Chapter 14: "OPERATION AYAMI'S HAPPINESS!"
Tamaki's point of view:
"Hmm," I hummed to myself as I walked through the halls. "Now, where could this new princess be, I wonder?" I had heard rumors of a new girl in Haruhi's class-year that had just started at Ouran today. I began by checking in her classroom.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for someone," I said to a couple of girls there.
"Oh, my, Tamaki," one named Meiko said, blushing. "Who are you looking for?"
"I heard that a new princess was starting here today, and I was curious to meet her," I said, looking around the room.
"Oh, you mean Sohma-san," she guessed. "I think I saw her headed for the gardens.
"Thank you," I said, smiling to her. then I traveled out to the gardens, searching for this new face.
Eventually, I made my way around to the back of the maze where a large tree stood, and there, underneath it, sat the girl I was searching for.
She had shoulder-length, slightly curly brown hair that was held back by two hair clips. She was sitting with her feet out in front of her long ways, and she had her lunch sitting on her lap. She stared blankly at her feet as she nibbled on the sandwich in her hands.
As I walked up to her, I put on my most princely face.
"Hello there!" I called out to her in greeting.
"Ah!" she exclaimed, jumping a bit.
"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" I asked, then she turned in my direction, and I finally got to see her face. Her eyes were a beautiful ocean blue color, but they were hidden under a pair of large unflattering glasses. Her facial expression was one of surprise and confusion.
"You're the new student here, aren't you?" I asked, smiling as I leaned in her direction. I saw a hint of blush on her cheeks, and she nodded her head in response. I grinned softly and took a seat next to her, and she looked back down at her lunch. "What's your name?" I asked.
"Sohma," she mumbled, "Sohma, Ayami." She glanced at me through the corner of her eye as she took a bite of her sandwich. 'Hmm, a shy girl,' I thought to myself.
"That's a charming name," I complimented with another smile.
"Thanks," she said curtly in English, which surprised me. She blushed deep pink.
"You're from America!" I said happily; she nodded again. "That's amazing, that makes you like a foreign princess!" This statement confused her.
"So, do you have some free time this afternoon, Sohma-hime?" I asked. She coughed a bit, choking on the bite of sandwich in her mouth. She took a drink from her juice box and finally swallowed, then she looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"It would make me so very happy if you could come to my club this afternoon after school," I said, smiling. I decided it was time for one of my host moves. I reached my hand up to her chin. "Won't you please, Hime-sama?" I begged, leaning closer and giving her my most princely eyes. She pushed my hand away and quickly and stood up, the rest of her lunch scattering on the ground.
"No!" she shouted in English. "No, I won't! I don't even know your name!" she finished in Japanese.
"Oh, how rude of me," I said, standing up and bowing, placing my hand over my chest. "My name is Tamaki Suoh." And with that, she froze solid.
"No way," she said quietly. I looked at her; her expression was one of disbelief, shock, and what seemed to be disappointment. 'Why is that?' I thought.
"You know I don't think I can," she said, turning without looking at me. She knelt and began picking up her lunch. I was about to help her, but she quickly threw everything into one pile and stood up. "I have lots of studying to do," she replied stiffly.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I said a bit disappointed. "I do hope you'll come by some time, though." Then she looked at me; her eyebrows pressed together like she was thinking something through. Her eyes, even though her glasses partially hid them, seemed large, and I felt like their judging glare was holding me.
"Maybe," she mumbled, rushing off towards the school, and I smiled.
"It's in music room three! See you there, Princess!" I called after her certain I would see her again.
That afternoon:
Mori's point of view:
We were all getting ready for club, as usual, when Tamaki burst into the room.
"Everyone I have an announcement to make!" he shouted, and we all gave him our undivided attention.
"Today, a new princess has started attending Ouran!" he said, "I want everyone here to show her our utmost and best in host-ly charm!"
"A new girl, really?" Honey asked excitedly.
"Oh, we heard about her," the twins said, "but she's in a different class from us so we wouldn't know what she's like."
"I've already spoken with her," Tamaki said proudly, "and I find her a good match for me."
"You find every girl a good match for you," Haruhi stated flatly. Tamaki and Haruhi began talking, and I looked across the table to where Honey sat.
"I can't wait to meet her," he said, taking a bite of cake, "I wonder if she likes cake."
"Ah," I replied, thinking it over myself.
"Welcome," we all greeted as a group of girls entered through the door.
"Please enter, ladies," Tamaki said bowing, and when he looked up, he stepped forward, smiling. "Ah, my new princess! You decided to come after all." He said to a girl we had never seen before with brown hair and glasses. He then reached forward to land a kiss on her hand, but she slapped it away.
"Don't touch me." she said shortly, "I didn't come here on my own will, and I most certainly did not come here to see you, pervert!" Tamaki fell to the floor, the twins laughing at him.
"You've been rejected," they teased together; he looked up at them with tears in his eyes.
"This isn't funny!" he shouted.
"She says that she knows Haruhi," one of the girls from the group said, and the new girl's expression turned to something like bothersome. We all looked at her curiously.
