Surprise, Surprise

Author's Note: For future reference...

Thoughts

Emphasis (or EMPHASIS)

Speaking in unison - used mostly for twins

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran or any of its characters - The lovely and talented Ms. Bisco Hatori does. I simply borrowed them for this story for entertainment purposed only. Please enjoy, but don't steal or sue!

Surprise, Surprise

Concept by HTApprovedChick and melovedogboy (on )

Story by HTApprovedChick

Illustrated by melovedogboy

Prologue

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Ever since that night at the beach in Okinawa, when she had seen through him and immediately realized the lesson he was trying to teach her, he had been more and more confused about her. When he had thrown her to the bed that night, he had expected that she would try to push him away, or at the very least tell him to stop. Kyoya had planned on struggling with her, to scare her a bit and teach her a lesson - that while she was a tough, seemingly fearless person, that there were certain things that she had to be wary of. Instead, she laid there quietly, looked him right in the eye and told him exactly what he was trying to do. He had not expected her to see through him the way that she had. He had not expected anyone to ever see through him as easily as she did that night. And then the way that she had pointed out that he wouldn't sleep with her anyway, because it held no merits for him. He had remembered thinking what an interesting point of view it was. But thinking about it more later that night, lying in bed in his own room, he thought how sad it was that she assumed that his actions were only ever motivated by merit. Oh, of course, they very often were - it was the reason that he had first begun spending time with Tamaki, after all. But it was not the reason he stayed, nor what it the reason that he put up with all the frivolity of the Host Club. His thoughts lingered on her eyes that night as he dropped off, wondering why her words about merit had suddenly started to sting like a papercut. Surely, he thought, he wasn't that heartless. Surely, with all her ability to tell the twins apart and see through his intentions that fateful night, that she should realize that about him, too.

Certainly she was oblivious to certain things, but she was very smart - she had to be, to be a scholarship student. She was at the top of her class, as Kyoya was at the top of his. Over the next few months he had watched her interactions with the other hosts, and their customers, noting everything down in his notebook for later review at home. A commoner, even a smart one like Haruhi, normally would never have warranted a second glance from someone like him - after all, the Ootoris carried the blood of dukes in their veins. The mere mention of his name and his connections could get him through any door and inspire respect, even fear, in those he dealt with on a daily basis. Except for her. She did not care about money or connections, and even though she had been on the receiving end of his blackmail several times, she remained friendly and normal with him. This sweet girl of humble birth was fascinating. He told himself that it was only for the sake of getting to know her as he knew the other hosts, but he found himself daydreaming about the things he had learned about her. His thoughts would linger over her cooking, which even he had to admit was delicious, despite its commonality; the strength which supported her and her father through the early loss of her mother, and especially her pure and simple acceptance of anyone and everyone for exactly the way they were, including himself. He would think about her uncanny way of being totally unaware of her grace or appeal. Haruhi Fujioka was totally unlike any girl, no, any person he had ever known, and he had to keep reminding himself that it was for this reason, and only for this reason, that he was so preoccupied with her.

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Ch. 1

Challenge

Haruhi walked into the Third Music Room that winter afternoon, dreading the so-called "Super-Secret-Surprise-Cosplay" that Tamaki had been ranting about for the last week. She knew she never should have gone and told him that she was sick of their wastefully expensive cosplays, especially since the cost of renting the costumes was added to her vase debt. Sometimes she thought the only reason that Kyoya allowed all the frivolous spending was to punish her for some as-yet-undiscovered offense. But her tirade against the costs of another cosplay seemed only to have a temporary effect on the club's king. He had sulked in his corner of doom for a while, but had recovered within moments with his usual enthusiasm. He had tackled her, crushing the air out of her while screaming something about commoner brilliance and how cute she was when she was angry. But as she walked into the room today, she saw no forests of exotic plants, no expensive set pieces of some far away or ancient land. In fact, the room looked the same as it usually did, filled with its collection of tea tables, chairs, and sofas.

Thank God, she thought. Tamaki-senpai has forgotten all about that Super-Stupid-Silly-Cosplay junk. Maybe I'll get some relative peace... Then she saw the table in the center of the room, covered with a drape. She couldn't make out what was underneath.

sigh "Guess I spoke too soon," she muttered under her breath as she trudged into the back room to put down her things, dodging the tackle attempts from Hikaru and Kaoru. She came back out and waved to Mori and Hunny, who were in their usual corner with cakes and Bun-Bun. She glanced at the covered table again as she walked over to Kyoya, who was sitting with his laptop on the coffee table in front of him and his slim black notebook open in his hand. He seemed very absorbed in whatever he was doing, but Haruhi was too curious about what was under that tablecloth, and what ridiculous outfit she was going to be subjected to today to let this one go.

"Kyoya-senpai..."

He flinched imperceptably, startled that she had come up so close so suddenly. "Ah, Haruhi-kun..." He looked up and straightened his glasses. Damn - I can't believe I flinched. It's just Haruhi... no reason to lose my cool.

"Senpai, please tell me what Tamaki has hidden under that blanket, and how much more you've added to my debt for it."

"Haruhi-kun, I'm surprised at you." he smirked, enjoying a chance to gently tease Haruhi. "You know that I can't tell you what Tamaki has planned for our cosplay today. He has threatened me with untold tortures and punishments if I were to ruin his surprise."

