Ouran High School Host Club (桜蘭高校ホスト部) © Bisco Hatori & Hakusensha

Original Characters & Spoiled Kids Next Door Fan Fiction Plot Belong to Me.

Spoiled Kids Next Door
. . . An Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction . . .

Warning:
This is written in Second Person, but is not to be considered an interactive entry because it is NOT meant to be a Reader Insert.
It is strictly because this point of view allows me better access to both first and third person without me having to switch back and forth to piss myself off.
I'm sorry for any inconveniences, but that is the path I've decided to go with this story and I'll see how it works out for the first few chapters before I reassess.
Thank you.

"All charming people, I fancy, are spoiled. It is the secret of their attraction." - Oscar Wilde

-X-

Monday Lunch period: You were reading alone in the first music room.

Alone.

Now, it's not to say that you don't enjoy reading (alone), but after three weeks of constant reading at home and nothing else to pass time, it takes a toll on your patience. It was your first day at this school, and you were still reading, and connecting your boring everyday lifestyle to such a luxurious place seemed like such a waste. Not being much a reader in the first place, you would much rather be spending your free time doing something else. Preferably not something that involved anymore flipping of thin pages of text.

You clapped your book shut, collapsing your upper body onto the marble table, scooting your chair out with a loud screeeeek, in the process.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo... Done. And boy, am I even more miserable than I was before...

You had no friends at this school. You didn't have a laptop, computer, or even internet at home, so that sliced out a whole variety of options. You were low on money, and you sure as heck weren't going to use your savings to buy a computer when you could always use the ones at the libraries. You had been living off leftovers for the past week, and you didn't feel like whipping up a big fancy dinner if no one was going to eat it except yourself.

That sucked, too. Cooking was something that you awfully enjoyed, since you did well. You also enjoyed running, even though you weren't particular good, but that didn't stop you from appreciating the blankness of mind that came with just listening to your breathing.

Ahh. Running. You snorted. Enduring a few laps was always a good idea, especially when Ouran Academy's track was freakin' enormous and clean and beautiful, but you didn't feel like running in your sweater and jeans, preferably because it was bloody hot outside, even for the end of Summer. You had a T-shirt and runners in your gym locker, but...

You thought back earlier to your gym class. There was a Female and Male class of the same grade in the same block, and they were written as one, single class in the computer directory. Still, the teacher separated the two groups based on gender. You had just tried to enter the change rooms before class, but the thought of entering them again... and having the girls scream at you to get out... again...

You had been mistaken for a boy, and before you could go around to explain yourself, you had landed yourself in the boy's side of the class. You shrugged it off, already not caring. You didn't pawn yourself off as the super athletic type, but you kept up alright among the guys for the first day. It was the same when entering washrooms; the girls would scream at you. You managed to change before class in a washroom, or inside a stall and none of the guys knew you well enough to bother questioning. Of course, that also meant subjecting yourself to urinals and half-naked guys, but you really weren't about to fawn over some spoiled kids with more pocket change than your savings. It was a turn-off in itself. You might as well be entering a washroom filled with naked hippopotamuses.

The door was ruthlessly thrown open, derailing your train of thought. You cleared your throat and began to depart as teenagers from wealthy families started pouring in.

The guys wear periwinkle blue, and the girls wear daffodil yellow. What kind of colour co-ordination is this? You couldn't help but think as you squished past them invisibly.

You walked to the second music room and were introduced to a couple making out passionately on a desk. They glanced over at you and glared before you pulled the door shut as quickly as you could. Cheeks still red, you headed for the third.

It was your first day at this Ouran High School beside the interviews and application process. It was the first day back from Summer Break for the rest of the students, but it still hadn't taken anyone long to notice that there was a new transfer in their grade.

With your red hair, you attracted attention. Even the person who cut your hair who didn't know you at all said it was such a shame to cut it all away since it only barely went past the shoulder anyway. Your mom responded to the opinion with merely a glare, reminding the woman that she was the one getting paid.