"I'm Haruhi," Haruhi said, stepping forward, "and you are?" The girl looked her over, putting her hand on her chin. Then suddenly, Renge appeared.
"What's this then?" she exclaimed, "A girl who's claiming to know Haruhi?" She leaned to one of the girls from the group. They whispered back and forth for a few seconds, then she turned around, her eyes burning with fire. At this time, a girl gave the new girl a push from behind, and she stepped forwards.
She looked nervous, and she took a deep breath as she walked closer to Haruhi.
"What happens if she really is Haruhi's old friend?" Honey quietly asked, "Wouldn't that mean that she knows Haruhi as a girl?"
"En," I replied.
"Then it's possible," Kyoya said with a pause, "that she may tell others Haruhi's secret." We all felt an uneasiness wash over us as we watched the girl scrutinized Haruhi.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed in English. "It is you."
'Interesting, she's foreign. American accent?' I thought as we all looked at Haruhi; she tilted her head in confusion.
"Do I know you?" she asked, and the girl snickered.
"Yes, but it's been two years since we last saw each other."
"You do look a little familiar - but I can't put my finger on..." by the end, she was only mumbling. The entire room waited, then the girl sighed and leaned forward in a bow.
"Ayami Sohma," she introduced.
"You're-" Haruhi said, taking a step back and throwing a hand over her mouth.
"Ah, so Haru-chan does know her," Honey said.
After a bit of talking, the two old friends took a seat at the coffee table, and Honey looked up at me.
"Let's go say hello!" he said; I nodded, and we walked over to them.
"You're a friend of Haru-chan?" Honey asked, and she nodded.
"Do you like cake?" he asked. She leaned towards him with a kind smile and winked.
"I love cake." Honey grinned and pulled out a slice of cake.
"Here!" he said, handing it to her.
"Thank you," she said and took the plate from him. He bounced on to my shoulder, and we walked over to our table. We took a seat, and Honey started talking to the girls who were sitting with us. I decided to study our new guest. She seemed interesting to me.
'Her hair and eye color are pretty rare, most people with brown hair also had brown eyes, but her eyes have an intense blue color.' As I thought this, the twins came up behind her, and each placed a hand on one of her shoulders.
"So you're old friends with Haruhi, are you?" They asked she looked bothered and shrugged off their hands.
"Yes, we attended the same elementary and middle schools," she answered, giving Haruhi a smile that looked fake. She glanced around the room a bit then turned back to Haruhi.
"By the way, Haruhi, what kind of club is this?" She asked, and Tamaki stepped forward.
"This, my princess, is the Ouran High School Host Club," he boasted. Suddenly she became rigidly still, and her eyes grew wide. The set in her jaw told me that she was displeased. It took her a moment to recover; she took in a deep breath and turned back to her slice of cake.
"I see," she said, forking a bite into her mouth, "I didn't think you were one for this sort of thing, Haruhi."
"I wasn't at first, but it's not so bad," Haruhi replied, her responding expression was a mixture of discomfort and disgust.
"Well," she said with another fake smile, "Don't let me get in the way of club activities. Please just continue with whatever you were doing before I got her or whatever." She quickly took another bite of cake. Tamaki and the twins returned to their guests as did Haruhi
"Would you like some more tea?" Haruhi asked the two girls sitting on the couch across from her.
"Yes, please," one said.
"Umm, Sohma-san," the girl said, and Sohma looked up surprised.
"Yes?" she asked.
"How long have you and Haruhi know each other?" the guest asked. Sohma took a deep breath through her nose, seeming annoyed at what she was about to do.
"Well, we've known each other since the fifth grade, but we became closer friends in the first year of middle school," she answered.
"What was Haruhi like when he was younger?" the second girl asked, and the other hosts all held their breath.
"He was pretty much the same as he is now," she said, going along with the ruse; Tamaki let out a sigh. I quickly glanced at Honey, who smiled up at me, relieved.
As the hosting hours continued, I glanced her way several times, something about her seemed to draw me in. From my observations of her, I surmised this, she was uncomfortable, not just that but uneasy, nervous, and apprehensive.
She didn't want to be here, not the clubroom but more like the school itself. She kept fidgeting with her dress. I would guess that she wasn't used to wearing a skirt. Her hair was an attempt at making herself look girly-er than she felt. It almost seemed like she was trying her best to fit in and act according to what was expected of her, not that she genuinely felt that way. Her smiles were all fake and never touched her eyes, and her words and manners seemed unrefined. I watched her as she studied the hosts at work.
She watched us first, and while her eyes were on us, I kept my gaze averted from hers so as not to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was.
Then her eyes lingered to Kyoya, and she watched him for a bit as he worked on his computer.
Then she moved on to Tamaki, whom she stared at for a long time. Her expressions changed several times from interest to irritation and from confusion to curiousness.
Lastly, she looked at the twins, but she quickly turned away from them after a short glance.
Honey caught me staring at her.
"What is it, Takashi?" he asked, pulling me from my trance. He looked toward Sohma then back to me.
"Nothing," I said, returning my attention to our guests.
When the club ended, we all made our way to where the two old friends were sitting.
"Miss Sohma," Kyoya said. She looked up as we gathered around her and Haruhi; a tinge of blush appeared on her cheeks blushed pink.