"Somehow, that sounds like something you would do, rather than Tamaki-senpai," she grumbled. "Now really, just tell me what ridiculous outfit I'm going to have to wear today. Kimonos? Fairies? Circus performers? "

Kyoya paused for a moment, caught off-guard with an image of Haruhi in a leotard as a circus contortionist... Wait...no...shake it off, Ootori. She's just a girl. A very cute girl... SNAP OUT OF IT !

"All right, you've caught me, Haruhi-kun. I actually have no clue what Tamaki has hidden underneath that cloth. It was set up when I got here, and he begged me not to look. Apparently this is something he came up with all on his own. " Kyoya flicked a quick glance over at Haruhi's profile out of the corner of his eye, and silently praised the way her hair fell into her eyes before redirecting his gaze at the table, following Haruhi's gaze at the lumpy mass.

"Wondering about our cosplay, huh, Haruhi?" leered Hikaru, as the twins crept up behind her and draped their arms around her shoulders.

"I do hope that there's something sweet and girly under there for you to wear, don't you, Hikaru?" added Kaoru from her left.

"So you don't know what Tamaki-senpai is planning either, huh?" She said.

"Not a clue," they said in unison, just as Lord Tamaki himself waltzed into the room.

"Ah, Haruhi! Daddy is here! Ah, everyone is here! Wonderful, wonderful! Now we can all begin our cosplay! Can you guess, my darling daughter? Can you guess what it is?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes "No, senpai, I don't care." It took several minutes to drag Tamaki out of his gloomy corner of woe. Haruhi groaned inwardly, but finally said the words she knew would snap him out of it. "What is it this time?"

He recovered quickly. "Ah, you're going to appreciate this very much, Haruhi. This cosplay is very inexpensive, and it will be very, very fun. In fact, there's going to be a game, and a prize for the winner!"

"What kind of a prize, Tama-chan?" piped Hunny from his perch on Mori's broad shoulders. "Cake? Is it cake?"

"A date with Haruhi?" asked the twins. "Ah, our favorite toy, we will take you home to play with us... " they grinned and snuggled very close to her.

"Get away from my dear daughter, you perverted twins! Mother, stop them! " Tamaki pleaded with Kyoya.

"Yes, 'Mother'," Haruhi grumbled. "Please get them off me." She was starting to buckle under their weight, when Kyoya pushed his glasses up his nose and leveled a glinting glare at the two redheaded twins. He would never admit it, but he hated when they draped themselves around her like that, too. Sometimes he longed for a chance to step into their shoes, to be able to flirt and play with her with the same reckless abandon that they did. But that would be unthinkable for an Ootori, to stoop to that level of silliness.

"Ah, you're no fun at all, Kyoya-senpai." The twins shrugged their shoulders and let Haruhi go. Hikaru looped an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"So, what this prize, anyway?"

Tamaki grinned "Ah, I was hoping you would ask. It is a whole day to spend alone with the host club member of their choice, doing whatever they like, with the expenses being covered by the other losing members of the Host Club." Haruhi was shocked... she was going to have to shell out more money to pay for a spoiled rich kid outing... and then it slowly dawned on her. Tamaki intended to win, and choose her to spend the day with. No doubt doing something ridiculous, and somehow related to commoner father-daughter bonding. The thought of being stuck alone with him all day dashing around a shopping mall was enough to bring out a competitive spirit that she didn't normally show. In most instances, Haruhi wouldn't care if she won or not, much in the same way that she didn't particularly mind posing as a boy for the Host Club. But this was too much. She was sick and tired of feeling like she was no closer to paying off her debt now than she was when she had started this charade. She started thinking that, if she won, she could ask the others to donate some money towards paying off her debt, and then spending her day studying rather than wasting money on a trip to Okinawa or some such nonsense.

I'm going to make sure that I do all that I can to win this. I only hope its something I can manage to pull off. Nothing too silly.

Kyoya, however, was having a silent conversation of his own. Hm... a day alone with the Host Club member of my choice... An excellent chance to get Haruhi alone, get to know her better, without the silly interruptions of the others. And Kyoya Ootori's competitive spirit came out.

"Tama-chan, what are the costumes? Bun-Bun and I can't wait to see, can we, Takashi?" cried Hunny from the taller senior's shoulders.

"Yeah," replied Mori.

"Ah, yes, come with me, my children," Tamaki snapped out of his argument with the twins over who would win (Kaoru) and who he would choose (Haruhi), and what they would do (something about dress-up). He recovered his club King attitude, and walked over to the table, leading the others behind him. "I know you've all been anticipating this for some time now!"

Baka... he knows we all just want to get this over with, Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"And now, the moment we've all been waiting for... the most ingenious Super-Secret-Surprise-Cosplay idea, inspired by Dear Haruhi's commoner logic that we spend less money to entertain ourselves, I present you with your costumes!" Tamaki yanked the drape off the table with a flourish to reveal seven head forms with colored wigs on them. Two black, one brown, two red, and two blond... with very familiar, short hairstyles...

"No way!" shouted the twins in unison.

"..." It took Haruhi a few seconds to process what she was seeing. "Wigs, senpai? Why are we only wearing wigs?"

"We're going to cosplay as each other! Won't this be great!"

--

Author's Note: UPDATE - The illustration for this chapter has been posted on deviantArt. For some reason I can't post the link here, or the web address, and for some equally strange reason, it will allow me to post the link if i put spaces in strange places. So, just cut and paste the following address, and then delete all the spaces. http : / / melovedogboy . deviantart . com /art/Voila-97240358