Section One: The Making of An Otaku

Tall and slender with soft blonde hair gracefully framing his pale blue eyes, Thomas Smith was the envy of every guy in school. Those boys who made fun of his rather feminine beauty were just secretly jealous of his influence over the girls, who for some curious reason were actually in raptures over his delicate charm.

In addition to good looks, Thomas also had the exceptionally good luck of being both a good athlete and student. He was a member of the city's junior soccer league and currently held the record for the most goals scored in a single game. He held a 4.0 GPA easily, hardly having to try to ace his AP courses. His French teacher was thrilled at his convincing accent and the natural skill he possessed in conversation.

At home, he was usually in the music room, practicing the piano at a level most professional musicians aspire to.

In short, Thomas Smith was exactly like the sort of heroes he read about in shojo manga.

Thomas first became interested in the genre when he was still in middle school. In one of the desperate spells of boredom that frequently overcame him, he picked up one of his little sister's books - a volume of Fruits Basket. From that day on he was hooked. The adventures of shojo heroines filled him with all the highs and lows that a particularly sensitive soul can possess. He empathized with their broken hearts and courageous struggles against backstabbing friends, he rejoiced with them when they won the man of their dreams. But more than the girls featured in these stories, he was interested in their men. In them he could see bits and pieces of himself. He could relate to them more than he could characters portrayed on TV, horrible men who beat or cheated on their wives and girlfriends. He wasn't anything like those guys. But the princes of a shojo manga? They were something to emulate!

It's no wonder that such an otaku of shojo would have already participated in one or two conventions. At the moment, we find our hero looking up the times and information for the annual Kana-Kon, held in a city near his own. He loved Kana-Kon, and had been there twice before with his best friend, Kyle. They had spent most of their time in the vender's room together, searching the artist alley for prints or hunting Pocky. Their evenings had been a blur of raving and glow sticks. Basically, they had spent their time at Kana-Kon as any fun-loving Japanophiles would.

This time was different. Thomas was looking up this year's rules for the cosplay contest. He had never tried it before, but he thought he would give it a shot this year, especially since he had the perfect character in mind…

Ten Thousand Dollars. They were giving out a grand prize of Ten Thousand Dollars to the best costumed group.

Well, Thomas no longer needed any more motivation to convince him that this was the year to take up cosplaying. Despite the fact that he had never created a cosplay costume before, he knew he could win. He had put a lot of thought into which character he would become. A good cosplayer chooses someone they already kind of resemble - someone they could pull off naturally. Thomas had taken his height and body into consideration. His hair and eye color. His natural charm. His skills with the piano and in speaking French. Who else could he be but Tamaki Suoh of Ouran High School Host Club?

He knew he would win. There was no doubt of it except… Who ever heard of a host club with only one host?

Section 2: Enlisting Kyoya

Oswego East was a fairly large school. It had to be, considering there were only two high schools in the city, and the population was not a small one. The building consisted of three stories stocked with classes, a large gym, a small practice gym, the theater, and a large commons area that also served as a cafeteria. This was Thomas's kingdom. Or so he liked to think of it.

Beside every cocky high school prince there is a slightly less cocky, more down to earth best friend. This place was filled by Kyle Ore. Kyle and Thomas had bonded over a shared love of soccer. Like Thomas, Kyle was tall, handsome, and intelligent. He had brown eyes behind his glasses, and carelessly tousled auburn hair that only became more disarrayed when Thomas ruffled it as he sat down.

Kyle ignored this familiar gesture, choosing only to look up once he had finished a chapter of the book he was reading, "Hey Tom."

"Kyle," Thomas nodded his greeting, "I have some news."

"About what?"

"Kana-Kon."

"Already?"

"They just posted the date yesterday. We've still got five months to prepare."

"Jesus, five months? Remind me to pre-register when the time gets a little closer."

Kyle started to turn his attention back to his book when Thomas drew him back to the conversation, "But good cosplayers begin preparing as soon as possible! We don't want to create a rushed and shoddy product!"

"Cosplay? You're doing that this year?"