"Thank you, for not blabbing Haruhi's secret," Kyoya finished.
"No biggy," she replied, tilting her head downwards as if to hide behind her glasses.
"What's so funny?" the twins asked in unison, lingering over the laughing Haruhi.
"I'm sorry... but it's just..." she didn't finish that sentence; Sohma nodded.
"Yeah, I know, it's just as weird for me as it is for you," she said, looking at the twins. "I take it that you all know that Haruhi's a girl?" We all nodded.
"Well, Haruhi finds it funny that, out of the two of us, she's the one wearing men's clothing. Last time Haruhi and I met, I only wore boy's clothing and had contacts. The truth is that the story I told about the boys picking on me was flipped. I'm the one who saved Haruhi, it landed me in detention but whatever." I looked at her understanding; then she turned to Haruhi.
"How did you get them to let you wear a boy's uniform?" She complained. "They're forcing me to wear this yellow tent and take lessons on how to be all ladylike; I swear it's like My Fair Lady. It's really unfair if you ask me." A grimace on her lips.
"I like it. I think you look cute!" Honey complimented her; she looked at him and blushed, trying to hide it again.
"Yes, I agree," Tamaki said, "You look like a prin-" and before he could finish that sentence, she shot him a glance of annoyance.
"Who asked you," she said curtly. Tamaki fell back into the corner, poking the ground. She rolled her eyes and looked at Haruhi before standing up and introducing herself.
"I'm sorry I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I'm Ayami Sohma," she said, bowing slightly. Kyoya introduced each of us, and she smiled back kindly but still fake.
"It's nice to meet you, and thank you for taking care of Haruhi," she said, and she turned toward her. "Are you quite done yet?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips; Haruhi then stopped laughing and cleared her throat.
"So," Haruhi said, "Are you going to explain to me how you got into Ouran?" We all looked at her, wait for the answer; she bit her lip and walked around the couch.
"It's a long story..." she started, "Remember how my mother was obsessed with finding my father?" She asked, leaning over the back of the couch; Haruhi nodded.
"If I remember correctly, there were a few candidates, and she couldn't find some of them." Sohma looked amused, and she nodded.
"Well, she finally found him." She finished. "It turns out; he's rich and, at first, I thought he was just going to pay my mother in child support or try to get rid of me. You know, like dust under the rug, but he instead he took me in. He set me up in a huge mansion and had me enrolled in this school. So here I am!" She finished with another fake-looking smile that appeared more painfilled than her others.
"That must be... interesting," Haruhi said.
"You have no idea," Sohma said with yet another sigh.
'Why does she keep sighing? Is she sad or depressed, perhaps?' I wondered then Tamaki stepped back into the conversation
"Such a sad story," he said, sniffling, "You never had a daddy growing up! Come here. I'll be your daddy!" He reached forward to hug her, and she held him at arm's length.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure I don't want to find out," she said with a strange look as she pushed him away; he fell to the floor crying.
"You know, boss. I don't think she, or anybody for that matter, wants you as their father," the twins said, and a small smirk appeared on Sohma's face, not like her other smiles, this one was more real.
'Hmm, why did that make her smile?' I wondered.
"Then, I will assist my new princess with her lessons!" Tamaki exclaimed; she gave him a look as if she was staring at some bizarre creature.
"And what makes you think I want your help?" she asked, obviously irritated. "I think they've already done me some good. I mean, I'm not punching your pretty face into the ground right now, so I think they've helped me a lot."
"Yes, I'm very impressed with how much you've improved," Haruhi said, and Sohma gave her a sarcastic look.
"Thanks," Sohma said in a flat tone, then she mumbled something I couldn't hear, giving a glance at the clock.
"Yikes!" she exclaimed, "I've got to be somewhere in like ten minutes." I could tell she was lying. She started walking towards the door.
"It was good to see you, Haruhi; we should talk again sometime, maybe over lunch or something, okay?"
"Definitely," Haruhi replied, and Sohma nodded back.
"It was nice to meet you guys," she said to the rest of us with a wave as she walked out the door. After she had left, we all turned to Haruhi.
"Haruhi," Tamaki said.
"Yes?" she asked.
"What in the world just happened!" He shouted.
"Calm down senpai," she said as she started to put away the tea.
"But it doesn't make any sense! How could she be your friend?!" Tamaki ranted.
"Yes, what are the odds of her being your friend from childhood," Kyoya said.
"I know I'm just as shocked as you are," she said, standing up.
"No," one of the twins said, "I just think the boss is upset that you stole his thunder."
"But really," Honey spoke up, "it's amazing that you're both attending Ouran now! Ne, Taka-chan?" He looked up at me.
"Ah," I said, wondering why he chose to address me.
"But," Honey added, "she didn't seem happy to be here."
"Places like this would make her uncomfortable," Haruhi said, "She probably won't be returning."
"What!" Tamaki exclaimed, grabbing Haruhi.
"All I'm saying is that she won't be coming back to the club by choice." She said annoyingly, brushing him off; Tamaki thought over that one.