Not wanting to draw attention in the school year, you wore a hat to hide your hair. You had a pair of sunglasses on - they weren't full black, but just a light tinted grey. Yeah, it was a sin to be pretentious enough to wear sunglasses indoors, but it was still strangely sunny for September, and the halls were so brightly lit, and their rooms had chandeliers that literally burned holes into your sockets. You figured it wouldn't hurt to draw any attention away from you anyways, because people refrained from talking to you... probably because you looked like a creep. They muttered about you behind your back and gave you scrutinizing glances. The nicer ones would sometimes offer a 'hello' or a look of pity. You usually ducked your head and bowed, continuing on your way to class. Just play the poor, lonely nerd and none of the spoiled brats would ever even get within a meter of you, which is basically what you were after. You didn't even want them breathing the same air as you, after all.

They were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, where as you had to eat with your hands in comparison.

It was hard with your appearance. While you loved your bright red hair with a passion when you were younger, now that you were older, it - excuse your hyperbole - sucked rhinoceros balls. It was hard to match your clothes to the prominent color and you were freaking prematurely balding or something because you left some strands of red hair nearly everywhere you went. There were a couple of cases where you walked past someone in a restaurant and a strand of red hair landed in their food. Being the only one with red hair of the color, you were obviously the culprit, and thus kicked out because... well, honestly? No one wants some stranger's hair in their food. Yourself included.

You halted at the Third Music Room's door and reached out for the handle. The door clicked open, and it swung open with a powerful wind.

The events that followed left you fumbling to get your UV ray protection: a chorus of voices, a swirl of cherry blossom petals, and a blinding white light. (Again, you patted yourself on the back for wearing the sunglasses.)

From experience, you knew that that wasn't such a good sign.

"Welcome."

-X-

"... Sorry, wrong room," you choked out in Japanese dialect, nearly gagging yourself. You pinched your nose quickly and reached blindly behind you for the door handle to leave.

"Oh. It's the new guy in class." (1) A pair of twins drawled. They looked nearly identical, with their orange hair and topaz eyes. You recognized them from your woodworking and gym class. There was one in each, and they looked at each other upon saying the same thing: so they must have not known that you were in both of their classes. You remembered them complaining to the teacher about how they had never been separated before, and to suddenly do so was against everything they stood for.

"This is the Ouran Host Club, my boy," said a blonde, as he danced towards you, gliding over the floor like he was floating.

His words made you grimace and gulp. You shuffled backward and tried to feel for the doorhandle. Host Club? "Crap. Noo. Definitely wrong room. I was looking for-"

"Such a turn off like you... I thought only the good looking ones were homo. Look, even his shoes have holes in them! How unsightly!" The twins commented. You soured on the inside and looked down at your toes, where just like you had expected, your toe had broken through your worn out sneakers.

Well, it wasn't your fault, really. Your feet hadn't grown in a long time so you never needed new ones, and it wasn't broken that morn- Hold it. Did he just...?

You squinted cautiously at him. "Did.. Did you just call me homo-"

"Well, it was never stated that boys weren't allowed, thought you are making us start a bit ahead of schedule. We don't open for another hour, but since you're a newcomer... Take your pick."

"Pick? O-of what? AH- No, forget I asked!" You continued to fumble for the door handle, not finding it. You turned around and fiddled with the door, only to find it a different kind of knob from the on on the outside. Your brain blanked; how do you open this?

"The Wild type?" You turned around, meeting the gaze of the blonde with blue eyes as he gestured to a tall, handsome man with black hair. You sucked in a breath and tried hard not to stare; he was extremely handsome.

"Loli-Shota type?" He pointed to a shorter blonde boy, cutely clutching a rabbit plushy. He bounced up and down happily, and you could almost make out imaginary flowers floating around him.

"The Little Devil type?" The two twins winked in unison, interlacing arms. You cleared your throat and tried desperately to ignore how every guy in the room was a solid eight or nine on a ten scale.

"The Cool Type?" He was not as tall as the first boy, but he also had black hair. He also wore a pair of glasses, and they glinted from the way they were reflected in the light.

"Or Haruhi?" You nearly smiled how the last person didn't have a 'type'-

Wait.

