Chapter 7

Kagome's job was a little different than the other hosts.

Eventually, Kyoya wanted her to entertain male guests, increasing their customers- but right now, there were no prospects. He figured it would take time for the male population at Ouran to become accustomed to the idea, and to work up the courage to come to the Host Club to be entertained by the enchanting beauty known as Kagome.

So, right now, Kagome was entering the female guests- who were more than happy to spend time with the miko.

Kagome could usually be found with the twins at their table, or with Haruhi, and sometimes Tamaki or the senior table. But other times, she was sitting around with a few girls, chatting about everything under the sun- keeping them company until their requested hosts were free.

And sometimes, they even requested Kagome herself.

The girls loved sitting with Kagome alone. It gave them time to fangirl over their favorite hosts, gossip about anything going on at Ouran, or anything else that struck their fancy.

Kagome sat with two other girls at a small table, a pot of tea and a plate of cookies placed there; the tea for the guests, cookies for the hostess.

"Ooh, oo, let me see your nails, Kagome!" Tomomi squealed once she caught sight of the miko's manicure. She was a 2nd year student who normally sat with the twins- yet today, Tomomi was at Kagome's table and enjoying every second of it.

"My nails?" Kagome blinked but then struggled and set her hands flat out on the table. "Okay."

The second guest, Yuu, a first year in class C, leaned over with Tomomi to get a better look. "Oh, wow, french tips."

"Those are so pretty, Kagome! Where do you get them done?" Tomomi picked up Kagome's hand on her own, and her eyes widened. "Woah… y-your hands are so smooth and soft and small… like a doll…"

Yuu giggled at the older girl's behavior, "Tomomi's family owns a bunch of luxury spas in the Kyoto area, she's obsessed with beauty."

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Yuu." Tomomi sat Kagome's hand down gently. The miko went to grab a cookie as the 2nd year rolled her eyes, "You obsess over old paintings." Tomomi's attention went back to the hostess, "Which products do you use, Kagome? And who does your nails? They're stunning."

Kagome hummed, tilting her head to the side, a cookie halfway in her mouth. Both of her guests froze… it was… s-so… so cute! They squealed in their seats, and the miko smiled, having zero idea what she had done.

"Say, Kagome," one of Tamaki's guests began. Kagome sat between two guests on a sofa as Tamaki entertained another girl opposite of them. The miko froze in reaching for her slice of cake, looking over at the girl- Ryukyu. "What's your favorite color?"

"My… favorite color?" Kagome blinked but then smiled. "Oh, pink, but a pastel one's my favorite if I'm honest. What's yours, Ryukyu-san?"

"Red, definitely."

The guest on the other side of Kagome scrunched her nose up, "How can you like red? It's the color of blood."

"It's a rich, deep color, with lots of meaning!" Ryukyu argued back, something which only succeeded in making Kagome laugh. "Your favorite color is green, Hitika! That's the color of jealousy!"

"At least it's not the color of your blood."

"I think all of your favorite colors are beautiful, ladies." Tamaki grinned, interrupting their brewing argument and flipping his hair in a way that made his guests' hearts flutter. "But not more beautiful than you."

All three guests swooned, "Oh, Tamaki!"

Kagome didn't even blink as she reached for her last slice of cake.

Kagome groaned loudly as she slammed her head down on the library table, making her books shake. Haruhi glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Studying hurts more!" The miko rested her chin on the table, cerulean blue eyes glaring at her friend. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"You need me to pass that math test this week, and I need you to get Tamaki-senpai off my back so I can study before the club," Haruhi went back to his textbook. The miko groaned again… If Kagome didn't pass the math test at the end of the week, she'd get stuck with a tutor…

Or worse… A shiver traveled down her spine…

If Sesshomaru found out… and he told Anata…

Kagome let out a yelp and frantically went back to work, causing Haruhi to raise an eyebrow. Studying sucked… but punishments were even worse.

"Ooo, look at the cherry blossoms Haruhi! They're almost in full bloom!" Kagome shielded her eyes from the sun, cerulean blue eyes looking at the trees in one of the many courtyards of Ouran Academy.

Haruhi glanced at them, before narrowing his eyes at the girl, "Wait… You're stalling!"

"I am!"

The honor student sweatdropped- Kagome didn't even deny it. "If we're late, I'm never gonna hear the end of it."

"Oh, it'll be fine."

Haruhi was glad Kagome stalled them. No amount of mental preparation could have prepared them for this… this tropical paradise!

The honor student sweatdropped, her eyes twitching in aggravation. Kagome blinked, "Woah… it's like that island we own… but… inside?"

Confusion was written all over her face, and Haruhi just about fell over at hearing her words… S-she owned an island?! An entire island?! Hikaru and Kaoru sighed from where they stood in the middle of the room with the rest of the club, each of them dressed in Balinese clothes. "You two finally made it. You're so late."

"Hey!" Kagome stomped up to them, a furious frown on her face. She poked Hikaru in the chest, who smirked. "I needed help! If I don't pass that damn test on Friday, I'm gonna be stuck with a tutor!"

Kaoru grinned, leaning on his brother's shoulder. "I'll help you, Kagome-chan!"

"Then I'd be stuck with him-" she poked Hikaru in the chest once more. "Too! Nuh-uh, I'll stick with Haruhi."

"Oh come on~~! It'll be fun!"

"Studying is never fun!"

Haruhi pulled his pocket calendar out of his school bag and stared at it in confusion, "Y'know, I could be wrong, but my calendar says it's still early spring."

"Huddling under a kotatsu table fearing the cold is nonsense!" Tamaki slid up to Haruhi, sparkles dancing around him. "And besides, the heating system we have is the best!"

The honor student sighed at his flamboyant nature. Kyoya glanced at Haruhi from the corner of his eye, "Do you have a problem with the way we run our club Haruhi? Be careful what you say, you owe us eight million yen remember."

Haruhi shivered in horror at the memory as Kagome patted him on the shoulder sympathetically, "There, there, Haruhi. It'll be okay." she beamed at him. "I'm here to help!"

He glanced at her blandly, unable to keep the sigh and slight smile at bay.

"Gentlemen don't bundle up in bulky clothing. It may be chilly early spring out there in the real world, but here at the club we want to surprise our chilly little kittens with a tropical paradise." Tamaki praised his own idea, reaching out to grab Haruhi and put an arm around her shoulders- who immediately tried to pry him off.

"Oh, yes, we've turned this place into nirvana. A balmy tropical island of everlasting summer!"

Haruhi groaned… His eyes met Kagome, who was trying her best to not laugh, a hand firmly placed over her mouth… Oh dear god… he felt a massive chill right now.

"Kagome/Kagome-chan!" the in sync voices of the twins made the miko freeze. They stood over her with matching mischievous grins, "We've got a balinese outfit for you too!"

"Really?" Cerulean blue eyes stared up at them, a small shutter running through her… How much skin did it show? If it showed the female equivalent of what the twins were wearing…

"Yep!" The two sped off, to where they stored Kagome's cosplay, only to come up empty handed. "Huh?" Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other in complete confusion, "Where'd it go?"

Kagome couldn't keep the smile off her face as she turned to look up at Takashi, who caught her eye. Dark gray met cerulean blue, and she giggled, "You had something to do with this didn't you, Anata?"

He grunted, turning his attention elsewhere, making her smile grow.

Kagome sat on the floor on a mat with her feet curled perfectly under herself, the two seniors of Ouran and their guests with her. Tropical orange flowers were spread out in front of the miko and Mitsukuni, Kagome showing him how to weave a flower crown.

"And you put this part through here, and-" her voice was so gentle and Mitsukuni hung onto her every word. His face was contorted into a concentrated frown, his attention solely on the miko, even forgetting his guests were there.

But Ayumi and Hana didn't seem to mind.

They were too busy swooning over their chosen hosts. Ayumi was giggling over Honey's adorable behavior and his and Kagome's sweet interaction; while Hana could barely look at Mori before erupting into a dark blush.

It was the very same thing Kagome was trying her hardest to not do.

Takashi didn't have the same childs build as Mitsukuni, yet he wasn't un-muscled like the rest of the hosts. No, there was clear muscle definition along his entire form, yet he was still lean. Defined arms, chest…

Which is why Kagome distracted herself with teaching Mitsukuni how to make flower crowns. A red flower lay around the miko's neck to keep with the Balinese theme, since she wasn't in cosplay like the others.

"So, Kagome," Ayumi began, the miko letting out a hum. "Are you going to the dance next week?"

That caught her attention. Kagome looked up from her work with a confused expression, "Dance? What dance?"

"The host club is sponsoring a party next friday, in the East Hall. It's a ball!" the third year girl let out a small squeal. "I can't wait!" she turned to her complaining. "Don't you think so, Hana-chan?"

"H-huh?" Hana blinked, looking over at Ayumi in confusion. "What?"

Ayumi rolled her eyes, "The dance, silly."

"O-oh! Yeah," she fidgeted with her fingers, blushing lightly as she glanced at Mori from the corner of her eye. "I can't wait…" Slow dancing with your chosen host… ah, it was like a dream…

Kagome breathed a small sigh of relief, "At least that's not the day of my math test…" Takashi raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her- dark eyes narrowing. The miko caught his eye and let out a yelp, "Shit! You weren't supposed to hear about that!"

"Pass it."

There was a certain weight to his tone that made the guests tense, and a shiver ran down Kagome's spine… But unlike the onlookers, the miko knew what that tone promised.

"H-hai!"

"And there-" Kagome weaved the last end into her flower crown, Mitsukuni following along. She smiled at him, "All done!"

"Yay!" the honey blond plopped his crown on his head, smiling widely and turning to his guests. "What do you think, ladies?"

Ayumi chuckled, "You look very cute, Honey."

Hana nodded in agreement, just as Kagome looked down at the finished crown in her hands. Suddenly, she felt someone messing with her hair, and she tilted her head backwards. Takashi looked down at her, a small smile forming.

He pulled the large, white, bow out of Kagome's hair. It normally sat on the ponytail of her half-up half-down style at the base of her crown, the edges sticking out from the side of her head. It gave her an even cuter appearance…

Yet Takashi set it to the side, reaching back in to pull out Kagome's ponytail holder. The soft, silky strands fell over his fingers, settling back down. The wild type ran his fingers through Kagome's hair once, before reaching for her flower crown.

The miko's face was flushed, her grip so loose Takashi easily pulled it from her. He settled it down on top of her head, pushing some stray hair out of her face, "There."

Kagome blinked, looking up at him, a blush coating high-cheekbones… She smiled up at him, her expression both beaming and soft. "Thank you."

Mitsukuni giggled at the two, while Ayumi and Hana exchanged a glance… Hana's heart beats loudly in her chest, yet even she couldn't deny… deny how sweet that scene was. Her and Ayumi's squeals filled the air.

Haruhi looked over at Mori and Honey as they exited the dressing room, the smaller senior running around happily… She frowned… Those two, while the honor student knew Kagome had known them for years, they still didn't make sense to her…

Takashi Morinozuka and Mitsukuni Haninozuka were baffling to Haruhi…

Then again, Haruhi only barely understood Kagome at the best of times- so he shouldn't be all that surprised. He glanced at Kagome, who was sitting across from Tamaki in the corner of the room at a small table, both of them slurping on ramen; the miko still wearing her tropical orange flower crown.

Everyone else was gathered around a large oak table, Kyoya sitting at the head with his laptop open. Hikaru turned to where the two sat, "Hey, Boss, Kagome! Why don't you stop eating that commoner's ramen and come over here to help us with the party planning?"

"Hey! Leave me alone!" Kagome shouted back, a tick mark appearing on her temple. "I've had a long day! I was forced to do homework!" She went back to her ramen with a vengeance.

Kaoru chuckled at her behavior, "Does it really bother Tono that Princess Kasuga has taken a liking to Haruhi?"

"He shouldn't be surprised," Kyoya interjected, his fingers flying over the keys of his laptop. "She's had the illness for a while now."

That caused Haruhi to frown, "Illness? What illness?"

"She's got the host hopping disease." Hikaru shrugged.

Kaoru continued for his brother, "AKA, the never the same boy twice disease."

"Usually our customers choose a favorite host and then sees them regularly. Kagome is the expectation, since she's a 'palate-cleanser' for our guests so-to-speak." Kyoya explained. "However, Princess Kanako tends to change her favorites on a regular basis."

Mitsukuni nodded, cradling Usa-chan to his chest, "That's right, 'cause before she chose you, she was with Tama-chan!"

Realization dawned on Haruhi's face, "Oh, so he's upset because I took her from him?"

Tamaki froze mid-bite as a rush of anger overcame him. He sprung up, rushed to the other table and slammed his hands down on it, "SHUT UP! I COULDN'T CARE LESS! I'm running out of patience! Haruhi!" He pointed at her. "It's time you started dressing like a girl!"

"Huh?"

"I don't understand how you can be so popular with the ladies when you yourself are a lady! No one in the entire school knows the truth except those of us here!"

Kagome slurped up the last of her ramen as Hikaru and Kaoru appeared by her. "Yeah," the older twin began. "She opted out of taking gym classes."

"And the attendance numbers are all mixed together so no one can tell." the younger one finished, before grabbing the miko from her seat- pulling her up. Tamaki suddenly kicked a chest into view with 'King's Private Property' written on the side in black marker.

He opens it and digs around for something, "That's enough Haruhi, now you listen to daddy-" Tamaki yanks out a large, ornately framed picture of Haruhi with long hair in her middle school uniform. "Daddy wants you to go back to the way you were!"

Haruhi blinked, before she glared at the blond, "Don't go blowing up my photos without asking me first!"

Tamaki hung the picture on the wall, and Hikaru stared at it, a frown forming. "The more I look at this picture, the more amazed I am. How could this… possibly become that?"

"The day before school started, one of the kids in my neighborhood got some gum in my hair. It's a real pain to get gum out of long hair, so I decided to cut it all off." Haruhi rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't care if I looked like a dude, y'know?"

"Girls should never refer to herself as 'dude'! MAMA!" Tamaki shrieked, before crumpling to the floor. "Haruhi's using those dirty boy words again!"

"I'm sorry, but who's Mama?" Hikaru questioned.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses, "Based on club positions I assume it's me."

Kagome blinked, putting a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter… T-the way he said it… so matter-of-factly. Haruhi sighed, "Look, I don't see what you're crying about. Working as a host I can pay back more of my debt. It'll never happen if I'm just an errand boy."

"Hate to change the subject-" Kaoru started. "But do you have formal dancing experience? You'll need it at the party. And something to wear."

"Uh… no." Haruhi smiled tightly, slightly scared. "But the party doesn't have anything to do with my quota, right? I'm not interested in going to events, so if I could be excused…"

Tamaki laughed evilly as a wicked idea came to mind, well, wicked for him, anyway. "Definitely not! A refined gentleman must know how to dance. If you want to live the life of a host that badly, you're going to have to show us how far you're willing to go, Haruhi.

"I order you to master dancing the waltz in one week, and you will demonstrate it for us at the party! Or-" he points at her. "I'll tell the entire school you're a girl! And knock you back down to errand boy."

Haruhi swore he felt his soul leave his body.

Haruhi sat in one of the plush table chairs in the host club, rubbing her temples. "So now I have to learn to waltz and buy a suit… great. Just great."

Kagome frowned to herself, before an idea struck her, and she grinned, "I got it! Yasuchika's got an old suit he grew out of a few years ago. He wouldn't care if I gave it to you. It'd be your size!"

The honor student looked at her shocked, "You-you don't have to do that, Kagome. I can find something at the thrift store."

"Psst," she waved him off. "Chika-chan barely wore it, so no one would ever know it's second hand. It's pretty nice too…"

They all knew she was talking about Honey's brother… But since Mitsukuni wasn't speaking up, they figured it was fine. "Well that's one problem sorted." Hikaru said.

"Yeah," Kaoru looked over at the miko. "Say, Kagome-chan, you know how to dance, right? Can't you teach Haruhi?"

Haruhi immediately brightened at that, "Can you?"

Kagome flushed lightly and wrung her hands together, "W-well, I can't lead, and honestly, I have zero clue what I'm doing. I've only ever danced with Takashi, and he always leads."

They all looked over to Mori, who nodded, and Haruhi sighed. "Well, once I learn the basics, you can help me practice, right?"

"Of course!"

"And I'll help you pass that math test."

"Damn it, Haruhi! You were supposed to forget about that!" Kagome could feel Takashi's gaze on her back, making her visibly tense. She slowly turned around, only to find him peering down at her with a hard look in his eye. Kagome yelped, surrying behind Haruhi's chair, "WAAH! Haruhi, you've gotta help me pass! I promise not to complain anymore!"

The honor student looked from Kagome to Mori and felt a chill run down her spine… Okay, it was official, she may never understand them.