"Putting that aside for now," Kyoya spoke. "There are a few items of discussion that we need to go over for the club..." and with that, our conversation on the new student ended and was replaced with club discussion.
The next morning:
Haruhi's point of view:
I walked through the halls towards my first class, and I found the host club sniffing around where they didn't belong.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked, alarming Tamaki.
"Shh!" he said, pulling me around the corner covering my mouth.
"We're hiding!" he whispered. I pulled his hands off me and looked around; several girls were pointing at us and whispering.
"Well, you're not doing a very good job of blending in," I said. "What are you all up to, anyway?"
"We're watching to see when Sohma-chan comes to class," Honey chirped.
"Why?" I asked suspiciously.
"Hm-hmm," Tamaki cooed with a confident gleam in his eye, "I have a plan." I raised one eyebrow as I looked at him, confused.
"Look," Hikaru said.
"There she is!" Kaoru finished. We all peaked around the corner to see Aya walking to her class. She had a bored look on her face, and she seemed to be sleepy. Tamaki was intently watching her every move as she walked down the hallway, a smile on his face.
"Look, I don't know what you're up to, senpai," I whispered, "but if Aya catches you spying on her, she won't be pleased."
"Hush! She's getting closer," he said, a grin still on his face. I sighed, and we all continued to watch her.
Aya walked to the door and entered her classroom, she didn't greet anyone, and no one greeted her. The host club "sneaked" up to the entrance to the classroom, pulling me along with them, and we all watched as Aya took her seat. No one talked to her as she sat there; her expression seemed dull and dry. She began pulling out her things for class, and as she did, I glanced at Tamaki, whose expression had changed to one of grave concern. Suddenly, a thought hit me.
'This scene... it reminds me of something I've seen before... but what?' I thought, staring at Tamaki.
"This is boring," Hikaru and Kaoru said together, turning to leave, "We're going to our class."
"What! You two, get back here," Tamaki commanded them, but they instead wrapped their arms around me.
"Come on, Haruhi, we'd better get going," Kaoru said.
"Or else we'll be late for our class." Hikaru finished; I sighed.
"Sorry, Tamaki-senpai, I don't know what your plan is, but I'm sure I don't want to be part of it," I said, and the twins and I made our exit.
"You two little devils! Taking Haruhi away with you!" Tamaki shouted after us.
As the twins and I walked to class, I thought over the scene just now, 'Why was that scene so familiar? Where have I seen that before?'
Mori's point of view:
As we watched her sit at her desk, I examined her carefully; she seemed tired, exhausted, in fact. Her movements were slow, and her appearance was thrown together, looking like she didn't care how well she dressed. Her hair was wavy and clipped back, and she wore the same bulky black glasses from yesterday. I didn't like them; they covered too much of her face, and it made it harder to see her eyes.
After the twins had left with Haruhi, we all looked to Tamaki.
"This isn't good," He said, looking at Sohma, "Alright, disperse for now, but we'll regroup at the club."
"Yes sir," Honey said, saluting him.
"Ah," I said in agreement, then we all headed off to our classes.
"You know," Honey said as we walked, "Sohma looked tired."
"En," I said, remembering the bags beginning to form under her eyes.
"I wonder what she's going through, and I wonder if we could help," he said, skipping along. "After all she is Haruhi's friend, but Haruhi seemed indifferent about it, surely she saw how sleepy she looked. Why do you think Haruhi didn't want to help her?" he asked, looking up at me.
"I'm not sure," I replied, looking ahead. Honey looked back down at his bunny, and we walked the rest of the way to class in silence, both thinking about the state of our new friend.
Classes went by normally, and at lunchtime, Honey turned to me with a large grin.
"Hey, Taka-chan!" he said excitedly, "Let's go find Sohma-chan and have lunch with her! It could be fun!"
"Ah," I agreed, and we started on our way.
We made our way towards her class only to find out that she wasn't there, but one girl said that she had seen her headed in the direction of the gardens. So we started walking around in that area, and we found her sitting under a tree. We walked towards her, and she looked up at us. Honey waved at her, and she waved back with a slight grin, which didn't seem as "put on" as the ones from yesterday. Honey then jumped to her side and sat down.
"Hello, Sohma-chan!" he greeted happily.
"Hello," she replied with a soft smile that looked very kind and real.
"Is it okay if Taka-chan and I sit with you?" Honey asked. She looked up at me as I stood, waiting.
"It's fine with me," she said, returning to her curry lunch.
I took a seat on the other side of Honey, and we sat there in silence for a bit as we ate our lunches. Then the two of them started up a conversation about cakes and other pastries, and she agreed to bring a special cake for Honey to the club room tomorrow.
When she had finished her lunch, she gathered her things and stood to leave.
"I guess I'll see you later, Honey, Mori," she said, starting to walk away. I nodded, and Honey waved good-bye as she walked off.
"Sohma seems nice," Honey said, "I like her!"
"En," I agreed; she seemed very sweet when she wasn't nervous.
"Ah!" Honey exclaimed after a bit, and I looked at him.
"What?" I asked, and he held up a cellphone.
"Sohma-chan left her cellphone," he said.
"Here," I said, standing, "I'll take it to her." Honey smiled and handed me the phone.
