I meant to post this on Valentine's Day, whoops! Sorry for the wait, but thank you all so, so much for your support and helpful reviews, favorites and alerts. It's amazing and I would've never expected it from this many people. You guys are literally my inspiration.

Surprising Changes

Chapter six: The first result

It was at the end of the class right after homeroom when their host candidate began acting strange. Kaoru noticed this only by spending a rather concerning amount of time just… staring at the other boy. He kept looking at the window and the door with an anxious air about him. His leg bounced up and down beneath his desk and his fingers drummed a fast paced rhythm on the surface of the small table, a sound that went unheard in the classroom's usual lively chatter.

The black haired boy was tense; he looked ready to snap, and very jumpy. Kaoru raised a brow when the teen whipped his head to the side at the loud slam that came from a textbook falling to the floor. He seemed to lose his rigid posture when his eyes landed on the source of the noise and leaned back in his seat. The younger Hitachiin twin propped his head on his palm while Higurashi took a deep breath and unclenched his fisted hands in an attempt to relax. Again, he glanced at the windows and then the door. Kaoru followed his gaze absently, but exactly like the last few times found nothing there.

His worried gaze confused him. What had the boy so preoccupied anyway? It couldn't be the teachers finding out about his little stunt in the morning. That was much too trivial a thing to be fretting over (and wouldn't require frequent looks at the window). Kaoru hadn't yet pegged him as a worrywart. Well, he hadn't really pegged the archer as anything, save for ridiculously athletic. He was almost on par with Mori-senpai in that aspect.

Going back to his classmate's suspicious behavior, he noticed the boy was raising his hand. "Sensei, may I go to the nurse's office? I'm not feeling well..."

Maybe it was the kicked puppy look he had, but their supposedly strict math teacher let the boy go without a second thought. The class followed the boy with their eyes. A few of the ones closer to the long haired teen watched him go with concerned expressions, like Haruhi for example. Other classmates spared an inquisitive look in his direction but returned to what they were doing when he closed the door behind him, though a few did murmur amongst themselves in speculation.

The archer continued to impress him; he and Hikaru were -not to brag but- masters of deceptive and manipulative expressions. And though a little rough, it was obvious Kagome had used that face plenty of times before. He knew it was a lousy excuse before he'd even finished dishing it out, the question was why he needed it in the first place. Kaoru cast a sidelong look at his brother, found him completely enthralled by the brunette next to him, and switched to look at the vacant desk closest to the door. He frowned.

Looks like watching girls try to recruit him will have to wait…

Kaoru sighed in disappointment and returned to the neglected worksheet on his desk, already bored out of his mind.

Kagome ran down the hall as fast as her loafers would allow her to. She winced when the squeak reached her ears. The girl skid to a halt just in time to avoid tumbling headfirst down the stairs, shoes screeching terribly on the marble floor before she finally slowed down.

She could feel it, a demonic aura just on the edge of her senses. It was on school property, probably near the gardens if she was properly orientated.

With renewed vigor, she descended the steps that lead to the first floor's main hallway and made a beeline for the nearest window. She opened and vaulted through it without a second to lose, landing unsteadily on her feet on the other side. Her balance came back instantly and she was running once more. The world almost seemed to blur as her target became closer and closer.

It wasn't a strong demonic aura, in fact it was almost pathetically weak. She rounded a couple of budding cherry trees before the apparition was within her sights. She grimaced at the trail of flattened plants it left behind.

The centipede yōkai was crawling along the path leading to the southern gardens. Her pace quickened; her classroom had a perfect view of the southern gardens. If no one had seen it already, then it was just a matter of time before someone did and panic ensued. The media would of course get involved and terror would spread as the existence of supernatural creatures was brought to light…

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself with that last one.

Her skin crawled at the sight of it. There had to be more than just one hundred legs on that thing, she was sure of it. One hundred bush-squashing, flower-killing and plant-murdering legs. Her eyes began to burn as her spiritual powers surfaced, waiting just beneath her skin. She cursed the contacts she was wearing for the umpteenth time since buying them. They were of course useful, but damn if it didn't hurt when she used her powers. The girl had no idea why either, contact lenses and reiki just didn't seem to mix well together.

"Hey, you! This isn't a place for your kind to be wandering in!" the centipede ignored her completely. Kagome tried again, "Didn't you hear? Go home!" When the result didn't change, she reached down to tap on one of its many limbs, hoping against her better judgment it would actually heed her warnings and just leave, peacefully.

The thing had the gall to actually kick her away. The teen grunted in surprise as she landed on her rump next to a tree that had most of its branches snapped by the beast's passing.

Okay, that is it.

With a sorrowful glance to the ruined shrubbery, she picked up a fallen branch (brutally torn off, more like it) got to her feet, and stalked quietly behind the overgrown insect. Her own power flared, sending coral pink colored waves rippling through the air. The centipede halted in its tracks and she readied herself. Everything stilled for a single moment, the lush gardens fell into a tense quiet while she waited for her opponent to strike.

It turned sharply, antennae moving frantically in the air and jaw opening wide, revealing a dark tunnel of razor sharp incisors. It lunged itself for her, twisting its long body in order to reach her. The girl braced herself by taking a quick step back and holding the branch directly in front of her like a sword. The charging beast impaled itself, turning to glittering ash on contact, but not before nicking her temple with one of its frontal legs. It stung, but it was a small price to pay and ten times less grave than what someone else would've gotten if they came in contact with the rust colored demon.

"I guess I really do have to go to the nurse's office this time." She murmured dryly while she brushed dirt and leaves from her uniform.

"That would be correct."

The branch flew out of her hands as she instinctively lunged it towards the source of the noise, hair standing on end and her heart hammering in her chest. The woman that had addressed her merely sidestepped the wooden projectile, though she did look surprised. "Pardon me, I did not wish to startle you." The black haired woman soothed, her hands placed in front of her in a peaceful manner.

Kagome backtracked, a horrified look growing on her face as her mind reeled. Was she standing there the whole time?! "Oh no, no, no. I'm sorry for throwing a stick at you!" She finished the apology with an awkward bow. The woman only shook her head and turned so that she was gesturing towards a door that Kagome hadn't noticed before. She's not freaking out, so I guess not…?

"Please come this way Higurashi-sama". Kagome raised a brow at the honorific and winced when the action both reminded her of the cut near her ear and irritated her eyes. She really needed to take the pesky contacts off.

She followed the woman through the inconspicuous door on the side of the building. It lead to a hallway that was dark from the lack of windows, but not completely obscure thanks to the dim light bulbs dotting it here and there. Her eye twitched when she noticed the bulbs were lined with small jewels at the base. Was that really necessary? Really?

Damn rich people.

They went up a short set of stairs and through another door before arriving at what she assumed to be the nurse's office. It looked like a clinic, and far better equipped than most of them in fact. White tiles and pearl colored wallpaper made it nearly straining to look at, but she managed thanks to a few tasteful pieces of art here and there.

The woman nodded towards an examination table in the corner before going to retrieve a few things from the cabinets on the far side of the room. Kagome sat down with a small grunt, feeling somewhat drained after the sudden use of her powers. The woman returned with a damp washcloth and paper towels. She placed a bandage on the cut after cleaning and disinfecting it and smiled amicably before putting her equipment away.

"There's a bathroom behind that door, Higurashi-sama. The eye drops are inside the first drawer." Not even bothering to question how the woman knew about her dilemma, Kagome stood and followed her directions. The eye drops felt wonderful, but she really just wanted to take them off. Kagome knew she couldn't, shouldn't, but…

Opening the same drawer the eye drops had been in, Kagome found several cases for contact lenses along with cleaning and hydrating solution. Pale pink lips pursed in contemplation. In the end she threw caution to the wind and took the blasted things off after washing her hands.

Dabbing at the corner of her eyes with a paper towel, Kagome sighed as she stared long and hard at the girl in the mirror. There were leaves in her hair and a twig poking out from the lilac colored blazer. Her eyes were puffy and red, like she'd been crying for hours. If they were any more red, they'd resemble Inuyasha's eyes when his demonic heritage took over.

The thought made her shiver once before she decided to exit the room. After tidying herself up a bit, of course.

The woman (whose name she still didn't know) was waiting for her. She was sitting by a pristine glass top desk with numerous drawers beneath it when Kagome left the bathroom, leafing through a manila folder in her hands. She spoke before Kagome could, cutting off the question on the tip of her tongue.

"Higurashi-sama, your file states you are male. Do you wish for me to rectify this mistake?" Kagome wondered if she even had the possibility of doing that. Wasn't she the school nurse? Then again, she wasn't really dressed like a conventional nurse was. Lilac button up shirt, paired with black pumps and a pinstriped black pencil skirt consisted of her outfit.

All in all she looked more like an office woman, than a nurse.

Add the fact that she wore rimless glasses and kept her hair in a tight bun, she could fool anyone into thinking she was a professional businesswoman. At least she looked the part. Though there was a questionable leaf shaped piercing on her left lobe.

Realizing she'd been staring without answering, Kagome coughed awkwardly and responded with a small shake of her head. "It's fine, it's fine. I don't mind," She lifted a shoulder in a shrug, "It's actually kind of entertaining."

A smile tilted the corner of the mysterious woman's lips upward. "He thought you would say that…" She murmured softly, clearly not meaning for her to hear. Kagome could only speculate on what she was talking about.

The lady closed her eyes and took her glasses off. A barrier spread around her and Kagome jumped back as yōki poured from within the "nurse". The barrier glowed blood red as opposed to her rosy pink and encased them in a perfectly rounded half-sphere. The teen was left to gape as the woman transformed right before her very eyes.

"It's nice to see you again, Kagome-sama."

Mitsukuni happily sucked on his strawberry flavored lollipop. He'd never tasted that particular brand before, it was super yummy! The blond made a note to ask Kagome where she got it the next time they saw each other. Takashi glanced at him oddly from the corner of his eye, wondering where the candy had come from. Honey explained after noticing his stare.

They'd gotten to class rather early that morning and to their surprise, their teacher wasn't present. Their class rep let them know she'd called the school, a family emergency was the woman's only explanation for her absence.

Soon after the announcement the class dispersed, each group went off in a different direction to kill time until the period came to an end. He and Takashi had been walking around the third floor's halls when they spotted their math teacher running around in a frenzy with an enormous stack of papers balanced precariously in his arms. Mitsukuni, being the kind and helpful boy he was, offered his assistance and ended up with a third of the load, Takashi with another.

They were tests, apparently. Ones that hadn't been delivered in time. Mitsukuni and Takashi had gone their separate ways to deliver them and by chance the blond encountered his friend, Kagome, standing nervously outside of the classroom he was supposed to go into.

"I overslept," She'd told him in a downtrodden whisper, "And I really can't afford to miss this class, it's my worst subject!"

Honey had come to a rather quick conclusion then. Kagome was a damsel (though he was sure if he ever said that out loud she'd rebuke the statement with a burning passion) and she was obviously in distress, so he came to her rescue.

The black haired teen was absolutely delighted when he offered his assistance, though she looked put out when her offer to repay him was immediately shot down. After a quick search inside her backpack, she produced a bright pink wrapped piece of candy and gladly agreed to hand it over once they were done when Honey showed interest in it.

After that, it was rather easy to distract the teacher. He made sure to be extra bubbly and leave the door open behind him so Kagome could get in unnoticed. He didn't mind the stares he got as he carried out his task, already used to the attention thanks to his afterschool activities with the Host Club.

In the end he walked out of the room without a stack of papers and with a sugary treat in his pocket.

Takashi blinked slowly when he finished his tale and felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. He'd woken up later than normal that morning as well, but arrived on time thanks to his driver. He knew for a fact that Kagome walked to school and also knew it was highly likely that their training session from the day before was the cause for her tardiness.

She probably knew it, too.

She was probably angry at him.

Heck, she was probably planning on avoiding, or ignoring, him now. He'd seen what girls were capable of, especially when angry. What Kagome was capable of doing if provoked was still a mystery to him, he'd only seen the girl mildly annoyed thanks to the twins' antics. When he (sort of) asked her about it she said it wasn't really enough to make her mad. But when her academic progress was on the line…

Takashi fought a cringe as he recalled what happened to the last boy who had disturbed her precious studying time.

What if she was angry enough to cancel the training sessions?

"Oh, I forgot to mention: Gome-chan wants to have lunch with us." Mitsukuni added after a moment of sucking on his treat. He peered up at his cousin through his thick fringe, watching his expression carefully. He blinked twice as the taller boy's face relaxed. The blond hadn't even noticed his pinched eyebrows or the small frown until they slowly disappeared.

If it had been in his character to do so, Takashi would've sagged in relief.

Kagome was looking around frantically for a viable escape route. Girls had swarmed her as soon as she left the nurse's office, an entire hour after her arrival. It was lunch time now and she had to meet up with Honey and Mori soon. Yellow surrounded her, the color was everywhere she turned as more dress-wearing students gathered in the hall and she was slowly getting overwhelmed. She cast a pleading look to a few passing male students, but they got one glance at the mob and quickly acted as if they hadn't turned her way at all.

She glared at their retreating backs. Cowards!

"Girls please… I have a lunch date to get to, so if you could all just-" She tried saying but her voice was drowned out by all the others. Her brows pinched together while she tried to discern what the crowd was saying. There were a few words that repeated endlessly amongst the girls assembled there, if she wanted to know what the uproar was about she needed to listen.

After twenty seconds of being completely still in what felt like the eye of a storm with about a dozen girls talking all at once trying to get her attention, while she herself was trying to concentrate on what they were saying as a group with no success, Kagome had enough.

She inhaled deeply through her nose. "LADIES, QUIET PLEASE!" Mouths clamped shut at the reverberating roar-like shout. If all eyes hadn't been on her before, they definitely were now.

Her eyes sparked with impatience behind her brown contact lenses, making more than a few gazes lower timidly to the floor in an unconscious sign of submission. It worked well enough and her gaze softened considerably as the crowd settled down.

"Thank you. Please, one at a time, I can't understand if everyone talks at once… are all of you here for the same reason? Did I offend anyone? Though I don't recall seeing many of you before…" She trailed off with a pointed look that had many of the surrounding students' faces turning pink.

"Um, well, Higurashi-kun, I think most of us are here for the same reason… the poll?" Homura, a soft-spoken member of the Kyūdō club in class 1-C, spoke up, receiving various nods and sounds of agreement. Kagome often talked with the short-haired girl during practice, usually to compliment her shiny black hair.

What poll? Kagome twitched, but said nothing as another girl spoke up. How did they even find me?

"You see, Kagome-kun, all of us are here to extend our wishes for you to join the Host Club, after a recent poll on the official website gained the approval of most of the clients… we're missing half of the total group that voted, but I assure you all of us here want to ask you to join on behalf of the club." Linda, from class 2-A whom she'd tutored in History a few weeks ago, relayed the information clearly, her British heritage showing in her slight accent. She was taller than Kagome by a good few inches and wore her long, curled blonde hair in a neat ponytail. Her green eyes told of a cheery personality behind her cool persona.

Surprise made her pause and rethink her words. The miko tugged at the end of her low ponytail nervously, wondering how she was supposed to refuse with fifteen or so pairs of wide eyes staring at her hopefully in quiet anticipation.

The girl in disguise stilled her hand and forced herself into a calm posture by hooking her thumbs in her pants pockets and setting her feet apart minutely. The collective swoon sent her brows high beneath her fringe.

"I didn't know about any poll, or that the Host Club was trying to recruit me, until Wilson-senpai said so," She nodded in the blonde's direction, "but right now, I can't join the Host Club, or any other club really. I've got my eye on the Kendo Club, and I'm going to try out for it again next week." Disappointed murmurs swept through the group; she felt a twinge of regret with each sad sigh that reached her ears.

"Ah… look, I never would've dreamed so many pretty girls would want someone like me to be a part of a club like that, I'm really flattered… shocked too. Maybe I can talk something over with them and help out for a little while between breaks?" She offered tentatively despite the growing dread inside of her. She was nearly deafened by the joyous cry that erupted at the suggestion. A genuine smile made her eyes squint ever so slightly in the wake of such an enthusiastic response.

Another delighted squeal tore through the air afterwards.

"Don't worry Honey-senpai, I'm sure Kagome-kun is fine…" Haruhi wasn't all that sure of the statement herself, since the other boy had been in the nurse's office for a pretty long time, but there wasn't much else to say to console the teary-eyed blond sitting next to her.

Honey sniffled, his lip trembling a little as shoved another piece of cake into his mouth and squeezed Usa-chan closer to his chest. Beads of sweat formed on Haruhi's brow when he remained silent and she looked to his cousin for guidance. The tall male frowned a bit and sent what might have been a disapproving look at the boy.

"Mitsukuni," was all he said, though apparently it held more meaning than Haruhi could guess, since Honey slowly stopped stuffing his face.

After a minute of tense silence, an idea popped into her head. "Do you want to go get him?"

The brown-eyed boy lifted his head from the table's surface, his forehead bearing a round, red mark. That wasn't too bad; Mori-senpai moved the boy's plate out of the way before he could drop his head onto it. "Haru-chan knows where Gome-chan is?" The nickname barely made her twitch anymore, Haruhi only nodded in silence.

"Ok! Let's find Gome-chan!" He was already walking toward the cafeteria's exit before he finished talking. Mori followed quickly, glancing back to make sure Haruhi was doing the same. She sighed, walking past Hikaru and Kaoru on the way out. The petite brunette avoided Kyoya and Tamaki's eyes while they finished whispering something to the twins and quickened her pace to walk alongside the pair in front of her.

"He's probably in the nurse's office." She told them, sidestepping a few chattering students walking in the opposite direction.

Mori gave a short hum of understanding and turned left at the next corner. That was good, Haruhi still had no idea where the nurse's office was.

"Ne… Takashi, do you think Gome-chan went to the nurse's office on the second floor… or the infirmary on the third floor?"