"Correction. We."

Kyle took a moment to process this, then shook his head. Thomas had learned that this was not a motion of refusal for Kyle. It simply meant that he was sorting his thoughts and wondering what his friend was going to get him into next. When he shook his head it was like he was trying to shake away the images that came to mind every time Thomas mentioned a new scheme.

"Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"Ouran High School Host Club."

"A host club?" Kyle said with some disgust. Unlike Thomas, Kyle was not a shojo fan. Due to his insomnia, he spent a lot of time staying up late and watching anime on Adult Swim. His favorites included Bleach and Samurai Champloo. He was also somewhat of a gamer - but beyond that his interest in Japanese entertainment ended. He heard the words "host club" and immediately associated it with either big breasted women or slightly homosexual looking men. Neither sounded like something he wanted to cosplay as.

"It's not what you're thinking!" Thomas quickly said, guessing from his friend's tone what track his thoughts were taking, "It's a shojo manga about an apathetic heroine who gets roped into working for this club of extremely rich and attractive boys!"

Kyle opened his book again.

"No no! It's really good! Trust me! And we're just like two of the guys! It'd be so cool, Kyle! Kyle! Kyle! KYLE!"

"Okay! I'm listening! Stop yelling you crazy… Tell me more about these guys."

"Well, there's Tamaki Suoh. I'd be him. He's the king of the host club. Oh, but it's not like a real host club! It's this thing he started at school with some friends. They entertain girls who go to school with them in this abandoned music room… That sounds dumb, but it's not. Anyway, I'd want you to be Kyoya Ohtori. If Tamaki's the king then he's like the shadow king. He's the real brains behind the operation. And it's perfect for you because you've already got his glasses and you're a brainy guy and my best friend."

He made sure to lay on the words "best friend" thickly, hoping to guilt his buddy into joining his cause.

But Kyle wasn't going to give in so easily, "And what sort of costume would I be wearing?"

"Just the school uniform. It's a blue blazer and black slacks - nothing ridiculous, I promise. And you won't have to provide your own, I'll take care of it."

"Uh-huh. Couldn't we just do something for Naruto instead? I've always wanted to cosplay as Kakashi."

"Narutard? You can't be serious! That costume would be much harder to pull off than a school uniform!"

"Well… If it's just this once…."

"We'd have to dye your hair."

"… Excuse me?"

"Kyoya's hair is black. We have to be convincing if we want to win!"

Kyle's drifting attention snapped back instantly, "Win? Win what?"

"The cosplay contest of course!"

"Oooh no! You didn't say anything about a contest! I won't do it."

Thomas was horrified, "But you love the cosplay contest!"

"I like watching other people do it! But I'm not getting up on stage and making a fool of myself!"

"But it's ten thousand dollars, Kyle!"

"Huh?"

"The grand prize this year! Ten grand!"

Kyle fell silent at this. His personal pride was apparently no match for the seduction of money. He and Kyoya had that much in common.

"Not bad for just wearing a blazer…" he muttered.

Thomas could feel his immanent victory, but a quick glance at the clock told him that the bell would ring for the start of class in two minutes. He wouldn't see Kyle again until lunch. Knowing that there was no way he'd be able to focus without an answer, and not wanting to give Kyle any time to reconsider his offer, he went down on one knee.

"Tom? What are you doing?" Kyle gawked at him, clearly aware that a bunch of the students were starting to stare at the two of them.

Thomas took his hand and grasped it firmly so that Kyle wouldn't be able to pull it away. Some students were starting to snicker and a few girls were unabashedly exclaiming, "Oh my gawd! What is he doing?"

"Tom, stop it. Get up now."

"Kyle, I'm asking you as my best friend. Will you be the Kyoya to my Tamaki?"

"Yes yes alright! Now will you let go of my hand, you bastard?"

Tamaki jumped up and pumped his fist into the air in time with the class bell. To him it sounded like victory.

"You won't regret this Kyle! Kyoya!" He shouted as his friend gathered his backpack and began walking away, "We'll be the best host club ever! We just have to find the other hosts!"