"Rika-senpai!"
I stumbled sideways as I was pulled into a hug by none other than Minami Chiyo. Really, how many times would I be hugged like this?
"Chiyo-san, please let go." I said, sitting down at my station. It was a blanket under one particularly large cherry blossom tree.
"Yes!" She sat down right next to me at my left with a big beam. "You look so cute like that, Rika-senpai! Adorable! So adorable that I could just eat you up!"
Okay. That's just a bit creepy.
I smiled as if her last line hadn't given me the chills. "Thank you, Chiyo-san. Would you like some tea?" I reached for the tea pot on a tray.
"Of course."
I poured her a cup, then handed it to her elegantly in the way I'd been taught.
She smiled. "Thank you." "Hey, Rika-san!" It was Hanako, waving and smiling happily.
"Hey, Hanako-san! Have a seat." I said with a grin. "Is Naoko-chan coming?"
Hanako sat down across from me. "Yeah, she's bringing a friend." She grinned.
Uh, I did not like the sound of that. "You'll see later. So what are you supposed to do as a Host?"
"Well, would you like some tea?" I asked, leaning towards the teapot. "Yeah, sure."
We sipped our tea and sat there quietly.
"So?" Hanako said.
"Don't you think the cherry blossoms are pretty?" Chiyo asked. "Yes, they're very nice." Hanako replied.
"Not prettier than you two are," I said with a smile. It was an attempt at FLIRTING the others did.
Hanako stared at me and began shaking her head. "Please don't."
the way Tamaki and
"Aw! I love you too, Rika-senpai!" Chiyo yelled, hugging me again. "Kyaa~! You are so cute!"
I smiled. "Uh, thanks, Chiyo-san. You're very cute yourself."
"Rika-chan!"
The three of us turned to greet the newcomer, Naoko. She was dragging someone behind her, but I couldn't quite tell who.
"Hey, Naoko-chan!" I said with a grin.
She sat down next to Hanako, pulling her friend down to sit between her and me. I blinked. Wait, wasn't that?
"Shuji?" I said. Wait, no. What was his last name? He glanced at me, blushing.
"Uh.. What was your last name?"
"Shuji's fine!" Naoko said cheerily, smacking Shuji playfully.
"It's Tsukino Shuji," said a different voice. We glanced up to see Kyoya, who was standing over us with a strangely dark look on his face. "I see you four are all new guests to the Host Club." He smiled charmingly. "Are you enjoying yourself so far?"
"Yes." The girls said.
Shuji just sat, looking dumbfounded. He glanced at me again, biting his lip. Aw, he's so cute like that! "Hi," he said quietly.
I smiled. "Hello! Naoko-chan forced you to come huh?" I could hear Kyoya talking to the girls amiably.
"Yeah. Well, I didn't know that we were coming here." He turned away. "B-But, uh, you l-look really...nice."
I grinned and even laughed a bit. "Aw, thank you, Shuji-kun. I'm glad you came."
"Well then, Tsukino-san," Kyoya said, interrupting once more. "You are officially the Ouran Host Club's first male guest."
Shuji blushed even more, lowering his head. I looked up at Kyoya, sending him a furious glare. He stared back calmly.
"Don't do that, Kyoya." I said, while trying to silently communicate that he was going to scare away Shuji. And Kyoya wasn't too fond of losing customers, right?
"Kyoya-san," Naoko said. "You chose a very nice place today. The cherry blossoms are very beautiful."
"Yes. Beauty is as vain as these cherry blossoms." He extended an arm out to a nearby cherry blossom, attracting attention from other customers. "You will never be able to see the same shape for two days... so I made a photo album to capture such day to day beauty."
Oh my- I face palmed as Kyoya began showing off the photo album. He was immediately surrounded by girls, waving thousands of yen in his face.
"Wow." Hanako said.
The rest of us just nodded quietly in agreement.
"So Chiyo-san," I said. "How are you liking Ouran so far?'
"It's great!" She grinned. "Everything here is so nice and pretty! And everyone's nice! And this club is great! Oh! And I invited a friend to come today, but I'm not sure if she'll come."
"Who?" Naoko asked curiously.
"It's Tomiko-senpai!" Chiyo said cheerily. "She's so cute and shy!"