A.

Freakin'.

Second.

Haruhi? Haruhi FUJIOKA?

"Or... perhaps, you'd like to try me?" In the midst of your thoughts, you hardly realized the position you were in until the blonde boy had tucked one arm on your back. He leaned you back and reached forward to cup your chin, but not before you kicked him hard in the leg and staggered back.

"I'M NOT HOMO, GEEZ!" He cringed, stepping back before staring at you with sympathy. You scratched the bridge of your nose. You hated that look. Made you want to slap him...

"First of all," you started, struggling to keep your composure, or whatever was left of it, "I accidentally stumbled in here, and I'm not looking for a...a host. And secondly, what's a girl doing in a host club?"

"What are you talking about? Haruhi is fully male!" Tamaki gestured to Haruhi, as if presenting him to an audience.

"How'd you know I was talking about Haruhi? A bit quick to react, aren'tcha?" you replied smoothly, smirking. You could identify a look of confusion on her face, long eyelashes fluttering an she blinked. She hadn't change very much in terms of appearance; still beautiful.

"My, you figured that out quite fast," the sly looking boy with the glasses remarked, giving you a side glance. You tried not to look at him. Well, to be completely honest, it was rather hard to look at any them without feeling bad about yourself...

"I've always had a good eye for things," you explained, tilting your head down to drop the glasses lower on your nose bridge. Your ember eyes blinked playfully at Haruhi. "'Eyes like a hawk' was my nickname in Elementary school-"

"K-Kyo-chan?" Haruhi exclaimed, brushing past a stone cold and confused Host Club.

You grinned brightly, suddenly overwhelmed with nostalgia. "Hey there, Cous'."

"I didn't recognize you! You're hiding your hair! Why are you wearing sunglasses inside?" Haruhi took you by the hands and smiled brightly. You beamed back, embracing her with all the memories you both had.

"This is my cousin, Tagara Kyo-" Haruhi introduced.

Tamaki interrupted. "Ah! Of course! If he's Haruhi's cousin, then that must make him a commoner as well! No wonder such behavior was inflicted on me."

You shot him a glare at him, sending him to a corner to sulk. Satisfied with his method of repentence, you turned towards the group. "So... What is Haruhi doing in a host club?"

She looked at you apologetically. "I.. kind of.. owe them a huge debt..."

"Debt?" you repeated incredulously. "At your age? What did you do, Haruhi? Steal a family heirloom? Or did your dad finally try to use gambling as a ways to earn money?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. Dad isn't gambling. I broke... an eight million yen vase..."

You blinked, nudging her playfully in the head. "... Smooth, Fujioka."

"At first it was eight million, but I somehow got fifty-six thousand seven hundred eighty two paid off so I have-" She paused to calculate.

"Seven million, nine hundred forty three thousand, two hundred and eighteen left to pay off..." you said faster than her, grinning cheekily. She smiled bashfully.

"Just like Haruhi: A studious Commoner," the twins remarked simultaneously. It seemed more like disappointed tone than a complimenting one.

"However, they said they'd lift the debt if I became a host and got a thousand girls to request me, soo..." You nodded, taking it all in. Seriously, you wished you had been there to help her when it had happened.

"How about we make a deal?" You turned to face a boy with the glinting glasses, who had spoken. "You can become the Host Club's dog and help Haruhi pay off her debt while you do it?"

"Kyouya!" Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows. "No way! I can't drag Kyo into this-"

"Hey, it's fine." You smiled at her. "I'll help you out, Haruhi. What's family for?"

"But, still-" Haruhi took your hands, but you winked at her, earning stiffening postures from the host club.

"I've needed something to pass time, anyways, and no one is hiring me for a job, so whatever. It's not like I'm being asked to be a host, now, right? Leave it to me, Cousin!"

After a moment of eye compromising, Haruhi sighed. That meant the operation was a 'Ready-Go.'

You sucked in a shaky breath and tried your best to sound confident. So much for keeping a low profile on your first day. "So when do I start?"

