Yeah, that way we can keep Mayumi in this one to show the girls that they can order one if they like," said Kaoru.
"That would be a smart business idea," Kyoya said looking over his tablet.
"Does this mean I can keep this kimono?" Mayumi asked.
"Sure, free of charge for being a model," said Hikaru.
Then an idea popped into her head. "You know, when the club is open, I'd like some business to discuss with you two."
"Sure, we can try," said Hikaru as he and Kaoru pulled her away.
When Mayumi returned, the twins had pulled her hair into a semi-braided bun, a glittered cherry blossom branch adorned in it. Curled strands of hair fell to either sides of her face perfectly, like a frame to a work of art.
:The Host Club is open:
The Host Club members were all wearing kimonos for their cosplay. Tamaki even put in an extension to make his hair fit the part.
The usual girls were fawning over the king of the host club as he whispered sweet words to them, his eyes filled with glistening tears causing them to swoon.
"I think it's adorable that you're wearing matching kimonos." A girl told the twins.
"Our mother designed everything the hosts are wearing today. If you see something you like, we can take an order for you." Hikaru informed them.
"Our grandmother even helped us put them on." Kaoru said with a smile.
"But you know the only one who will be undressing you is me, Kaoru." Hikaru pulled his twin's face closer to his as he said this, Kaoru's face starting to turn pink.
"Hikaru, you're embarrassing me, in front of everybody," Kaoru whined as he turned away from his brother, tears in his eyes.
"Oh! What a tender embrace!" One of the girls squealed excitedly to one of her friends.
"They're up to that nonsense again." Haruhi sweat dropped as Mayumi came up to her. The brunette had on a different kimono that still made her look like a girl.
"Why do you always let them dress you up to look like a girl?" Mayumi asked.
"They threaten me with my debt," Haruhi whispered to her.
"Haruhi! You look so cute in your kimono," A girl said.
"Almost like a girl." Another finished.
"Thanks." Haruhi said. 'Oh, the irony.'
"And Mayumi, you're wearing a kimono too?" another guest asked.
"Uh yeah, it was a gift from the twins," said Mayumi.
"Oh wow, you're so lucky!"
"And you look so cute in it!"
"Thanks, although I don't think this is my color..."
"Don't underestimate yourself. The twins are usually good when it comes to their color choices," Kyoya spoke up.
"Really?" Mayumi said looking down at the kimono.
"By the way Haruhi, you've booked another appointment. It seems you've had a pretty steady flow of new customers lately. Keep up the good work. I'm not going to charge you interest on your debt like I normally would. So keep this up, and you should be able to pay it off, although the rental fee on that kimono you're wearing is nothing to sneeze at." Kyoya told the girl, a chilling smile on his face.
"He's like some kind of heartless tax collector..." Haruhi deadpanned.
"Hello Kyoya, I can't get over how great you look in that kimono. Are you planning to release any more picture books of the host club?" One of the guests asked as Akane stepped in.
"Yeah Kyo-chan, do you have any more of those books?" Akane questioned him nonchalantly, though her eyes flashed in excitement.
Kyoya shifted his glasses, the glare hiding his eyes. "Unfortunately, we don't have anything planned at present, ladies."
"Haru-chan, Haru-chan, I don't know how, but I lost one of my sandals!" Honey called out to her, his eyes welling with tears.
"But you were just wearing them, weren't you?" Haruhi said as she descended the steps to get closer to the boy, Mayumi right behind her.
Akane knelt down in front of the lolita boy. "Mitsukuni, stop crying," she said deadpan, though it was meant to be comforting.
"Mitsukuni." Mori said as he lifted Honey's leg and slipped on his missing sandal.
"Takashi." Honey murmured quietly as Akane got up to look at her brother.
"I noticed that you dropped it." Mori continued.
"Takashi!" Honey exclaimed as he embraced the tall boy.
Akane said nothing and left the two seniors to their moment.
"How sweet." A girl said.
"Isn't it, though?" The other agreed.
"Looks like tears are popular with the ladies today." Mayumi commented.
"But how are they all able to cry so easily?" Haruhi wondered aloud before accidentally bumping into Kaoru. Something slipped from his sleeve and Mayumi picked it up.
