Chapter 4: Big Brother Type

"Sohma!" the deep-voiced boy called from a distance. I looked up out of habit when someone called my name but quickly turned back around when I saw the familiar tall blurry figure running towards me.

I tried desperately to wipe away the tears. I hated looking weak in front of others.

'Why, Mori? Somebody from that stupid club! And why is he walking out here alone, where's Honey? Plus, isn't it time for the club to start, why is he even out here at all?' I grumbled internally.

"Are you okay?" Mori asked, kneeling beside me. "What happened?" I looked up at him, and even without my glasses, I could make out some of his features, he looked concerned. I tried to make a convincing smile, but my sniffles were giving me away.

"I'm fine," I lied, my voice thick, "I just tripped into the pond, that's all." I knew that excuse wouldn't hold up for long as he looked down at my crushed glasses. He picked up the bent frames, and I quickly looked away, clenching my jaw.

"What happened?" he asked again, his voice a little bit stern but also soft. I bit my lip and blushed as I clenched my fists stubbornly.

I kept my eyes averted as he waited for an answer, which I wasn't giving. I stood up quickly and turned without looking at him. I started walking away, not knowing where I was going. I heard him stand and follow me. He kept up with my hurried pace easily. His long legs gave him a significant stride.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the showers to clean up," I exclaimed; I could feel how red my face was.

"You're headed in the wrong direction." He said flatly, and I froze in place; he stopped next to me. I looked down at the ground, my arms stiff at my side, and my hands balled into tight fists.

'This is just so embarrassing! Why does it matter to him? Can't he just leave me alone? I guess that would make him a bad host if he did... but.. just, ARG!' I thought entirely frustrated. I didn't like the next idea that came through my brain because it required me to ask him for help. 'I don't like to ask others for help, but if I don't right now, I would probably just end up looking even more stupid than I already do, ugh... Screw you.' I thought as I took a deep breath.

"Mori," I said, my voice shook, and my blush grew. I lowered my head further and said, "Could you please show me the way to the showers? I don't know where I am, and I probably won't be able to find it on my own because I can't read the signs." I paused and bit my cheek. "Could you please help me?" I asked through my teeth. He stood next to me silently; he placed his hand on my head.

Usually, I would have shrugged away from his touch, but this was something different. When I was younger, Yoshiro used to help me calm down from crying, being angry, or even just to help me sleep by stroking my head like a kitten; it was the way he told me he loved me. Mori's large hand reminded me of my brothers in so many ways. It was big, warm, and very kind. I found myself calming down; my breathing slowed, and my muscles relaxed. Even my tear flow became nonexistent.

After I was calmed down, I looked up at Mori. His expression was unreadable, but he still had his hand on my head. I blinked, and the last of my tears fell to the ground. Then Mori nodded his head.

"Yes." He said. 'Yes? Yes, to what? Oh yeah, I just asked him a question, didn't I? I was kind of out of it there for a second, going on a trip down memory lane. I seem to do that a lot.'

"Thank you," I mumbled, and he removed his hand from my head. I turned towards him and waited for him to show me the way to the showers.

Suddenly he reached down and picked me up bridal style, only with one arm.

"Ah, hey!" I exclaimed, and he began walking. "I'm not disabled, and I'm not totally blind!" He appeared to ignore me and kept walking. I struggled a bit, but he only held me closer, pressing me to his chest.

"I'm soaked, and you're getting all wet!" I protested, although that was obvious it and didn't seem to faze him either, so I gave up, a pout on my face.

I was sure I was blushing deep red. I could feel the heat on my cheeks. For some reason, his body felt really warm to me, probably because I was cold from "falling" in the pond. It was nice, so I didn't mind being held after that.

I listened to his deep breathing as he inhaled and exhaled, I could even feel his heart beating; I could hear it too. I was blushing the entire time, and I wonder if he noticed.

He walked through random hallways, and I didn't know where we were going until we reached one hall that seemed somewhat familiar to me.

'Yep, I knew it,' I thought as he opened the door at the end of the hallway and stepped inside. The same sweet, floral scent filled my nose.

"You're late, Takashi!" I heard Honey say.

"Where have you been? We-" I heard Tamaki say, but he stopped mid-sentence, probably noticing me.

"Yes, Mori, it's not like you to-" Kyoya started but also stopped when he saw me. "My, my, what happened?" he asked. I opened my mouth to explain, but Mori answered before I could.

"She fell in the pond and lost her glasses," he replied cooly. I looked up at him with an appreciative grin.

'I'll have to thank him for that later.' I told myself, as he carefully placed me on the ground.