-X-

Mitsukuni, more commonly referred to as Honey, was the short blonde with the bunny. It had shocked you to learn that he was in high school, and his senior year, but hey; this was a wacky group in general.

Takashi, who was called Mori most of the time, was the tall black haired boy that you had caught yourself blushing about. You learned that not only was he quiet and non outspoken, but his family served under Mitsukuni's.

Tamaki, the blonde hair and blue eyes. You disliked him. A lot. Haruhi had laughed when you called him narcissistic and obnoxious.

Kyouya, the black haired boy with glasses, also known as 'The Evil Magistrate', earning a chuckle from you. He seemed like the controlling type of the group, which only explained how he was in charge of all the merit and income of the group.

Hikaru and Kaoru, the devilish twins. From what you knew, they were identical from each other, and two of the biggest spoiled, asses you had ever met. With two of them, there were two times the spoil, and all the more for you to not respect.

With that, Haruhi declared the brief introductions over. Easy peasy.

After that, however, was another matter.

They weren't kidding when they said you were going to be the Host Club's dog.

Scrubbing the dishes, wiping the windows, cleaning the tables, pouring tea and to do it all without 'being noticed' by any of the customers? Am I that much of an eyesore? You looked at your reflection in the mirror. You had a plain face. Without your hair color, which could have been dyed for all anyone cared, you were just average. No bust, not curves in any of the right places, and even a few scars on your knees from tripping and skidding on concrete as a kid - which was another reason why you were wearing baggy sweat pants instead of a skirt. You know, that, and the fact that you couldn't stand skirts. Maybe if you had gorgeous, scar-free, perfectly proportioned legs that every girl around you in the school seemed to have, then maybe.

You threw the washcloth at the window angrily and watched it slide downwards until you picked it up again and started washing the windows, fuelled by the fact that you were helping Haruhi. You scrubbed your face reflected in the mirror several times.

"This... wasn't what I thought you would be having Kyo do," Haruhi sighed, whispering to Kyouya during a break.

"Kyoooo! Pour us some tea!" Hikaru called from a table. You glared at him for calling you by your first name and took off your rubber gloves. Swiping the kettle with a finger, you bolted over, pouring hot tea into the tea cups and bowed away politely. The girls looked you up and down before rolling their eyes slightly. You flushed white and turned around, sighing as you put your rubber gloves back on. Haruhi sighed again.

"With that get up, he's lucky he's not mistaken for a intruder in this kind of school, wearing sunglasses and a hat like a criminal. It's like he's trying to hide his whole face," Kyouya snided back. He sipped his cup of tea and placed the empty cup back on the saucer. "What else would we have him do? If he can't help us get more guests, the least he can do is stay out of sight as to not frighten the girls."

Haruhi blinked at Kyouya several times before glaring at him. She whipped around to tend to her customers. "Cruel."

You looked over at Haruhi holding a conversation with Kyouya. She seemed to walk away haughtily, and you guessed that Kyouya had said something to offend her. Haruhi glanced over and caught your worried gaze and smiled, giving you a thumbs-up. "Good luck, Kyo-chan!" she mouthed. You beamed, sending a thumbs up back and went back to work, more energized.

Kyouya simply continued to type on his laptop, fingers never stopping except to use the mouse. He saw your little exchange of encouragement with Haruhi and held back the urge to roll his eyes. He reached out to drink another sip from the cup, only to remember it was empty. He parted his lips to call for your name before realizing that the cup was full of hot, steamy green tea.

When did he-? Kyouya glanced back up at you, gliding among the guests and literally chucking the kettle back on the table and going back to wash the windows, all with swift, fluid movements with amazing speed...

Kyouya's brain began to race and a funny feeling turned in his stomach as an idea popped in his head. Once being cheered on by Haruhi, your entire mannerism had changed. You back was straight, posture right, gentle movements and lean arms, red lips, small jawline-

...

"Tagara." You glanced over at Kyouya, who was summoning you over. "Come over here for a second."

'... he's trying to hide his whole face...'

Now, you weren't usually that stupid despite being gullible, but you should have suspected something when Kyouya shot you such a curious look. He was staring intently at your eyes, or more specifically, your sunglasses.