"What's this?" she asked him.
"For your information, it's common for a host to use eye drops," Kaoru started.
"No woman alive can resist a man on the brink of tears." Hikaru finished.
"Why do you have to cheat? Are you unable to create your own tears?" Mayumi put her hands on her hips.
"Well, you know us, we're too cool to be sad all the time," said Hikaru. "Oh here, this for you Mayumi and Haruhi." He handed them both a small box with a single candy.
"Oh wow," said Mayumi.
"Kao-chan." Akane pulled at Kaoru's kimono with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "I want one too."
"Sure," he handed the girl one as he flashed her a smile. She scowled and turned away, praying that her face wasn't burning red.
"I didn't know you liked sweets Haruhi," said one of the guests.
"Well, to be honest with you, I don't really. But, you know, I think it would be a nice memorial offering for my mother," said Haruhi.
Mayumi smiled at the sight only to have something catch her eye, a girl standing at the door looking timid and shy. "Hey, I've never seen her before."
"Looks like the host club has a brand-new guest." The twins said as they spotted a girl watching from the shadows. Separating from the rest of the hosts the twins approached the girl.
"Come on in." Kaoru said in a low voice. "What are you waiting for?"
"Watching from afar is no fun." Hikaru had a teasing smile on his face. They both had roses in hand but the girl seemed to be afraid and was shrinking away.
"Stop that. How many times do I have to tell you boys to be more courteous to our first-time guests?" Tamaki suddenly said as he came up in front of them. "Please, you don't have to be afraid, my princess." His face closed in on hers and she had a red tint to her cheeks. "I welcome you to the Ouran host club."
The girl seemed to say something and Tamaki went in a little closer.
"Yes?"
A hand came up and pushed Tamaki away. "No!" The girl screamed. "Don't touch me, you phony!"
Everyone stared in shock as Tamaki reeled back and covered his face with his hand, his eyes peeking through his fingers.
"What do you mean I'm phony?" He asked her.
The girl pointed to the king and told him that he didn't deserve to be the prince type of the host club. With every word she said he seemed to be struck by arrows until finally he was shocked stiff and fell to the floor.
Kyoya looked on calmly. "I don't supposed you are," he started only to be caught off guard by the girl throwing herself at him.
"It's you, Kyoya! Oh, how I longed to meet you, my one and only Prince Charming!"
Mayumi backed up a bit, thinking that she shouldn't get involved with whatever craziness was going on.
The next day, Mayumi decided to show the twins some of her own kimono designs. As she headed to the host club, she happened to run into Haruhi.
"Hey Haruhi," she said.
"Oh, hey," the host greeted with a smile.
"So not that it's any of my business but who was that chicken from yesterday?" Mayumi asked.
"Apparently she's Kyoya-senpai's fiancée," said Haruhi.
"Fiancée? Kyoya?!"
"Yeah Apparently, I think she's going to explain more today to everyone," said Haruhi.
"Oh, so the twins are probably busy huh?" asked Mayumi, slightly disappointed.
"Why you ask?"
"I wanted to show them something I worked on."
"Why don't you just come with me and wait in the club room," Haruhi suggested.
"Ok," she agreed.
The two walked off to the clubroom where Kyoya's so-called fiancée was sitting, while Tamaki was brooding in the corner. 'She must've said something to him again,' they both thought.
"Hey Mayumi, what are you doing here?" Hikaru asked, walking up to her.
"I wanted to show you something and Haruhi said I could wait in the club room until you're ready," said Mayumi.
"That should be fine," said Kyoya.
"So seriously, who is this girl?" she asked, motioning to the 'fiancée' who stood and introduced herself.
"My name is Renge Hoshakuji and I'm transferring into Ouran Academy's 1st year class A tomorrow."
"Into our class?" Mayumi muttered, not liking the sound of that.
Then Renge started dreamingly saying what Kyoya was that he wasn't. Like admiring the flowers, and saving a kitten. The thought of Kyoya doing such things made Mayumi shudder.
"Could you have the wrong person?" asked Haruhi.
"No way! I can recognize my love anywhere!" Renge yelled.
She started going on and on about how great Kyoya was while everyone sat there, confused about what she was saying.
