Disclaimer: I do not make any profit off of this story, and I do not presume to own any of the characters herein. I merely borrow them from the mangaka for my own means. I.E.: Ouran High School Host Club and Artemis Fowl and their characters are not mine, but belong to Hatori Bisco-sama and Eoin Colfer.

The topic for the day at Ouran Academy was one that was both common-place as well as extremely fascinating. As was per usual for the rich, they weren't unused to students transferring into their school from another country, or even somewhere else in Japan. It was what one would call the norm. However, despite it's frequency, the teenagers at Ouran High school were still highly worked up by the news. Several people attempted to find out who exactly this ultra-rich transfer student was, but to no avail. Even the newspaper club wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, but not one person, save perhaps Ootori in second year, even knew the person's gender, much less their name.

Of course, because of this very much apparent lack of knowledge, the rumors were astounding in their complete absurdity. Some said that it was a beautiful girl in first year with eyes the shade of sapphires, some claimed to have seen a boy they'd never seen before with a hulking man following him around in the shadows, and yet still others claimed that the transfer student was in fact an alien from Jupiter that looked like a human, but had somehow managed to be so intelligent as to no longer be comparable to humans (no one had any idea where this one had stemmed from, but a good portion of the student population had already taken it to heart).

It is because of this topic and the spreading of said rumors (more and more absurd by the moment as each person 'remembered' hearing a likely detail) that the Academy's much sought-after Host Club was full to the brim. There was the usual noise of gushing girls, accompanied by 'princess' thrown around here and there, as well as many a pastry or cup of tea lost to the floor due to over-exuberance. One part of the 3rd Music Room had even been sectioned off because of a riot started when two girls threw themselves at Fujioka, only to be pushed away by an irritated Morinozuka.

As of the current moment, Haninozuka was attempting to scold the screeching females, only to be thwarted when they began to squeal over his 'cuteness'. Much cake and bribes of more ensued before Morinozuka was forced to extricate his cousin from the masses for fear that he might be lured away and never seen again (though this was unlikely due to Haninozuka's own special talents pertaining to fighting).

As soon as they could, the Host Club finally finished the day's activities and closed the doors for the 3rd Music Room, allowing themselves a moment to breathe. It was then that the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, began to 'play' with Fujioka Haruhi.

"Oh, c'mon! If you'd just wear it-"

"The entire school would pay more attention-"

"And-"

"No," Haruhi growled firmly, glaring. "I do not want to wear the dress. Now please, let me go home! 'Tosan's coming home early today and I promised him I'd have dinner ready when he arrived!" the 'commoner' host pleaded.

The twins shrugged and entwined themselves about her, preventing her escape as they tried to plead their own case. After a moment, however, it became apparent that Fujioka wasn't about to budge and the two of them released her. She quickly grabbed her belongings before Suoh could hail her and scurried to the door, pulling it open only to stop in the doorway, staring at the youth standing there. He had one hand raised as if to knock or perhaps turn the knob, the other hand was wrapped firmly around the handle of a black leather brief case. He was quite obviously a foreigner, with rather pretty deep blue eyes and skin so pale that Haruhi was disinclined to believe he actually went outside at all. He wore the Ouran uniform, of course, and a bored look had crossed his features as the two simply stood and stared at each other.

"Ah, Fowl," Ootori said, suddenly behind Haruhi. "I was meaning to ask you how you'd managed to avoid the masses..."

The youth inclined his head and held a hand out for Ootori to shake, which he did. "Oh, that... I spent the majority of my time in the library," he replied, shaking the other boy's hand firmly. "When people began to arrive, I went outside to tour the gardens. I must say, they really are quite lovely. Have you any idea who did them? I should look into it for my flat nearby. We bought it recently, and the previous owners weren't inclined to take care of the grounds properly."

Ootori nodded in sympathy, stepping out of the way to allow the other access to the room. "That truly is a shame... A waste of space, really."

Rich bastards, Haruhi thought with a sigh. She shrugged and turned to go home, but quickly found that her chance had been missed, even as Suoh appeared and began whining that she wasn't paying him enough attention anymore. She dismissed him and promised to stay after the next day, then shot Morinozuka a pleading look. The tall youth distracted Suoh with a query about cake and Haruhi made her escape. She was only halfway down the hall when she spied a very tall, giant of a man standing still between two pillars. Pausing, she tilted her head curiously and stared for a moment before remembering her manners.

"Oh... Um, can I help you?" she inquired.

He shook his head and gave her a slight smile. "No, miss. I'm just waiting for Master Artemis to finish," he replied.