"I'll wait for you here," he said I nodded and hurried off down the hall.
I ran around a corner, and there she was walking at a reasonable pace down the hall.
"Sohma-san," I called, and she turned around. She gave me a confused look then turned to face me entirely and walking in my direction. I stopped about a yard from her.
"Yes?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Here," I said, and I held out my hand. She blinked once and put out her hand. I dropped it into her palm, and she blushed.
"Thank you," she said, her blush growing; she was embarrassed. She started to leave when I caught her.
"Sohma," I said, and she stopped. She looked up at me curiously, and when I didn't say anything, she softened her expression.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Mitsukuni likes you a lot. Don't let him down." My statement surprised her.
"He does?" she asked, shocked; I nodded. "Well... I guess I like him to," she said, and I looked at her, surprised. "I like him because he reminds me of my younger siblings, even though he's older than me, but it's probably just because I miss them." She said, staring out the window. Her expression was sad. "I'm not allowed to see them right now, and kind of miss hearing their voices. Honey reminds me of them a lot." She then looked up at me and blushed with another fake smile.
"We'd better get going, or we'll both be late to class," she said, turning to leave. "Thanks again! I'll see you later, Mori!" she said, dashing down the hall. I looked after her, not moving for a bit. Eventually, I started walking back to Honey.
'She's lonely; she misses her family.' I thought and adding those to my list of things I now know about her.
Chapter 5 takes place here.
Tamaki's point of view:
"This is absurd," I said as I walked with Kyoya to our first class.
"What do you mean?" he asked, not looking away from where we were heading.
"Our new princess, she's obviously troubled! We need to help her somehow," I said, trying to think of ways to help her, Kyoya gave me a side glance then pushed up his glasses.
"I agree that she's probably in need of a good night's rest, but you heard what Haruhi said about meddling in her personal affairs." He said, pulling out his phone and started walking away. "As for me, I need to check up on something."
"Ah, Kyoya, not you too!" I complained, but it made no difference, he kept on walking away.
"Grr!" I said, frustrated, "I just want to do our job! As the host club, it is our duty to bring joy and happiness to all the beautiful young maidens in this school!" I said; a few passers-by gave me funny looks. "I will not give up on our new princess!"
All through class, I was distracted by different ways to bring a smile to Miss Sohma's face. When the lunch bell rang, I grabbed Kyoya by the arm.
"Come Kyoya, were going to join our new princess for lunch," I said; he just sighed.
We started making our way towards Miss Sohma's class when we ran into Haruhi.
"Haruhi," I called, and she looked at us. "We were just about to go have lunch with Miss Sohma, let's all go have a fun picnic in the gardens with our new princess."
"Wait a minute, senpai," Haruhi said, stopping me.
"Mori, Honey, and I were already planning to have lunch with her and, if you turn her lunch into a club picnic, she's surely going to leave and eat lunch somewhere else or skip it altogether." She stated, uncaring.
"But that's not fair! I want to have lunch with the new princess!" I said.
"You need to take it one step at a time with Aya, she doesn't like you to force your way into her life," Haruhi said.
"Well, it looks like I'm not needed here anymore, so I'll be taking my leave now," Kyoya said, walking away.
"Ah, Kyoya!" I called after him.
"Bye senpai," Haruhi said, leaving in the opposite direction.
"Ah, wait!" I called after her, then I followed her to the place where they were going to be having lunch but was forced to look on from the shadows.
After a short bit, Princess Ayami joined them, and they had their lunch together.
When lunch was over, I followed Haruhi and Ayami as they walked back to class, and I overheard their conversation.
"Hey, did you make that lunch yourself?" Haruhi asked. Ayami looked surprised.
"Yeah, how could you tell?" She said, tilting her head.
"Octopus," Haruhi replied.
'Octopus?' I wondered.
"So," Ayami said, a bit of blush showing though. "No big deal."
"No big deal when you were making six identical lunches for little kids," Haruhi said, and Miss Sohma blushed some more.
'So she has a family, and she used to make lunches for them, how cute!' I thought with a grin.
"When was the last time you saw your siblings?" Haruhi asked.
'Last time she saw them?' I thought, confused; I leaned my ear closer to hear.
"Four," she replied.
"Four days?" Haruhi guessed.
"Four weeks," Sohma said.
"But they don't live in another country now, shouldn't you be allowed to see them whenever you want?" Haruhi asked.
"Yeah, but my mom's upset with me, so she's not letting me see them," Sohma answered.
'That's absurd!' I thought, trying to contain my emotions.
"Oh," Haruhi said, "You miss them, don't you? Hence the octopus."
"I missed them more when I was in America, but even then, my mom let me call and talk to them on the phone or e-mail. This time there's no contact allowed whatsoever."
"That... doesn't seem right."
'No, it doesn't!' I agreed mentally.
"She's my mom," she said, "She can do whatever she wants."
"So can you," Haruhi said, and Sohma sighed.
"My class is farther than yours, so I'm gonna run the rest of the way by myself. See you at the club later."
"Uh, Aya-" Haruhi said, but she was already running away.