"I may not know Kyoya that well, but I don't think he's like that, " Mayumi whispered to Hikaru, catching the girl's attention.
"Who asked you, intruder?!" Renge shouted defensively.
"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Hikaru retorted.
Mayumi gently pushed Hikaru aside. She decided to show a bit of who she used to be to let the girl know not to mess with her.
"I was invited here, unlike you, so if anything I have more right to be here than you do," she said ever so calmly.
Renge stared her down but then seemed to relax. "Well OK, but you're still wrong about my precious Kyoya. He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, Uki-Doki Memorial. You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi!" She pointed dramatically to Kyoya.
"Uki-" Haruhi started.
"Doki-?" Honey added.
"Otaku!" Tamaki shouted, leaping from the corner.
"Otaku?!" Hikaru yelled.
"I've never seen one!" Kaoru bellowed, hiding behind his brother.
"Ugh, not that damn game," Mayumi groaned.
"You know it?" Haruhi asked.
"Unfortunately yes, don't ask how!" Mayumi insisted, gaining a questioning look from her, "Please!"
"I get it now," Kyoya realized what all Renge's rambling was about. "You're in love with that character. You're projecting the love onto me, and you somehow deluded yourself into thinking that we're engaged. I assume this Miyabi character probably wears glasses as well."
"So she made all up," Mayumi muttered to herself. "I knew she was a nutcase."
"According to my research, I understand that you are in charge of managing the club. Is that true, Kyoya?" Renge asked.
"That's right," Honey piped up. "Kyo-chan is our director."
"You're the club's director? That's perfect. Oh wow, I've always wanted to wear a sandwich board to advertise a business."
"We don't advertise. We're just a host club," the twins tried to bluntly prevent the girl from going out of control.
"I've made up my mind. From now on, I'm gonna be the manager of this Host Club," Renge announced.
"And she's not listening…" Mayumi groaned.
"Well now, don't be hasty, Mayumi," said Kyoya, "Let's just see how this plays out. It might be interesting. It always is."
'Why can't she see who you really are?' she thought, internally groaning.
"Now, didn't you have some business with Hikaru?" Kyoya asked.
"Oh yes," Mayumi dug into her backpack, pulled out her sketchbook, and walked toward Hikaru. "I was wondering if you'd like to see some kimono designs I made."
"Sure, I'd be honored to," said Hikaru, taking her sketchbook.
"So do you think you can handle her?" Mayumi asked looking towards Renge.
"I don't know, Kyoya-sempai better be right about things being interesting," said Hikaru. "You want to come over for dinner while I look this over?"
"Sure," said Mayumi, "I got nothing better to do tonight."
"Sweet," said Hikaru, grinning.
Mayumi rang the doorbell, with it's sound chiming throughout the house.
"Thanks for coming with me, Akane," she said to the leather-clad girl standing next to her.
"Don't mention it, I'm glad I get to hang out with you."
"And Kaoru?" she questioned, smirking.
She blushed feverishly at the mentioning of his name. The door opened, revealing the twins in striped polo shirts and skinny jeans. They were able to tell them apart since Hikaru's shirt was yellow and purple and Kaoru's was blue and green.
"Hey, come on in," Hikaru said casually, leading them into the grand mansion to the living room.
The girls sat on a white leather loveseat while the twins sat across from them, Kaoru on an orange patterned chair and Hikaru on the matching ottoman. Between them a glass table with a gold rose and daisy centerpiece.
"Dinner will be ready soon. So what did you two want us to see?" they asked in unison.
Akane nudged Mayumi by the elbow, urging her to speak.
"Uh, I was wondering if you guys can look at some designs I made."
She handed them the sketchbook opened to the first design. It was a jade green kimono, with lotus blossoms scattered over the fabric and a pastel pink bowed obi. The kimono on the next page had a scarlet ombré colored fabric, with a gold phoenix border on the draping sleeves and hem. On her third design, a short lavender one lined with violet, had a little white bird design sewn near the right shoulder and feathers illustrated as if they were falling from it's wings.
The twins looked over the drawings, their faces holding a mature look to them. They never looked up, never said anything, not even to each other, just inspected the designs in silence.