She beamed back at him, taking the answer in stride. "That boy I saw a minute ago? The pale one?" He nodded. "Oh. Well, alright. Have a nice day, then," she bid before turning only to pause again seconds later, realizing something. She turned back and frowned slightly. "Did you call me 'miss'?" she wondered.

For a moment, he looked almost confused by the question. "Yes...?"

"Oh." A pause. "Then is it obvious? That I'm a girl?"

He seemed to think it over a moment, eying her critically, before shaking his head. "Not particularly. I'm just good with reading people," he replied.

"Oh. Okay. Um, again. Have a nice day," she repeated with a bow before quickly retreating. She didn't want to be waylaid anymore.

xXx

The next day, Haruhi arrived a bit too early for school (she'd wanted to escape before her father could come up with yet another reason for her to stay home while he was sick with a cold), so she wandered about, uninterested in visiting the library, though she really ought to. She was walking down one of the outer halls when her shoe caught on a tile that was raised just a bit higher than the rest and lost her balance. Luckily, a big hand wrapped around her arm just above her elbow and steadied her.

Once she was sure she wouldn't fall over, she looked up to see the man from the day before. "Oh. Um, thank you," she said, feeling a little silly. "I can't believe I tripped..."

"They should repair the walkway. I'll have a word with one of the custodians," the youth she hadn't yet noticed replied smoothly, stepping out from behind his body-guard's bulk. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm fine," she answered, shrugging. "Um... I didn't really catch your names yesterday..."

At this, the youth quirked an elegant black brow, gaze sliding over to his companion. "'Names'?"

"Uh..." Haruhi bit her lip and looked back and forth between the two before shrugging and sighing. "Yeah. Um, your... body-guard was just standing around, so I asked if I could help him..."

The boy chuckled softly and elbowed his companion in a comradely fashion. "Being creepy again, old friend?" he asked teasingly.

The bigger male sighed and shook his head. "No more so than you," he replied evenly.

The exchange made Haruhi smile slightly. "Um, well... I'm Fujioka Haruhi, it's very nice to meet you," she introduced with a polite bow.

The boy nodded and inclined his head, holding out a hand easily. "Arte- no. Fowl Artemis," he replied, taking her hand in a rather professional shake. "You're welcome to accompany us if you wish. We were just about to head to the library. I find some of the books interesting at least."

She accepted quickly. "That sounds like a good idea. I need to get some studying done, anyway. Um, which one were you going to?"

"The second floor library," he answered. "This way."

Once they arrived in the library, Fowl lead her to a table and had 'Butler' fetch the books he'd been reading the day before. Haruhi retrieved her texts from her bag and the two spoke of various subjects as she kept half her mind on the content of the material they were covering in class. She was delighted to find that Fowl was far more intelligent than anyone she'd ever had the opportunity to talk to, and Artemis found her frank outlook refreshing and pointed out that he was content that she wasn't 'a total imbecile' like 'that French boy'. Haruhi could sympathize.

With the way things went, she lost track of time, so when she finally glanced up at the clock, she groaned and dropped her head onto the table. "Damn... I'm missing homeroom," she complained sourly.

"Then you should probably hurry," Fowl replied, that brow lifting in consternation. "I don't see how anyone can stand the social interaction, though..."

"You learn to deal with it. I think I have an automatic filter that divides it into two groups," she said, voice muffled by the table.

There was none too little amusement in his voice as he replied, "And those would be...?"

"'Rich bullshit' and 'everything else'."

The statement cause a chuckle to escape the boy, and he patted her shoulder. "Very well, what do you have for first period?"

She looked up, then straightened with a sigh. "Um... Well, after homeroom, I have arithmetic. Why?"

"I was hoping I could walk you there, but I suppose I could just attend," he replied with a shrug. "I also have arithmetic, though I really don't want to bother with it. I could probably teach the class."

She laughed, her spirits lifting. "Alright. Well, let's go. If we leave now, we shouldn't have to rush," she explained as the first sounds of homeroom classes letting out began to filter into the room. "And try not to correct the teacher. I did that once, and she was angry with me for the next week."

He frowned slightly. "Very well, I won't. Today."

xXx

When Haruhi walked into class with a boy no one had seen before, every girl around them began chattering and asking a multitude of questions. It took the twins showing off their 'brotherly love' to get the females to leave them alone, and by then, Artemis already had a horrid headache. He was also seated at the front of the class, much to his discomfort, so he could practically feel everyone's gaze on him. After the Arithmetic teacher left them at the end of the period and they were joined by the Physics teacher, Artemis allowed himself to be absorbed by the lesson, and soon enough - two teachers later - it was time for lunch.