'This is unacceptable!' I thought, frustrated at the thought of someone being kept from their family, much like myself, so I hurried off back to my class.
That Afternoon:
I paced back and forth in the clubroom, impatiently waiting for our new family member to arrive.
"Where is she?" I demanded of Haruhi, "she said she was coming!"
"Calm down senpai," Haruhi said, "If she said she was coming, then she is, so be patient. You're more upset about this than Honey is." I stopped pacing and took a seat.
"Aww, why so down?" Sohma's voice asked, and we all turned to see her standing in the doorway.
"Aya-chan!" Honey said, running up to her and hugging her; she giggled.
"Sorry I'm late," she apologized, ruffling his hair.
"How come you're letting Honey touch you?" I asked, "Plus, when did you start letting him call you by your nickname? I want to call you by a nickname!"
"Hello everyone," she greeted, completely ignoring me.
"Honey-senpai has been waiting very anxiously," Haruhi said.
"Really?" she asked, looking down at him.
"He didn't even eat any other cake at all today," the twins added. At this, she blushed red and cleared her throat as she placed the box on the table. She removed the lid, and the sides of the box fell open, showing off her work, which was gorgeous.
"No way it looks like a cake," Haruhi said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ayami asked, "What did you think it was going to look like?" She then sighed as she picked up the cutting knife and a plate.
"Who wants the first slice?" she teased; Honey looked up with pleading eyes.
"Just kidding," she whispered, nudging him. She smiled and cut him a slice. He then took it, placed it on the table, and stared it down. She blushed as she served the rest of us cake. When everyone had a slice, we all turned to Honey, and he took the first bite and froze.
"Honey?" Ayami said, concerned. He turned towards her, tugged on her sleeve, and hugged her.
"Ah, see now that's not fair! Why do you let him hug you, but not me?" I asked, but she just ignored me again.
"It delicious!" Honey exclaimed, and she smiled. I, still somewhat frustrated, threw a bite of cake in my mouth then froze. The cake was very delicious!
"Wow!" the twins said, "It's delicious."
"Tastes like cake too," Haruhi said.
"This is amazing, my darling!" I exclaimed, waltzing to her side. "It tastes like it's been prepared by the hands of an angel!" I put my arm around her shoulders, but she stabbed my hand with her fork.
"Ow!" I exclaimed, and the twins began laughing at me. I then sat in the corner as I nibbled on my cake. After a bit, I looked over my shoulder.
"Hey Aya," Haruhi said, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier if I upset you-" she started, but Ayami cut her off.
"No, no, it's fine. You were just trying to help after all," she said with a smile, Haruhi smiled back.
"Would you like some tea?" Haruhi asked.
"Yes, please," she said. They walked to the couches together, and I watched them from behind a chair.
"Thank you," Ayami said, taking the cup from Haruhi. They sat there for a short while, then Ayami checked her watch and sighed.
"What is it?" Haruhi asked.
"I have another lesson today in less than an hour," she replied unenthusiastically. "Ballroom dancing."
'A fine thing for a young lady to be learning,' I added in my mind, and they talked on that a bit.
"Why are you taking dancing lessons anyway?" Haruhi asked, and she sighed again.
"Well," she said, looking at her tea for a bit.
"I guess I'm doing it to make my father happy," she said.
"But you're not happy," Mori said, surprising her.
"My poor darling daughter!" I said, and I was going hug her, but she gave me threatening glare.
"Poor what?" she asked, and I backed away, quickly hiding behind Haruhi.
"Daughter," she said, "You just called me your daughter. I thought I told you not to call me that."
"You did," Haruhi said, looking at me.
"Right, I thought so... so why are you calling me your daughter anyway?" she asked with a bothered look.
"Because," I mumbled.
'No, I have to let her know how I feel!' I thought as I jumped out from behind the couch and stood up straight, pointing at Ayami.
"Because you're lonely and you need friends! You need a family! You need me as your father!" She stared at me... then started snickering. Suddenly she burst out laughing.
"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed in English, "He's totally mental!"
"What?" I asked a bit confused. 'I'm not sure what that means, but her smile and laugh right now... look quite happy! I'd love to see her laugh more.' I thought. "Is that a yes?" I asked, hopefully.
"Haruhi is this guy insane?" she asked.
"I don't think so, but I guess it's possible," she said, smiling. I frowned at her, and Ayami giggled, ending it with a sigh.
"No, thank you," Ayami finally said. "I already have a father, and I definitely don't want you as my father; besides, it's just not possible," she said, taking the last sip of her tea. "I've got to get going," she said, standing up.
"No!" I shouted, standing my ground, "You will be my daughter."
"You sure are persistent," she said, giving me an irritated look, "but I already said no."
"Now that we have adopted her into the family," I said, turning around. "Let's proceed with Operation AYAMI'S HAPPINESS!" I said confidently.
"With what?" she asked as the twins surrounded her.
"Yes, boss!" They said, saluting me.
"Stop right there!" she commanded, bringing the whole thing to a halt. "This is nonsense! I'm not going along with any of your weird fantasies, especially not something called operation Ayami's Happiness! Where the heck did that come from anyway? Why on Earth would any of you think I wasn't happy?" She looked at each of us, but finally, she gave up and sighed. "Whatever, I'm going to be late for my lesson if I don't hurry. You," she said, pointing at me, "stay the hell away from me!" I shrank back, and she turned on her heel and walked towards the door.
"Honey," she said over her shoulder, "you can have the rest of the cake. See ya later, Haruhi." she hurried out the door and left us all standing there.
"Tamaki," Haruhi said, sounding irritated, I looked at her.
"What did I tell you!?" she yelled at me. "Didn't I tell you that if you tried to force your way into her life, she would push you away?"
"But you weren't letting me anywhere near her," I complained, "then I heard that conversation you two had in the hallway."
"You were following us? Seriously!" she said, then she sighed.
"But I'm right about Ayami," I said, and she looked up at me, "I think we've all already noticed it. That she's unhappy."
"Yeah," she admitted, "but I don't know how to help her seeing as how she's always so closed off."
Chapter 8 right after Aya leaves the clubroom with Mori
Haruhi's point of view:
"This could be it!" Tamaki shouted confidently.
"Could be what?" I asked.
"The solution to Operation Ayami's Happiness!" he said, turning to the twins. "I'm going to need you two to work double-time and have all our costumes ready by tomorrow!" he commanded them.
"Tamaki-senpai, I don't think dressing up as pirates is going to be what makes Aya happy," I said.
"Humph, well see about that," he said; I sighed and sat back in my chair.
'Hmm,' I thought, looking at him, 'Again this scene, this setting, it's so very familiar to me. Where?' then suddenly it hit me. 'This is exactly like what happened with Aya's younger sister Kotomi! That's right, on Aya's birthday Kotomi dragged me with her following Aya around, trying to find out what gift would make her happy. In the end...' I thought, remembering how that turned out; I smiled. 'It looks like Tamaki may have to learn the same lesson.'
Chapter 9 right after the pirate scene
After Aya had left, I looked at Tamaki, expecting him to be upset that his plan didn't work, but instead, he was smiling uncontrollably.
"What is it?" I asked, placing the tray of brownies on the table; he looked at me with blush on his cheeks.
"She called me king," he said, and I rolled my eyes.
"But, your plan didn't work, just as I said it wouldn't," I said, and he looked at me still happy.
"But I got her to smile," he said, picking up a brownie.
"Yeah, and we got her to laugh," Honey said, taking a bite of his brownie. "Yummy," he said.
"But even those smiles seemed strained," Mori said, and we all looked at him curiously, but we all knew he was right.
"Yes," Tamaki said, eating his brownie, "I think we need to help her by solving the issues in her family life, surely that will make her happy."
"Seriously, senpai, you're only going to make her angrier," I said, but before I was even done talking, he was off on something else.
"As her new father, I have to make my daughter happy," he said, and he started plotting; I sighed.
'Oh well,' I thought, taking a bite of brownie, 'Tasty, who would have ever thought that she would make a good cook... In any event.' I looked at the other hosts who were all talking up ways to bring happiness to Ayami's life. 'I wonder if Aya will ever let others help her. The walls she has placed around herself were made for protection, but now it seems like they're hurting her.' I thought as I ate my brownie.
'But what they don't know it that she has issues in her past that won't ever fade away. Yoshiro being the most prevalent and the rift that tore between her mother and her. I don't know how that issue will ever be solved. Then there are more recent issues with her father and new brother. On that, she said he attends this school and that I knew him, but the only boys that she knows I know are-' I thought as I watched the host club and I dropped the brownie realizing it.
'No wonder she doesn't like the host club!' I thought, catching my breath, 'One of them is her new big brother!'
The day after the fight, we all went out to find Aya, only to be informed by her teacher that she was out sick, which we all knew was a lie.
"What does that mean?" Tamaki asked.
"I think it means that Miss Sohma's father is a very important man," Kyoya said, and we all looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean?" Honey asked.
"It means that whoever Miss Sohma's father is, he influences what happens here at the school," Kyoya said a dark look on his face.
'Here at the school? Out of the hosts standing here, that's either Kyoya's father or... Tamaki's!' I thought, and suddenly, it clicked. 'Aya and Tamaki were brother and sister hence why there was so much secrecy around Aya's father and also the reason behind why she didn't like Tamaki. It explains everything.' As I thought that through the hosts had gone off on their own rant.
"Then does that mean she's in cahoots with the Chairman?" the twins asked. Tamaki thought over the possibility of his father being involved.
"I'm not sure," he said, and I felt it was time to stop this before they figured it out.
"Does it matter who her father is?" I asked, and they all looked at me, "I thought you were all concerned about Aya's feeling, not her status."
"Your right," Tamaki exclaimed, "This doesn't change the original plan!" He started going on about his next idea for OAH (Operation Ayami's Happiness), and I let out a sigh of relief. Kyoya took notice of me and gave me a scrutinizing glance. I ignored him and tried to keep Tamaki and his ideas from going sky-high.
The rest of the week, Aya was a no-show, Honey was worried that she was never coming back. Tamaki told the girls from Aya's class to tell us when she returned.
The following Monday, a girl came to the clubroom at lunchtime.