'I guess that is to be expected since their mom is a fashion designer,' Mayumi thought when they finally put the sketchbook down.
"Well?" Akane asked.
"They're really good," Kaoru complimented.
"Really?"
"Yeah, your fabric designs were amazing. Never seen anything like them," Hikaru said, impressed.
"Wow, thanks."
"If you'd like, we could have you meet our mom. She could give you some advice on this stuff."
"That'd be awesome!"
Hikaru's cell rang suddenly, prompting him to get up and answer it. From where they were sitting, they could hear Hikaru arguing with the person on the other line. After a few minutes, they heard a beep, signaling that the call had ended.
"What was that about?" Kaoru asked him once he returned and he collapsed onto the ottoman.
"It was Boss," he sighed in annoyance, "whining about that Renge girl 'infiltrating the host club' again."
"You mean that otaku girl that just transferred?" Akane wondered.
"Yeah, she's got some nerve trying to change our character types," Kaoru said.
"Just because she has a crush on Kyoya doesn't give her the right to tell us what to do," Hikaru growled.
"And because her family is connected with his, we have to keep her happy," Kaoru added bitterly.
"You want me to take care of her?" Akane asked, cracking her knuckles.
The twins stiffened. "No, no, that's okay. You don't have to do that," they said quickly.
"So what is she having you guys do?" Akane asked them. They looked at each other, groaning before Hikaru gets up and retrieves a thick packet and slams it on the table.
"What is that?" Mayumi asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"The script for the movie she's directing," Hikaru said flatly.
"And we have to memorize all the lines before tomorrow," Kaoru finished with misery in his tone.
The girls cringed, flipping through the hundreds of pages, noting how many lines were highlighted for them to learn.
"Yeesh, you have to learn all that?" Mayumi gasped.
The twin nodded tiredly. The girls looked at each other worriedly. Just then, the butler informed them of dinner being served. They followed the man to the dining hall, where roast beef and white rice were served on silver platters. They talked while they ate, mostly Mayumi and Akane. The twins didn't seem to be as energetic as usual, not with the movie script looming over their head. As soon as dinner and dessert was finished, Akane spoke up.
"We should get going," she said politely, standing up. Mayumi nodded. After all, they're going to need all the time they can get to study those lines.
The twins followed them to the door, seeing them out.
"See you girls tomorrow," they said with a small smile.
"Bye Hika-chan, Kao-chan."
"Good luck, you two!" Mayumi shouted, waving as she and Akane walked away. 'You guys are gonna need it.'
"Luck is for loses like the Boss," said the twins with confidence.
"Are they filming a simple school movie, or a summer blockbuster?" Akane asked.
"That's...a good question," said Mayumi, staring at the dozens of cameras surrounding the set and an actual film crew working behind them.
The lights from the gymnasium were showing down on the basketball court. All around the stands, girls were standing as extras cheering as Hikaru ran down the court dribbling the basketball. Mayumi was taken back by how graceful he was able to move.
Hikaru scored a basket, but then a referee blew his whistle.
"Get a stretcher! Take him to the infirmary, immediately!" A man yelled as Hikaru came closer to see his brother on the ground, clutching his knee to his chest.
"Kaoru, Kaoru, Kaoru!" Hikaru said desperately trying to get his brother to say something.
"You've got to get back in the game, Hikaru. We need you." The coach told the boy.
"Shut up!" He shouted as he pushed the man away.
"Hikaru," Kaoru whispered. "Listen to me. Please don't worry." His hand caressed his brother's face. "There's nothing you can do. You can't share my pain. You are not the one who got hurt. Now, go on."
Hikaru gripped Kaoru's hand with his own as tears fell out of his eyes. "I can't. It hurts. It hurts, Kaoru."
"Your pain is my pain. It doesn't matter to me if no one else understands. As long as we have each other, we can go on living." Renge narrated.
"Oh god, can you believe this?" Akane asked in disgust, shaking her head.
"Shh," Mayumi hissed.
"I don't know if I can do this, Takashi. I don't want to be mean to Haru-Chan," she suddenly heard Hunny crying.
The redhead and the brunette came toward them. "What's wrong?"
"We have to shoot a scene where Hunny-senpai's doing his bully impression and he's not liking it," Haruhi's explained.