Everyone filed out of the room, the girls following the twins as they chatted about someone called 'Casanova', and Artemis was left in blessed silence. He slouched in his seat, sighing, and nodded to Butler as the body-guard entered the room.

"Oh, I didn't know you were still here," Haruhi said in surprise, seating herself beside him. "Those girls sure love you, huh?"

"Too much," he replied, shaking his head and glancing at the girl-dressed-like-a-boy. He hadn't mentioned it, of course, but it was a little obvious that she was female, though she pretended not to be. Or perhaps she didn't care either way, he really couldn't tell yet. A girl with eyes like that was a little hard to mistake. Her features, as well, were very much feminine. It was hard to believe that the entire school thought she was a boy, albeit a very girlish one.

On a whim, he leaned across the gap between them, face close to her's, and studied her. She blinked and met his gaze, eyes widening slightly in surprise. "Ano... Fowl-kun... What are you doing?" she asked, brow scrunching in confusion.

He frowned, blue eyes narrowing in something akin to annoyance. "Are they really all idiots?" he demanded tartly.

"Idiots?" she asked, confused. "Who?"

"The entire student body," he replied, pulling away and retrieving his laptop from the suitcase by his legs. "They all seem to be under the impression that you're a boy." He rolled his eyes and opened the machine, a tic beginning in his eyelid. "Honestly..."

Her only answer was a sigh and a shake of her head. "Itadakimasu," she murmured over her bento before breaking the chopsticks apart and beginning to eat. For a long time, neither spoke, milling over this or that, before she looked up and held out the chopsticks. "I didn't think to bring anymore, but you're welcome to have some of my bento."

He glanced up, brow quirked, and eyed the meal. "What is it?" he asked, not bothering to grab the offered chopsticks. If he was really hungry, he could have Butler get his lunch from the limo.

"Oh, just a couple onigiri, some egg-rolls, a few pieces of broccoli and some rice. I was thinking of putting in some tomatoes and cheese, but 'Tosan was being annoying... Anyway, that's what's left. Do you want an onigiri?" she offered, picking up one of the pyramid-shaped rice balls and holding it out for him.

Cautiously, he took a bite, not bothering to take it from her hand, though she didn't appear to care either way. "It's good," he murmured after swallowing and took it from her to finish.

"Thanks," she replied, smiling slightly. "Do you want one, too, Butler-san?" she asked, looking up at the towering body-guard.

He shook his head. "No, thank you," he replied with a smile to answer her own.

She beamed up at him and returned her attention to her meal, not noticing Artemis' curious look. "Haruhi..."

She looked up, blinking and trying to remember if she'd given him permission to call her by her first name. She then decided it didn't really matter, anyway, since he was nice enough and all, so she pushed the minor annoyance away. "Uh... Yes?"

He hesitated a moment before leaning over again, watching her reaction curiously, his first relationship with Minerva in the back of his mind. When her eyes widened again, just like earlier, he smirked openly. "You've never had a boyfriend, have you?" he murmured thoughtfully, the gears turning in his head. He could just imagine the ire he'd face from those male friends of her's if he were to...

"Um..." She leaned back in her chair, frowning slightly. "No. Why does that matter?" Her frown deepened when he shifted a little closer. "Fowl-kun, could you move back, please?"

He allowed her a little room, instead bracing his elbow on her desk and propping his chin on it, watching her curiously. The ire he'd face if he were to... Kiss her. The temptation was there, certainly, and he'd never really wanted to kiss a girl before, but... How would the situation change? What if someone were to walk in on them? What would they do if he won her over where they had failed? With this in mind, he leaned forward when she sighed in exasperation, pressing his lips to her's, even as someone stepped into the doorway and froze.

"Ha... Haruhi..."

The two broke apart and looked up to see none other than Suoh Tamaki and Ootori Kyoya standing there, surveying them. The Suoh heir looked shell-shocked, while Ootori had no visible expression on his face at all. After a moment, Haruhi tilted her head in that curious manner of her's and blinked cutely at them. "Sempai? Did you need something?" she asked, not appearing to be concerned at all with what they'd just witnessed.

The blond raised an empty hand, as if to reach out to her, but Ootori snagged his wrist and lowered his arm. "Forgive our intrusion. We'll be going now," he said, pulling the French boy away. "Carry on," he called over his shoulder before they vanished from sight.

Haruhi sighed. "I'm not going to hear the end of this..." At Artemis' amused smirk, she scowled. "And by Kami, neither are you, mister."

xXx

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