"Ah," you gasped, raising a finger to fix them higher onto your bridge. "Do you want me to take them off? I guess they are a bit weird to wear inside, right?"

When you got no response, you raised a brow, only to have Kyouya stand from his seat and approach you brusquely. You staggered back. "Uh... Ootori-san?"

You barely had time to suspect any other motives when swiped off your façade.

The first light bulb flickered on.

-X-

"Host?" you choked out just like you had when you first walked into the heavy perfume smelling room.

"Yes. Becoming a host will help Haruhi pay off her debt even faster," Kyouya suggested, laptop opened to a blank screen on the table as he faced you. You considered for a moment before backing away from the idea completely, embarrassed that you had even given it a though.

"No way. I have enough trouble making friends that are girls, let's not even talk about getting them to want to spend time with me drinking... tea."

"I implore you to rethink-"

"Whatcha two talkin' bout? Asking for a raise?" One of the twins leaned over your head as you sat on the couch. You blushed at the proximity and looked down. The other twin scoffed.

"Did I hear that right? Kyo wants to spend time with girls drinking tea? Ha!" They're both jerks, aren't they? you pondered unpleasantly.

"Stop calling me by my first name," you growled, "Not like I know you well at all... And besides, I was rejecting the idea of drinking tea with girls, not suggesting it."

"That means... Kyouya, you asked this little scarecrow to be a host!" Sou simmered in annoyance as they continued to disrespectfully address you, calling you by the nickname that only Haruh- oh wait. They must think you're a boy, obviously... Of course they don't know your name is actually Kyomi (2). You flicked at your nose in habit, just as Tamaki made an entrance into the conversation, much to your annoyance.

"Impossible! This lad here? He's such a turn-off," Tamaki reached out and plucked off in a quick motion, "that no girl would ever want to..."

You gasped as your red strands fell down to curl around your forehead. You immediate response was to swipe upwards for your hat, but Tamaki was holding it far beyond your reach. "Give that back! Ugh, I have hat hair now, too!"

They said nothing, and the room was silent save for the chattering of girls exitting the Music Room. You swallowed, glancing around at the wide eyes unsurely.

"Hey, are you guys bullying Kyo?" Mitsukuni and Takashi walked over, stopping at the sight of flames embracing your skull. You squeaked meekly as you realized that even the girls at the door glanced back briefly, only to stare at you. You covered your face. Hikaru turned you around to face him and Kaoru snatched off your glasses. You winced to adjust to the light and groaned, peaking out and seeing four of the same face - meaning double of the two.

Pushing Hikaru and Kaoru aside, Tamaki stared at you right in the face, and as you cracked your eyes fully open, Tamaki powerfully snapped his fingers.

"Hikaru, Kaoru! Go get him a uniform! Kyouya, you call the hair designer!" Tamaki sported a humorless tone on his handsome features. "Ouran Host Club, Extreme makeover, is about to begin."

Haruhi smiled, leaning against a pillar and glanced thankfully at the Host Club in a frenzy. "Deja vu..."

-X-

Hikaru and Koaru were called by Kyouya, so fortunately, they left you alone to change. Creeping out of the curtains, you saw a mirror leaning against a wall and walked over to it, earnest to see what you looked like in the uniform. You didn't have any kind of formal wear at home. It was a nice contrast to the lame polo and jeans you had been wearing.

You were in the school uniform, except you weren't in a puffy, revolting yellow dress. You were in a classy slim fitted blazer: periwinkle.

Meant for the males.

You laughed, looking at yourself up and down in the mirror. You nodded in approval and gave your reflection a thumbs up. Despite your protestations, there was something really alluring about wearing a blazer, you thought.

"Guess it'll be a while until I can start addressing myself with 'watashi' again," you concluded.

-X-

"Magnifi-coh! Astoun-doh!" Tamaki wiped away an imaginary tear as you nervously dawdled out of the room and into the Host Club's view. It really wasn't helping that they were just all.. staring...