"Poor Hunny," said Akane.
"I'm going to go talk to Renge about it," declared Mayumi.
"Hey Renge," she called out as she came up to the girl.
"Alright, start the rain machine," Renge ordered, totally ignoring Mayumi, "Hunny-Sempai, Mori-Sempai, Haruhi get to your spots!"
"Uh, but Renge," Mayumi tried speaking up again.
"And action!" Renge shouted, still ignoring her.
Haruhi ran through the rain before a large tree stopped her.
"You can't run away forever." Haruhi slid to the floor her back to the tree. "I'm gonna show you what happens to anyone that crosses me." Honey called with a scowl on his face.
"Don't do it, Mitsukuni. You should have realized by now that whenever you hurt others, you're really just hurting yourself." Mori tried to warn his cousin but was ignored.
"I didn't ask you for any advice. You want me to put you over my knee again?" Honey warned him.
"Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits these boys? Or will it be something else?" Renge said.
"You know, it really pisses me off when people don't know their place." Honey continued in his tough voice before he broke character and threw himself to Haruhi.
"I'm so sorry, Haru-chan! I can't do this anymore!" He cried.
"Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut! What's wrong with you? You got to stick to the script!" Renge exclaimed.
"But I can't." Honey whined.
'Well, he tried at least,' Mayumi thought.
She walked over to Hikaru and Kaoru who were now relaxing in some chairs.
"Hey guys, how are you feeling?" she asked.
"This is kind of getting out of hand, " said Hikaru, running a hand through his hair.
Kaoru nodded. "And why is there an entire film crew here to shoot this film?"
"Apparently, she flew them in from Hollywood. Don't you recognize the director? He directed the vampire movie, Millennial Snow. It was the No.1 grossing box-office hit in America last year," Kyoya explained.
"And another thing, how come this stupid script portrays Kaoru as the pitcher?" Hikaru asked, motioning his hand to the script.
"Yeah," Kaoru agreed.
"What does that mean?" Haruhi asked.
"If you don't know, never mind," said both twins.
"Is that really the director of Millennial Snow?" Akane asked. "Have you guys ever seen that movie?"
"Yeah, I think we saw it once," said Hikaru.
"It was such a big deal, we decided to see what the hype was," said Kaoru.
"Would it make it better if me and Akane brought the movie at your house to watch it?" Mayumi leaned her hands on the chairs.
Hikaru looked up at her. "Yeah, that'd be cool. Or if not that movie, maybe another kind of movie," he said.
"Maybe."
"Did you really like that movie?" Hikaru asked.
"Oh yeah, I thought it was amazing," said Mayumi.
"I'm surprised you're not asking the director for his autographed then."
"Think I should?"
"Why not?" he shrugged.
"Haruhi," they heard Tamaki calling out as they all saw him running over to Haruhi. "So what did you think?" he asked.
"Tama-chan would overreact if he knew we're going to your house, huh?" Akane said, smirking at the thought.
"He'd bring everyone along." Kaoru said, resting his chin on her head.
Akane's face erupted in red and she dropped her bag abruptly, but Kaoru didn't notice as he stared blankly. He was thinking about how the boss would have called them 'shady' and freaked out.
Mayumi noticed a slight, barely visible, tint of red on Kaoru's cheeks and smirked.
What she didn't know was that Hikaru had a clearly visible blush on his cheeks, and was trying hard not to lose his cool.
"Haruhi, you're up," Mayumi suddenly heard Renge calling out.
"Coming," Haruhi said running towards the sound of Renge's voice.
"Are you excited about seeing Millennial Snow, Kao-chan?" Akane asked as she tried to hide her excitement.
"I don't know, don't you think you're acting like the Otaku over there?" Kaoru asked.
Akane blinked back in shock. She stormed off with an angry look on her face, not even turning around to pick up her lollipop bag. Everyone stared after her, and Mayumi spoke up.
"What did you guys do now? She's really mad if she left her lollipops." She picked it up, looking at Akane as she turned the corner. Mayumi noticed Kaoru staring after her, and handed him the bag. "Go give this to her. You're going to start filming in a few minutes anyway."
"Akane!" Kaoru called, running after her.
She turned around and looked at him, surprised. He stopped about three feet in front of her and said, "You left this. Are you okay?""I'm fine." Akane gritted out as she snatched the bag out of his hand. She turned around and started walking once more, but Kaoru grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Wait! What are you so mad about?" He asked.
Akane was silent for a second. "When you do things like that, you can give girls the wrong idea. You should be careful, before you hurt someone."
"Akane...?"
"What if a girl was in love with you, and she heard you saying things like that to Haru-chan or Mayu-chan? What would you do then?" Akane asked, still not looking at Kaoru.
"I... I don't know. But, I'm sorry."
"...Forget it." Akane said, pulling her hand away.
"Wait a second!" Kaoru said, hugging her.
"L-let go of me!" Akane growled, trying her best to sound angry but the blush on her face contradicted that.
"Were you jealous?" Kaoru asked seriously.
"J-jealous!? W-what would I have to be jealous of? I-I don't have a reason to be-" She stuttered but was then cut off.
"You didn't include yourself when you were talking about how I hold my toys. Does that mean you get jealous when I hold them and not you?"
"W-what!? W-what are you-!?" She broke out of his grip and faced him, only to see he had a sneaky grin on his face. "You were just messing with me!"
"But of course. Aren't toys supposed to be played with? Now come on, shooting should start back up any minute," Kaoru said, turning around.
"A toy... I see." Akane said, tears sliding down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them before anyone could see, and followed Kaoru back to the film set.
"Are you OK Akane?" Mayumi asked when she saw her friend.
"I don't know if I'll come watch the movie with you guys tonight," said Akane, her eyes to the ground.
"This isn't like you," Mayumi frowned.
Akane sighed. "I know, I guess it's just, I, I don't know what's wrong," she muttered.
Mayumi was about to ask for an explanation when they heard some boys complain where Haruhi went. They followed the sound and saw two tough looking boys, who seemed aggravated at Renge and Haruhi.
"Wait a minute, Renge," Haruhi tried to reason, but the girl wasn't listening.
"Just come over here and wait for your cue," Renge said and grabbed one of the boy's arms.
"Let go of me! Hey, you think you can push me around?! You don't even know me!"
"Renge!" Haruhi said, stepping behind her. She moved Renge out if the way, but ended up getting pushed and slammed into the wall. Mayumi ran up to check on Haruhi. She didn't seem too badly hurt, but the redhead had enough of holding her anger in, and reached the breaking point.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Mayumi yelled at Renge. Renge cowered slightly under the towering teen whose eyes blazed with fire, cheeks burned red, and veins bulged from her temple. The sight was truly frightening, as no one dared to get involved with their discussion.
"What, what did I do?" Renge asked.
"Are you kidding me?!" Mayumi raged on, "Your actions got Haruhi hurt!"
"It wasn't my fault, it was those two," Renge insisted pointing at the two boys.
"Only because you provoked them!" Mayumi said.
"She's right Renge," Haruhi said, putting her hand on her head. "You can't do that. If you judge people by their appearance, you're stereotyping them and you'll never see the person they are inside."
"Um, I don't understand what you're trying to say," said Renge.
"Haruhi!" "Mayumi!" They heard Tamaki and Hikaru calling out to them.
Haruhi looked up at him right as a tear came down her eye, due to one of her contacts getting knocked out. The minute Tamaki saw that, he almost became another person as he ran and grabbed one of the boys.
"So which one you jerks started this?!" he demanded to know.
"Wait Suoh, it's not what you think! That girl started it! She was giving is a hard time!" The other guy said.
Haruhi got up as she said, "He's telling the truth, Senpai. It wasn't their fault. They were provoked."
Tamaki abandoned the two thugs and hurried over to Haruhi.
"Haruhi, are you in any pain?" he asked tenderly as he lifted her face to his, inspecting any injuries.
Haruhi brought her hand to her eye. "It's just my contact." She held it out on her index finger as proof.
Tamaki blinked in confusion. "Your contact?"
"Yeah, I guess it must of slipped out."
Tamaki stared, until he found himself laughing, partly out of relief and partly from how she was able to fool him. "I see how it is, you're able to cry without using eye-drops. So, congratulations, you're a full-fledged host now."
Haruhi smiled.
"I never knew Tamaki had that side to him, earlier," said Mayumi.
"Ah, he's just probably exhausted from the shoot," Hikaru said quickly.
"What?" Mayumi asked, only to get distracted by the sound of glass breaking. She looked over and saw Kyoya had just destroyed the director's camera.
"What did you do to my camera?!" one of the cameramen shouted angrily.
"What, is something wrong?" Renge asked him.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence or causing a female student to explode," Kyoya explained, referring to Mayumi, "I think you caused enough trouble around here, Renge. Please stop being such a pest."
The otaku flinched at his words. "A pest? But you're supposed to pat me on the head and tell not to worry! You're supposed to be kind and affectionate, Kyoya! Why are you acting so differently now?! Tell me why!"
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" asked Mayumi with her hands on her hips.
"Because that's not the real Kyoya," Tamaki finally said what everyone else was thinking. Renge looked so surprised and upset that she fell to her knees.
"Does it really matter?" Haruhi asked as she walked over and knelt down in front of her. "Who cares if Kyoya is a little different than you expected it to be? Take a good look at the person inside and get to know him little by little. It's a lot more fun that way."
Renge's eyes widened, as Haruhi's words from earlier finally made sense to her. "I see…"
'The next day...'
"Hello ladies, come on in," Tamaki greeted as the guests entered the music room.
"I bought the video of that film you made!" said a girl.
"I bought it too," another one said.
"And so did I."
"That scene in the rain was just phenomenal!" one of them squealed.
"I love the lonely prince!"
"And the loving relationship between Hikaru and Kaoru was so sweet!"
"I want to see Honey acting like a thug again. He's so cute!"
"I couldn't get enough of Haruhi's poignant expressions…."
Mayumi gulped, turning to the host in glasses. "Kyoya, you didn't..."
"I may have broken the camera's lens, but the footage that we had already shot wasn't damaged. Naturally, I did cut out that one violent scene. Sales have been pretty good so far. That Hollywood film crew did a fantastic job, but then again, I guess that's to be expected," Kyoya said like it was nothing.
"So, is this what you meant by interesting?" the twins asked.
"It's best to have as much money as we can in the club's budget."
"Um, Kyoya, did you cut out the part where I..." Mayumi trailed off.
"Don't worry, no added extra nonsense was in the video. You can even watch it and see it for yourself. I'll even give you a discount price," said Kyoya.
"Oh, thanks," said Mayumi, relieved that Kyoya had deleted her moment of rage.
"Oh and here," Kyoya suddenly produced a poster of the movie Millennial Snow, "courtesy of the director, as asked by Hikaru."
"Hikaru?" she asked, turning to the blushing teen.
"What, don't tell me you suddenly don't like that movie?" Hikaru asked annoyed.
"No, it's just, you asked the director to get this for me?" Mayumi asked.
"Yeah, of course," Hikaru said like it was nothing.
Mayumi smiled at this action. She was not only glad that Hikaru did this for her, but relieved that Hikaru and the others didn't treat her differently after losing her temper. She went on to join the twins and Haruhi in their conversation when a pink-bowed female stepped into the clubroom.
"Good day, everyone," Renge greeted cheerfully.
"Renge? But I thought you went back to France already."
She shook her head before confronting Haruhi.
"I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner. It was so chivalrous of you to risk your life to protect me. I could feel the love when you lectured me about judging people. When you said it was fun to get to know people little by little, you were talking about me."
"Yeah…" the female host said, not bothering to try and correct her. Renge grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out the door.
"Come on, Haruhi. Let's go to my house and play some games together. I think it's time you got to know me better."
"What?"
"Hey, Kyoya-senpai," Hikaru called out to him.
"You okay with that?" Kaoru asked.
Kyoya shrugged, eyes still on his laptop. "Why wouldn't I be? Everything Renge said is true."
"No, it isn't!" Tamaki cried.
"But I thought you were the one who wanted her to have a female friend in the first place, beside Mayumi, that is."
"Well, yeah, a female companion. Not a girlfriend! No, wait! Don't take Haruhi from me!" he shouted as he ran after them.