"Oh, why hello there, princess Meiko. How may we help you?" Tamaki greeted, and she blushed.
"Well, you asked that if ever Ayami Sohma returned to class that you wanted to know," she said, smiling, "Well, she came back, it looks like she got over her flu!"
"Really!" Tamaki shouted, excited.
"Yay!" Honey cheered.
I was happy that she had returned to school, but nervous at the same time.
'I need to talk with her before any of the hosts,' I thought to myself as we left the clubroom to find her.
"Alright," Tamaki said, and he started to walk that way.
"Wait for a second," I said, and they all looked at me, "I think I should talk to her alone first."
"What why?" Tamaki complained.
"If you haven't been paying attention, she's been through a lot, and I don't think the having to deal with your excitement is going to help her," I said.
"I agree," Mori said, and we all looked at him.
"Me too," Honey said a bit sadly.
"Fine," Tamaki agreed. "But we'll be watching from the shadows." I sighed, knowing that was the best I was going to get from him.
'That's better than bombarding her, but now I can't ask her if she and Tamaki are related,' I thought as I walked towards the gardens, the host tailing behind me.
I found Aya eating lunch with her friends and talked with her. She seemed upset more than usual, and when I returned to my locker, I saw why.
Today was October 9th, the triplets' birthday. After I realized this, I went through my classes, thinking over all that was going on in Aya's life.
She was kicked out of her house by her mother. Now she's living in a mansion and attending a school that she hates. Her new older brother that she didn't want also attends the same school. She got in a fight at this school and was suspended for a week. Her mother isn't letting her see her brother and sisters, and her father is making her take lessons, and since her evenings are filled with that, so she's forced to stay up late doing her homework, so she's losing sleep.
'Her life escalated from below average to very complicated in the span of a month and a half.' I thought, looking at my math papers.
When class was over, I headed to the club.
"So," Tamaki asked when I entered through the door, "Is Princess Aya coming?"
"I'm not sure," I said, thinking it over, "but I don't think so."
"Grr!" Tamaki said, frustrated, "How are we supposed to help her when we're never around her?" I did not reply as I walked off to start making the tea.
'How to help her?' I thought all through the club.
Club went by normally, and afterward we were cleaning the room when Aya burst through the door.
"Haruhi!" she screamed, running into the room. "You'll never guess what just happened!" We all looked at her; her face had the biggest and most beautiful, real, smile on it.
"What is it, Aya-chan?" Honey asked.
"Aya, what happened?" I asked, Ayami giggled and grabbed my hands spinning the two of us around.
"I just got a call from the triplets!" she said very excitedly.
"Really," I asked, surprised.
"Mm-hmm, they got the gifts I bought for them, and they all like them a lot," she said bouncy.
"That's great," I said with a smile.
"I also got to talk to Kotomi and Hero and guess what," she said excitedly.
"What?" I asked.
"Hero got the Goalie position on the school soccer team," she said proudly, throwing her hands in the air.
"Oh! That's wonderful," I said, smiling.
"I know!" she said, bouncing up and down.
"No wonder you're so happy," I said, giving a glance to Tamaki, who looked dumbfounded.
Mori's point of view:
Ayami then looked at us hosts and blushed a deeper, scarlet red then I had ever seen on her face before; it was kind of cute.
"I'm allowed to be happy," she said embarrassed, looking at her shoes; Haruhi giggled.
"Yes, you are," Haruhi said. Just then, Aya received a text.
"Crap! I've got a lesson! I've got to hurry; see you later, Haruhi!" She called over her shoulder, running through the doors with a skip and a spin.
"Later," Haruhi said, though she was almost out of sight. Haruhi then turned to the rest of us, smiling. "See, I told you there was nothing you could do," she said.
"Who are the triplets, Hero, and Kotomi?" Honey asked curiously.
"Those would be Aya's younger brother and sisters. It seems that her mother let her talk with them," she said, looking at the door. "Which is good considering that today is the triplets' birthday."
"What!?" Tamaki exclaimed, "and she's not there with them? That's not fair!" Haruhi sighed as Tamaki ranted.
"That's good, ne Takashi, that Aya's smiling again?" Honey said, looking up at me with a smile; I grinned back.
"Yes," I replied. I looked at the door from which she had just left, "it is."
Haruhi's point of view:
As I listened to Tamaki's ranting, I noticed the odd similarities between his reaction and Kotomi's from that time.
'Kotomi was upset at first too, when she thought she couldn't give her sister anything she wanted. Then when she discovered that what made her happy was making her siblings happy, Kotomi's attitude changed. I wonder how long it will take Tamaki to learn this lesson about his new sibling.' My next thought made me smile, 'Tamaki's and Aya both have some learning to do about each other.'
I'm sorry this chapter is so long,, but I had to write it this way to explain what the hosts have all been thinking and feeling about everything that's happened. I was a bit wary of writing from Tamaki's perspective because I know that so many people like him, and I was afraid of ruining this story by screwing up his character. I really hope that I didn't do that!
If there are any pats in this chapter that are out of character for Tamaki, please let me know via PM, and I will fix it accordingly.
~Thank you for reading~
~MiraCarpathia