"Um... This costs a lot, doesn't it?" You looked down at them beautiful hemlines and sophisticated, foreign-imported material. "I seriously can't afford this-"

Kyouya didn't need to hear another word. "Then you'll just have to work it off."

You scowled. "So you think that putting me in debt will-"

"We aren't putting you in debt," Kyouya flashed you a smirk. "Merely leveraging both your service to us on behalf of Haruhi."

"Only because you mean so much to me," you grumbled joking to Haruhi, once the majority of the boys had turned around and were chatting amongst themselves. Haruhi grinned sheepishly and you simpered back.

"Sorry about this, Kyo-chan, and thanks again for helping me out. But hey, if you're that keen on blending in, wearing the school uniform will do wonders!"

"Yeah, because red hair does wonders with blending in, Haruhi."

She smiled apologetically. "Think of it as... what makes you unique?"

"... I thought we had just established that I want to blend in."

"Just let it go, Kyo-chan!" Haruhi laughed, and you dropped your act of stubbornness and snickered alongside her.

Mori hummed lowly in his throat, Haruhi didn't seem like the girly type to be calling everyone with '-chan', despite her gender.

But she had called you Kyo-chan.

Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan. Kyo-chan.

Kyo-CHAN.

Another light bulb blinked on.

-X-

Afterschool the next day, you were seated with six girls.

SIX GIRLS.

SIX GIRLS.

SIX GIRLS.

SIX GIRLS.

"Tagara-kun? What do you enjoy doing?"

"What do you look for in a girl?"

"How tall are you, Tagara-kun?"

"Tagara-kun, which classes are you in?"

"Hobbies? Interests? Dislikes? Likes?"

"Tagara-san? How come you were wearing a hat and sunglasses inside? Are you allergic to the sun?"

You twitched. You felt like your were seated on a chair of thorns, or in one of those Iron Maiden Torture devises you had read about that was going to clamp shut at any given moment. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as the girls seemed to be challenging your authority and worth, with their wide, unblinking gazes. Your mouth dried up and you stammered for the right words.

"Kyo-chan doesn't seem to be comfortable," Mitsukuni whispered to Mori, pouting sympathetically as he looked over his couch at you trembling lightly and becoming a stuttering mess. The girls across from them kept themselves occupied with the new merchandise that Kyouya had just sold.

"Ah," Takashi agreed.

Mitsukuni smiled and an idea sparked in his mind as he skipped over from behind to help you out, when...

"Kyo-kun, your face is so small, it's so cute! You could look just like a girl!"

The shaky cup that you were bringing to your dehydrated mouth missed as soon as she said 'cute', followed by the horror of her remarking about your femininity. You blushed and attempted to deny such unworthy words, before you realized that you had dumped your tea on the floor. You got up and turned around apologetically to fetch a mop when you looked down at your feet and saw Mitsukuni's head drenched with your tea.

"WAH!" You jolted back, and then bent down to eye level with Mistukuni. "I-I'm so sorry, H-Haninozuka-san!"

Your hands hovered over your blazer pockets before remembering that it was a new jacket and you didn't have your handy dandy pocket tissues.

"I-I'm sorry..." You apologized, nervously but tenderly brushing his face with your fingers as he stared at you, bewildered, eyes as wide as saucers. "D-Did it burn you? It was quite hot. I-I...!"

You gulped, not knowing what to say, and decided to start by picking up the broken porcelain cup pieces and putting them back on the table. You took Mitsukuni's fingers and checked them for cuts, asking him if it hurt anywhere. Your worry only increase when he didn't say anything. He hadn't made a single sound, other than these soft little 'ooh?'s you heard. He shook his head slowly. You put one knee up and rested your arm on it, searching Mitsukuni for any traces of anger, but all you could see was a childish gaze full of confusion. You choked out, "I'm really not good at anything... I'm sorry..."

You had fought off the urge to hug the adorable thing for a long time now, and with your shaky heart, you leapt out and him and embraced him warmly. "I'm really sorry, Haninozuka-senpai!"

Honey's light bulb flashed on.

Takashi walked over and plucked Honey from your arms, leaving you cluelessly blinking. "I'll take care of him."