He paused in step for a second. The kendoka squinted in thought before continuing as if he hadn't stopped in the first place.

"We will check this floor first." He murmured. Haruhi and Honey bobbed their heads in agreement, following Mori through a few more turns and several hallways. They stopped again, this time to wait as a large group of girls passed by. The trio exchanged looks and glanced down the hall curiously, watching as the crowd vanished around a corner.

Haruhi raised a brow. "What was that all about?"

Both Takashi and Mitsukuni shrugged, they honestly had no idea.

"Good grief, I thought I was a goner…" Three heads turned in the direction of a familiar, if tired, voice. Honey brightened considerably upon spotting its owner.

"Gome-chan! You're OK!" Like most times, the blond was the first to skip toward the other boy. Kagome looked confused by the boy's shout, but he smiled nonetheless when his arms latched around his waist in a tight hug.

The "Natural" host watched the black-haired teen return the embrace without question. It brought a small grin to her face. She looked up at Mori through the corner of her eyes and blinked in amazement. Is he smiling? She narrowed her eyes. I can't tell…

"EH?! Gome-chan, what happened to your face?"

Kagome laughed and waved the shorter male's concern away, dodging the question easily enough. "Just a scratch, nothing to worry about." He looked away from the blond and waved at them. "Hi there Mori-senpai, Haruhi-kun. Sorry I was late, I got held back…"

They were walking back to the cafeteria after Kagome's stomach started protesting. Haruhi had already eaten, as had Honey and Mori didn't usually eat lunch, so the third years offered to treat him. Without a bento and feeling far too hungry to decline, Kagome bowed gratefully, murmuring about ways to pay them back soon.

"What did you say held you back?" Haruhi asked after recalling the other boy's words. Kagome snorted and opened his mouth to say something, but thought better on it and closed it again. He looked at her and the pair walking beside her with furrowed brows before answering.

"You probably saw all of the girls leaving," they nodded, "they were there to ask me to join the Host Club… something about a post on the "official website"…?" Kagome gave them a lopsided smile once she noticed their puzzled expressions. "I'm guessing you didn't know about it."

"Weird… Tama-chan didn't say anything about a new member." Honey mumbled while Mori brought his phone out, no doubt to check on the club's website.

Haruhi frowned down at the expensive tiles and didn't look up as she spoke her mind, "I knew they'd try. Kaoru and Hikaru took pictures-"

"Pictures?!"

"—for the site the other day, and I overheard Kyoya-senpai and Tamaki-senpai talking it over –you joining, I mean. It was mostly Kyoya-senpai though, dunno why." By the time she finished talking, Mori had pulled the site up. Kagome growled out something about an invasion of privacy while his eyes scanned over the content; Haruhi cringed when she saw the pictures herself.

"You'd think they'd ask me themselves, but nooo, they sent their- their patrons to do it. Of all the things…" The archer's rant continued all the way until they reached the cafeteria, where he piped down at the sight of the rest of the hosts sitting at a table not too far from the entrance. He looked ready to turn back around and leave. He probably would have too, if Honey hadn't chosen that time to grab hold of his sleeve and pull him inside.

"You're hungry, Gome-chan. Remember?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Haruhi chuckled as Kagome put on what she thought was an identical copy of Mori's usual expression when the other hosts looked in their direction. Tamaki "eep"-ed and looked away.

She found Kagome reacted in much the same way, if any of the members were around for the rest of the school day. Tamaki and Kyoya had come to their classroom in the ten minute break between their last classes, which made the boy turn stone-faced and cold. Haruhi had to admit it was funny how Kagome, at least a head shorter than both second years, could set them on edge so easily, or in Tamaki's case, become absolutely terrifying.

He didn't even bother turning around in class, the twins busied themselves throwing paper pellets until the shorter male actually turned and flicked two of the crumpled pieces on his desk at them. It hit Kaoru on the nose and Hikaru directly in the forehead. And that was just hilarious to her because the furthest the twins had gotten was the boy's arm. When she let out a soft snort, they turned to her, and suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore.

I cut off a bit at this point, since it'd be too much stuff in a single chapter. There's a big storm coming, is all I'm saying.

So~... not sure if I've mentioned this here, but there will probably always be a poll on my profile. This one will stick around until the beginning of... March, I'll tell you all if I make another one in an A/N.

Anyone out of character? Was there something that felt off about someone? Doubts/questions about the content and plot so far? I use chapters to answer, so don't be discouraged if there isn't a pm in your inbox! I feel like it's just better that way...

Thank you for reading :D