"Aww, poor Sohma-chan!" Honey said as he walked up next to me. I could see him better once he was closer, and I smiled down at him. I looked up and could vaguely make out the blurs of others moving closer to me. I turned to Mori.

"But I thought you were taking me to the showers," I said teasingly, and Mori looked down at me.

"I don't know where the female showers are." He stated flatly. I snickered, and I'm sure they all gave me a funny look, but I couldn't tell.

"Of course you don't," I mumbled, turning back to the group of hosts only to find Tamaki too close for comfort. I leaned away.

"My poor darling! Come here, daddy will hold you!" He exclaimed loudly, and he reached for me. I held him away by his face as he waved his arms about.

"I already told you not to touch me, besides that, I'm soaking wet, and stop calling yourself my father. It's weird." I said, irritated. 'Not that he knows the reason why but still.'

Tamaki backed away and began complaining. "That's not fair! You let Mori hold you! -" and I stopped listening to him after that. 'Why is he such a crybaby?' I sighed.

"That's odd," Haruhi mumbled, walking up to me. "It's not like you to be clumsy." I stiffened up for a bit.

"Oh well," she said, "Come with me, you can take a shower, and I think we have an extra uniform you can change into, but I don't know if we'll be able to find your glasses or contacts."

"That's fine, I doubt you'll be able to find my prescription anyway," I said with a laugh as I followed her into the back room.

It was a bit strange to me that there was a shower in the music room, but I went with it.

After I was all cleaned up, I got dressed in the "uniform" she had mentioned, but what she didn't say was that it was a boy's uniform. It didn't matter to me, and I was actually okay with getting to wear pants for the first time in a while. I put it on and, of course, it was baggy, a size too big. I didn't bother tying the tie. My hair was still a little wet, and I was drying it with a towel when I got to the door.

I could hear girls chattering outside.

'So they started the club already... Well, I can't just waltz out of here dressed like this. If Misawa or one of the other girls are out there then... No, come up with a plan...' I thought as I paced the room. Then I had a stroke of genius! I searched around for the prop that I needed and found it quickly. I grinned and put it on.

My plan: exit the back room and see if I can't just make a beeline for the door and get out. That would be my best shot.

If that didn't work, then we move on to plan B, but we'll get to that if it's needed.

I put my hand on the handle and took in a deep breath. I opened the door and tried to walk quickly but casually through the room. I kept my head down, but somehow, one of the girls discovered me.

"Who are you?" she asked, pulling on my sleeve. I stopped and kept my face looking away.

"No, I was just leaving," I said, trying to tug away. She didn't buy it and reached for the hat on my head.

"Wait-" I heard Haruhi say, but the girl took the hat off anyway, revealing the prop, a short blonde wig.

"Oh my!" she gasped, dropping the hat on the floor. I knew what she was so surprised about, with short hair and no glasses I just looked like a cute guy. The blonde wig was my choice to make me look like my brother, Yoshiro, not Tamaki!

I looked around the room and heard other girls in the room gasp. I smiled a crooked smile. Looks like plan B.

"Hi," I said, and the room fluttered to life with whispers. A large group of girls formed around me.

"Wow, he's so cute!"

"What's your name?"

"Are you new to Ouran?"

The questions flooded in like my first day of school all over again.

"Please," I said, trying to sound more like a guy. "I can't answer all of your questions at the same time." I laughed a bit and searched the room for the host club members.

I found their familiar shapes, but there was a large crowd of girls between them and me.

"Will you be staying?" another girl asked as Haruhi pushed her way through them to me.

"This-" she started, and I pulled her close and whispered in her ear my plan. She looked at me like I was crazy, and I shrugged.

"Couldn't hurt," I said under my breath, "Unless you want to tell them, but that'll be too awkward at this point." She still looked unsure, so I smiled at her with a wink; she nodded and turned to the girls.

"Please calm down," Haruhi shouted. "This boy is a guest host visiting from another school. If you would all be kind to him, as this is his first time hosting, we would very much appreciate it." The girls swarmed around me.

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Yoshiro," I said with another crooked grin. Some girls started giggling and talking amongst themselves.

"This is interesting!" one said.

"I'm so calling Keiko about this," another said, pulling out her cellphone.

The girls ushered me to the same couches from yesterday. I took a seat and sat back in a comfortable non-fancy way.

Then out of nowhere, again, appeared the same orange-haired girl, and she sat on the couch across from me.

"So your name is Yoshiro?" she asked, and I nodded, unsure where this was going.

"My name is Renge, and I will now assess your host type!" She announced.

"Yoshiro, what are your hobbies?"

"Well, at my school, I'm captain of the basketball team," I answered.

"Favorite kind of music?

"Hard rock."

"Favorite food?"

"Pizza." She raised her eyebrows and grinned.

"What's the most important thing to you?" 'All right time to make this look good.' I thought as I tilted my head with a small smile and a dash of blush across my face.

"I guess," I paused, "If you're really asking, my younger siblings. I've taken care of them since, pretty much, forever. I'd do anything for them." I'm not sure how, but roses popped out of nowhere, and all the girls around me went all sparkly-eyed.

Renge then put her hand on her chin, thinking it through, and the girls nearby all leaned in to listen to her deductions.

"You, Yoshiro, are," she said, putting her hand in the air, then pointing at me with drama, "The Big Brother Type!"

"Oh," The girls around her said; they applauded. She then explained her assessment.

"You can say and do careless things at times, but you never forget who you truly care about most, your family. You're kind to everyone you meet and treat everyone like your younger brothers and sisters. And though some might see your rough mannerisms and dress as crude, they actually tell us that you care less about your own appearance and more about helping others. You are loyal to a fault and will help anyone who asks, even if it will inconvenience you."

"Well, not everyone.." I said, "I mean if they piss me off, I'm more likely to give 'em a swirly then help them." I spoke with a smirk.

"I see," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Then you also have a dark side, a bad temper. Meaning those who hurt you or who you care about better watch out."

"I guess so," I said, then I laughed. "But seriously, you got all that from basketball, rock music, and pizza?"

She smiled and then disappeared as quickly as she came.

"Okay then," I said, unsure as the girls all started asking questions.

I answered everyone in the same way that Yoshiro would have and kept in character for the rest of the club hours. When the last guest walked out of the door, I stood up and stretched.

"Whew! That was fun," I said, looking at Haruhi, "How did I do?"

"You did great," she said, smiling, "Just like in middle school." I laughed. It felt good to play the big brother again. I immediately took off the wig. "Um... whose is this?" I asked, holding it out.

"Ours," the twins said in unison.

"Here ya go," I said, tossing it to them. "Sorry, I kind of threw it on at the last second, my hair was still wet."

"Not a big deal," they replied as I took my hair down and flung my head over. I shook out my hair and rand my fingers through it; it was steamy from being under the wig for so long. I stood back up straight as Honey came walking up to me.

"I didn't know you were such a great actress, Sohma-chan!" He exclaimed.

"That was indeed quite impressive," Kyoya said.

"Yeah," I said, messing with my hair. "That was pretty close to me in middle school."

"Only she wore baggy T-shirts and cargo pants," Haruhi added, and I smiled at her.

"Yeah, and you had long hair and wore skirts," I teased nudging her in the arm, and she grinned at me.

"But," she stated, putting up her index finger, "you weren't the captain of the basketball team, where did that come from?"

"Oh well," I paused, unsure how to say that Yoshiro always wanted to be captain of his high school basketball team, he never made it there, but I always imagined him achieving that goal. "That was Yoshiro, too," I said with a half-smile to Haruhi. The club looked at me, confused, and Haruhi gave me a strangely sad yet kind look.

"Yoshiro is real?" Kyoya asked. 'I wonder why he was the one to take an interest in this...'

"Yeah..." I paused and I felt the expression on my face soften, "my older brother." Haruhi smiled at me, and I smiled back widely. Just then, I received a text message. I took out my cell, which thankfully had survived getting wet, and checked the message. It was from my driver. He was waiting for me outside.

"Well, I gotta go," I said, shoving it back in my pocket. "Thanks for lending me these clothes," I said to them as I began walking towards the door.

"See you guys tomorrow!" I called, smiling at Honey. I couldn't tell if he was smiling be, but I assumed he was.

"Tomorrow," Haruhi called back, I waved at her and left through the doors.

I managed to find my way through the blurry halls to my car. I had the driver make a stop at the house where I changed clothes; then we headed out to get me a new pair of glasses; I had to have another eye exam.

I picked out a pair of glasses that seemed a little girly-er then I was used to, but they came highly recommended by the overly helpful sales lady who said, and I quote, "They make you look smart and yet, at the same time, adorable!" I took her word for it and bought them, but I think I just looked the same. Then I took a trip to the store to buy the ingredients for the cake I was going to make for Honey.

I planned on skipping lessons and making it that afternoon, but my manners instructor insisted we have our lesson. It was over fancy dinner parties and how to make small talk. 'UGH!'

After that, there wasn't any time to make the cake before bedtime, so I would have to wake up early and bake it in the morning.

I ate a quick spaghetti dinner and jumped into bed after setting the alarm to wake me in time to bake.

Please review and, to those who have, thank you so much!

~Thank you for reading~

~MiraCarpathia