"A-ah... Yeah..." Nervously and thoroughly humiliated, you sat back in your seat, head hung and gaze lowered. You were totally done for. You looked like such a failure. Gosh, why were you so lame all the time. You sucked in a deep breath, and tried to think about what you could do but all you could think about was how you could have possibly spilled tea all over Mitsukuni. Honestly, what were you even doing?

"I-... I'm sorry," you offered meekly.

"Kya!" One girl couldn't hold it anymore. "I want to spill tea on me just so Tagara-kun will worry about me!"

...WHAT?

"Me too! You were so kind, Tagara! I would have never known!"

You could feel a slight twitch in your undereye as you registered what they were saying. Didn't you just make a complete utter fool of yourself? You spilled tea all over the poor guy's head! And you didn't even know what to do or say, except stutter and apologize, which in the end really doesn't help at all...

"A Natural Rookie, just like Haruhi. We could use some more commoners," Kyouya smirked from behind his rimless glasses. Haruhi grinned brightly in your direction, which you responded to by shrugging. Funny how girls worked sometimes.

After the whole controversy of you being the center of attention and displaying your full idiocy, you were seated uncomfortably in front of six curiosity-sparked girls. You gulped as your palms sweat and your fingers laced together on top of the table.

"Uh.. I don't really know how this works-" you began hesitantly, feeling grateful when a girl interrupted you to start a conversation.

"So, Tagara-san... Can you tell us about your hair? It's a very rich kind of red, where do you get your hair done?" One asked politely. You licked your lips before answering, carefully considering how much to give away.

"Well, it was originally a mandarin orange kind of shade but as I got older... It became like this." You used your eyes to gesture to your hair and smiled faintly. "I quite like my hair, but it can be a pain sometimes. You know, I stand out like a sore thumb in the middle of a crowd if I don't have a hat on!"

A few girls giggled, which lifted your mood. Hey, maybe you could redeem yourself.

"Which parent did you get it from? Don't tell me you're a miracle child and just grew up with that for no reason~" a girl teased, which rewarded a small laugh from you.

"My dad. Mom had the common Japanese black hair, while my dad, uh... Well, I'm not sure who my dad got it from, but he wasn't full asian. Part irish, I believe? My hair is a lot brighter than his was from what I've seen. Maybe it was just as fiery when he was young, though."

Haruhi's ears perked up as you talked about your father. She glanced over curiously from her table, before a girl's question demanded her attention again.

Your mind reminisced of your dad when you were a toddler. The most loving man in the world. You faintly flashed back to snapshots of your times together. He had helped you build a small boat and let it out on the pond, with you, a small child of 6, clapped your hands energetically and laughed as if it were the most amazing thing in the world. He'd kiss your mom every morning in the kitchen and smother you with poetic words about how you both meant the world to him. Just random small details that other children might roll their eyes at and forget, but you kept them so close to your heart. When he died, your world had crashed, and your universe still had yet to fill the void. You smiled delicately as slow piano music suddenly started playing from the back of your imagination... or, wait, was that Tamaki on the piano? "He's really... the greatest man in my eyes."

"And your mom? Sorry if this is a touchy subject," the girl with brown locks tilted her head cutely to the side and stuck out her tongue. You wondered how they did that and pulled it off looking so adorable. You had tried doing it in the mirror once, and you swore to never do it again to save yourself the humiliation of being laughed at...

"She's a bit loony, but that's how all mom's are, aren't they? She drove me crazy, but I love her. Why don't you tell me about your families? I'm sure it's much more interesting than mine," was your lame attempt to direct the attention away from you.

"Oh! Well my grandpa is a famous Olympic High Jumper..." she went on as you had hoped. Resting your face on your palm, you found yourself observing the way her face looked when she talked. These girls weren't normal. They could bawl their eyes out and their eyes wouldn't swell the next morning, they could run a mile and sweat, but never look less than average. They could laugh loudly and it would still look cute. How did they do it? Was it something that expensive beauty products could give you, or...?

"Are we boring you, Tagara-kun?" A girl on the side remarked, staring at you with concern laced in her features.