"Oh, the other transfer student." Shuji said quietly. He was staring at the tea in his hands. I smiled. He kind of reminded me of Mickey when I'd first found him. He looked up at me and blushed again, turning away.
Uh... Is that supposed to mean something?
Let's see. I blush when I'm either embarrassed or... uh, around Honey... Wait what? Gah! I'm so confused!
"Is something wrong, Rika-chan?" Naoko asked. Her head was tilted to the side and she looked concerned.
"Nothing, just a bit confused right now." I shook my head, when I heard a weird yelp from Chiyo.
"Tomiko-senpai! Over here!" Chiyo started waving enthusiastically.
We all turned to Tomiko, who was standing by the gates to the particular garden. She was wringing her hands and biting her lip, glancing around. Tomiko stepped over hesitantly, then quickly rushed over to us. She sat down in between Shuji and me, looking at her knees.
I scooted over to give her some more room, smiling at her warmly. "Hello! I'm glad you could come and join us!"
She looked at me hesitantly and managed a small smile. "Hi. Ha-Hayashi-san."
"You can just call me Rika, if you'd like." I said. "How are you liking Ouran, Kurosawa-san?"
Tomiko nodded. "It-It's good."
"Would you like some tea?" I asked, reaching for the pot. She nodded again. "It must be hard to transfer at this time of the year."
"It's a bit rare for two people to transfer at the same time," Hanako said speculatively. I handed Tomiko the tea.
"Yeah! It is!" Chiyo agreed.
"So why did you transfer, Chiyo-san?" I asked, sipping my own tea.
"I just moved here!" She still had that big grin. "My dad got a big promotion all of the sudden, and we had to move here for his job. And my mom was like, hey let's send Chiyo to Ouran! Since Ouran's such a good school."
"Ah." I nodded, before turning to the other transfer student. "What about you, Tomiko?'
Tomiko blushed at the sudden attention. "Well, I-I've been homeschooled for a while." She said, adjusting the school uniform. "A-And, n-now I'm h-here. I wa-wanted to come here, just for-for some ex-experience at a p-public school."
"Are you going to Ouran university then?" Naoko asked. Tomiko shrugged. Her face turned an even darker red.
Ah, see. You blush when you're embarrassed and uncomfortable... Well, of course Shuji would be uncomfortable here. He's the only guy aside from the Host Club! That explains it!
But, from my experience with shojo manga... One most commonly blushes when around one's crush/loved one. GAH! You know what, I don't want think about it. Certainly not here!
We talked, drank tea, and ate some snacks. Hanko had to leave pretty quickly, and after that Naoko and Shuji left too. Then some other girls I didn't know came to join us. Tomiko left once they appeared, blushing madly as usual.
"I'll be going too then, Senpai." Chiyo said with a sweet smile. She hugged me briefly and was gone.
"Hello!" I said to the new girls.
"Hi," They said with excited smiles.
"So why did you join the Host Club?" One girl asked.
I shrugged. "Well... I've always liked talking to people, girls especially. So why not? Besides, the Host Club has the prettiest girls."
"Ooh." They said, giggling and smiling.
"Rika-san, you aren't... a lesbian or bi are you?" Another girl asked, eyes widening. The question sent other girls in fangirl mode, squealing and talking to each other in a manner that only they could understand.
"Last I checked," I said, smiling. "I wasn't."
"Aw, you're straight?" One said. Then gasped. "I-I didn't mean that."
I laughed. That was really unexpected. "But, um, there's always the possibility, you know. My aunt is lesbian, and I have a cousin who's bisexual."
"Then, Rika-senpai, do you have a crush on one of the Hosts?" This girl gave me a sly smile.
"Hm... Um. Maybe?" I gave them an unsure look.
"You don't know?" Several of them said, shocked.
I grinned sheepishly. "I, uh, well... Can we just not talk about this?" I turned away, feeling my cheeks heat up.
"KYA~!"
"Rika-san's blushing!"
"So cute!"
Uh. What? Okay, that was not intended, but since it had a positive effect... then whatever.
"Hey, Rika-senpai, what's your type then?"
"Yeah, yeah, all the Hosts have a type."
"Do you have one?"
"Not yet," I replied. Then I smiled. "What type do you girls think I should have?"
"I heard Rika-san was very smart," One girl said to the others.
"And she's as cute as Honey-senpai too!" Another girl squealed. Then one girl froze with a gasp. Our gazes swung to her.
"I-I know!" The girl said, waving a hand in the air. The other girls seemed to take in a deep breath in anticipation.
"What is it?" They yelled.
"Tell us, tell us!"
The one girl smiled. "Rika-senpai's type... is Kyoya-senpai and Honey-senpai's secret child!"
"EH?!" Nearly the entire club had heard. Silence settled, as everyone stopped what they were doing to stare in our direction.
"Wh-What?" I glanced around, looking frightened and surprised for sure.
"It makes perfect sense!" The girl said, standing up with sudden passion. "Rika-senpai has Honey-senpai's adorable looks! And she has Kyoya-senpai's excellent brain! See? It all works out!"
"No!" Several voices cried out. I think Tamaki's was one of them. "That's really weird." I mumbled to myself.
"What do you think?" The girl crossed her arms triumphantly.
"No." Kyoya said.
"Y-Yeah!" Honey said, standing up from where he'd been sitting. "Th-That's really weird to imagine!"
The nearby girls cooed at how cute Honey looked. I shook my head with a sigh. Kyoya and Honey? Oh I don't even want to try imaging that. Ugh noooo! I never was one for yaoi, but it didn't mean I'd never read a yaoi manga before!
I continued chatting with the girls, trying to steer the conversation far, far away from the previous topic. We talked about the Host Club boys, the school, latest clothing trends and more until the Host Club finally ended.
"That felt like the longest hour of my life." I mumbled when the Host Club returned to Music room 3. The guys were carrying in the tea sets in boxes. Haruhi and I had the blankets, napkins, and overall lighter material.
"You'll get used to it," Haruhi said with an encouraging smile. We set down our stuff in the storage room and walked back out.
"Aw, thanks Haruhi." I grinned and hugged Haruhi.
"Do we get a hug too?" The twins asked, popping up next to us. I turned to them with a sly grin and pulled the two in so that the three of us had Haruhi surrounded.
"Yay! Haruhi sandwich!" I said.
"What? What Haruhi sandwich?" Tamaki said, quickly dropping the box he was carrying. "I want to be part of this too! Wait! What are you two devil twins doing with my Haruhi?"
Haruhi just stood in the middle with that usual blank look of hers. Tamaki started running over, yelling insults at the twins. The twins just pulled Haruhi closer to them while grinning and chuckling evilly.
Okay, this did not go as I had expected...
I'd been aiming more for a group hug. Not, like, a battle for Haruhi. I sighed, grabbed Haruhi's hand, and, at the last moment, yanked her out of the twins' grip and off of Tamaki's path.
Tamaki crashed into the twins, sending the three to the ground.
"Ow! Tono!"
"What was that for?"
"Ow!" Tamaki cried, sitting up. He was the one sitting on the twins, so should he really be complaining?
"Guys, I was thinking more of a group hug." I said, standing over them.
"Group hug?" The trio said, staring at me blankly. The twins were lying on their backs with Tamaki still sitting on them, well mainly Hikaru.
"Want to get out of that just somewhat awkward position first?" I asked, smiling. Tamaki stared down at Hikaru. The twins stared at Tamaki.
"Gah!" They leapt straight to their feet.
I laughed. "Okay! Let's have a group hug now!"
"A group hug?" Honey asked, popping up by my side. "Yeah! Let's have a group hug! Yay!" Mori and Kyoya came over quietly and calmly as usual.
"Group hug!" I yelled, grabbing the twins. I pushed Haruhi into the middle, which of course brought the others over. Our arms surrounded each other, and we exchanged grins.
Hm. I hadn't felt this warm, happy feeling in a while. It was nice. And refreshing.
That evening, I lied down in bed in the dark to think before I went to sleep. Mom was coming back soon.
Sighing, I rolled over to my side where Hiro was at. "Hiro, what do you think?" The question of the evening was: blushing. Wait, no, that'd be a topic. Anyway, whatever. So why did Shuji blush a lot when around me? Well, actually, it was possible that he blushed with whomever and wherever. Except Naoko-chan, probably. They seem like childhood friends. Hee hee, maybe some love will blossom? Nah, I don't think that actually happens in real life.
And I still haven't gotten a call or an email from Mickey! Did that idiot forget or something? No, wait. The topic!
Anyway, I blush around Honey too, and I think around no one else. Is there a reason to that? Honey has always stood out to me, probably be because I admire his martial arts and other fighting skills. And he looks like a kid. And he's short like me. I can totally imagine our kids being short, kick ass fighters, and no matter how old they look, they'd look like little kids!
Oh wait.
I did not just think that.
OH NO!
GAHHHHHHHHH!
I rolled around back and forth, hugging Momo tightly to my chest. Okay! No more thinking of this. My cheeks feel like they're on fire.
No more. I'll just go to sleep.
And, you know, pretend I never thought that. Yup. I'm totally innocent.
Wait, does that mean...
NO WAY! I won't believe it! It can't possibly happen! I haven't known him for that long either! No. I'll go in denial.
I'll be Mamori from Eyeshield 21. Uh-huh.
...
...
I'll just go to sleep now.
I sighed. "Good night Momo."
And so of course I didn't get that much sleep that night. But for the rest of the week, I would continue hosting. I got my own table, sat at a couch, and chatted with girls. Shuji showed up, always being dragged by Naoko. He'd blush and stammer all over the place, but would eventually leave with Naoko.
Chiyo was as energetic as usual. Every morning she'd attack me with a hug. Honey would then free me from her death grip. Chiyo would also come to the Host Club every day, but she'd rotate around the Hosts. And then later on come back to tell me her findings.
For example, on Wednesday, she went to sit at Tamaki's table. She came back half an hour later, face red and eyes shining. "He says the cheesiest thing but it sounds so sweet and genuine coming from him! He's a perfect host!" She gave me a thumbs up, slapped my back a few times, then left the Host Club.
Guys began to show up too. They came on Wednesday, looking nervous and unsure. They sat down at my place, blushing and looking at anything else but me. I just smiled at their shyness. It was quite cute actually. Eventually we would get a conversation started. We'd end up talking about the latest shows on TV, books (occasionally), school, and girls. One guy was obviously an otaku, and I really wished I could talk to him about manga. But sadly, I had to restrain myself from doing so. What a shame.
And then, on Thursday, before hosting had started, the twins said, "Hey, Rika-senpai, what are you afraid of?"
"Afraid of?" I smirked. "Of course the great Hayashi Rika isn't afraid of anything."
The twins exchanged evil grins. "Are you sure?" Then Kaoru held up something in his hands. A black, squirming, small thing.
...
Shit.
...
Then Kaoru dropped that thing he was holding. It fell to the ground. Its many legs battled the air for a while before it flipped over and began scurrying towards me.
"GYAHH!" I screamed and ran away from that thing towards the most secure place. "Mori! Help meeeeeee!" I climbed up his back and was sitting on his shoulders in seconds. Phew.
"Aw, come on, Rika-senpai!" The twins said. They were each carrying a transparent container, and inside, I could clearly see the many things wiggling around. There were different kinds too. The small yellow ones, the big ones that I often found in my room, the black ones, and then there were those tiny jumpy ones.
"DON'T YOU DARE!" I yelled, pointing at them. I glared, turning on the intensity.
"If you do, dearest twins. I hope you understand what misfortune may befall you." I smiled, while maintaining the dark aura around me.
"Oh really?" Hikaru reached for the cap.
"OOTORI KYOYA!" I screamed.
Hikaru began to unscrew the cap.
"Yes?" He came out of the storage room.
Hikaru tossed the cap to the ground.
"DAMN YOU!" I wrapped my hands around Mori's head. Hikaru lowered the container to the ground.
"What?" Kyoya asked.
Then those creepy-crawlies were everywhere.
Crap!
Shit!
Fuck!
"GAHHH! Mori don't let them get near!" I cried, clinging to him tightly. He nodded, as those stupid, ugly spiders crawled over Mori's shoes, over the furniture, and all over the place.
"What's going on?" Haruhi asked, coming out of the back room. "Why are there spiders everywhere?" She looked up and saw the container in Hikaru's hands.
She sighed.
"Spiders?" Tamaki came up next to Haruhi. "Eek! Spiders! Help, Haruhi!" He grabbed onto the girl.
"So what do I have to do with this?" Kyoya asked, crossing his arms calmly as if an eight-legged creature wasn't on his shoe. He flicked his foot calmly.
"What are you guys doing?" Honey's voice suddenly resounded through the room. He glanced at me. I had no idea what expression I had, but I absolutely hate spiders. They are the worst things ever! I can deal with a cold-blooded murderer, a speeding, armored truck, or any amount of centipedes (though I'm not particularly fond of those either) but I can not stand spiders.
"Hikaru. Kaoru." Honey said, a shadow casting over his face. "What are you guys doing?" He then began grabbing up the spiders.
"Help catch them, you guys." Haruhi said, doing the same. "You should put them back where you found them."
"Aw, come on. We were just having some fun." Hikaru said with a pout. I glared at him from my perch on Mori.
"Well you've gone overboard," Haruhi replied curtly, scooping spiders up easily. How can she do that? Isn't she at all freaked by those things?
Then I noticed something on Mori's other shoulder. Something tiny and black.
"Oh my God!" I jumped straight off of Mori's shoulder, landed on the arm of a couch, and then hopped behind Honey. "Mori! One's on Mori's shoulder!"
Mori picked up the spider on his shoulder and calmly placed it in the container.
The twins were gathering up the remaining loose spiders.
"I didn't know Rika-senpai would be afraid of spiders." Haruhi said.
"Yeah. Spiders. Spiders," Hikaru waved the capped container in front of Honey and my face.
"Get it away from me!" I wrapped my arms around Honey and buried my face into his neck. "I HATE spiders!"
"We'll take these back now." The twins said and walked out of the room whistling as if I had not just been traumatized.
"Ootori Kyoya," I grumbled looking up to glare at him. "HOW DARE YOU TELL THEM!?" Kyoya smiled. Ha, ha, he wanted to play innocent. "Tell them what?"
"Only you would know I hate spiders." I mumbled. "Stupid!"
Honey turned around with a bright smile. "It's okay. They're all gone now."
"Yeah, but their presence is still there! Now I can't sit on anything! Or eat anything! Or do anything!" I hugged Honey even tighter. "I might as well go home!"
Bling.
I blinked. Wait that was my phone. I slowly backed away from Honey, then glanced around. No spiders right? Okay, good.
I dashed into the back room, grabbed my school bag, and ran back behind Honey. Tamaki and Mori busied themselves setting up the room. Haruhi went to make some tea. Kyoya stood by with his black notebook out.
An email!
I quickly opened it.
"From: Yasuda Mikiya
Subject: Hey!
Hey Red! How have you been? I'm back at Red High :) I'm still considering Ouran University. Akane tells me it's a stupid idea, and that I should just go to Tokyo U or something like that. I've given her, Minnie, and the 3 Musketeers your email address. :D Don't worry, I left Goofy out. He's upset about this. Yes, I did tell him. He really misses you, Red. :P Everything is chill here. There aren't any fights anymore. It's really nice. Email me back, Captain!"
"An email, Rika-senpai?" Kaoru's breath tickled my ear.
"From who?" Hikaru asked, placing an arm on my shoulder.
"Get away from me! You have been contaminated by spiders!" I lurched away from them, crashing instead into Honey. We fell to the floor. Why did this seem to always happen?
"Ow. sorry Honey." I rubbed my head which had collided with Honey's chest.
"You okay?" Honey was lying under me, staring at something near his head. He picked it up - my cell phone. He sat up, which left me sitting on his lap.
"Um, Honey?" I fidgeted with my fingers while watching him read the email.
"C-Can you give that back?"
Honey slowly looked up. Those brown eyes of his locked on to mine. All traces of the innocent, all-smiles little boy were gone. His eyes seemed darker than usual, refusing to let me look away. I gulped. Uh-oh. Why did it seem like Honey was upset?
I could see the twins inch away slowly from my peripheral vision. thank you, leave me alone with an upset Honey.
Honey leaned closer, bumping his forehead with mine. I blushed. "Ho-Honey?"
Okay. My voice did not just squeak like that. Fine, it did. But it will never squeak like that again. Hopefully.
"Fights?" He murmured quietly. "Rika, what aren't you telling us?" Oh no. I'm busted.
Damn it Mickey!