"No. I'm just sighing at how beautiful the three of you are," you answered truthfully, caught up in your own thoughts before realizing what you had said. "AH! I mean, n-not in a jealous or envying way. It's just... well, uh..."

The three of then were blushing, cheeks a bright red as one of them sat up. "It seems our 15 minutes is up, Tagara-kun."

You bit your lip in horror as the other two stood up. You had done it, now. Who just randomly says something as cheesy as 'I'm just sighin at how beautifu-' ugh! What were you doing?

"I hope you don't mind... if we sit with you again another day." Your jaw dropped a tad.

"Oh, uh: Y-Yes! Please do! I wouldn't never mind your company," you answered, laughing in relief as they smiled warmly. You bowed as they walked out the door and the final batch came in to request their host.

"You did a good job, Kyo!" Haruhi complimented you, patting you on the back. "Especially with 6 of them. I told Kyouya not to give you so many, but he insisted that the fastest way to learn was to throw you head first into it..."

"That was possibly the hardest thing I've had to do in a loooong while. Man, do I have to work on building up some confidence at meeting new people! I'm going to go take a break, not like anyone's going to request me, and Kyouya should let me take a break after-"

"Tagara," Kyouya called out, "you've got a guest waiting."

You blinked, before your cheeks flushed of color out of disbelief. "What?"

"Seems like the girls you were just with went out giggling like they had just been proposed to. They were discussing your name fairly loudly, my boy," Tamaki explained, coming up from behind you. He placed a firm hand on your shoulder, and you flinched from the sudden contact, still not used to it. "You've got some talent on your side, haven't you?"

"Talent?" you repeated softly.

He displayed a dashing smile on his face, which frazzled your stomach. "Perhaps my new son has what it takes to be a host."

You looked up at him, your stomach melting in warm, fuzzy feelings. Did he just... tell you...

'... has what it takes to be a host.'

He just complimented you, didn't he?

"Thanks, Tamaki-senpai." Tamaki looked surprised as you answered him with such warmth - after all, you hadn't really shown him any positivity after your first impression of him upon entering the Music Room. You looked up at him and beamed as thankfully as you could manage. "You know, you're a lot cooler than I thought you would be!"

Haruhi nudged you in the side, as Tamaki swayed off to calm his mind, frazzled from your kindness. "You seem to be in a good mood, now. How are you holding up? They haven't discovered that you're a... you know, girl, yet."

You winked playfully at her. "Now how about I come over to your place at night and we can mingle mingle?"

She punched your arm playfully. "Careful not to let this side of you show in front of the ladies, Kyo. Kyouya and the rest of the guys might just use it against you!"

"Anything for you, my lovely Haruhi! Y'know, maybe I'm better off as a guy! Being a girl never suited me anyway!"

"What are you talking about, Kyomi! You're plenty adorable," Haruhi jested, pinching your cheeks as you whimpered and struggled out from her grasp, only to have her chase after you.

Tamaki halted in his tracks.

Kyomi?

Better off as a guy? Being a girl never suited... her...

...

Another light bulb began to shine brightly.

Just as Tamaki was about to open his mouth and blurt out the worst possible words for your façade, Kyouya latched a hand on Tamaki's shoulder and pulled him backwards to have a nice, little chat.

-X-

(1) When this story was first written, I really didn't know enough about the Japanese education system (and I still don't, even after researching...) so I decided to write what I know best, so it's a North American kind of school system. You don't need to worry if you don't follow this system, because it's really not a major factor in the story!

(2) Her name is actually Kiyomi, but her nickname is Kyo, and it really is pronounced quite similar (though the characters are different) so to help our English selves out, I'll write her name out as Kyomi, since the 'ee' sound in 'ki' is hardly there, and so when you pronounce/imagine it in your head, it'll be more accurate (:

Hitachiin romance will come later, BUT I NEED TO ASK:

Do you only want ONE twin romance, or do you want BOTH twins? I'm quite alright with both, actually.

But if it's ONE twin, tell me which one you prefer~ They're both magically delicious, anyways (: