"Cheh, so it was Boss who let that cat go."
"Tsk, Boss is so careless."
The twins said that as they chased after their boss, Tamaki. Kyoya, Honey and Mori then joined them afterwards, so now the whole Host Club had assembled. With an annoyed look, Tamaki yelled back at the twins.
"Be quiet you two! Hey, did you hear that?"
They pricked their ears up at that sound. It sounded like somebody wailing or crying or something. They turned around a corner and stopped in their tracks. They did find the cat, hiding up the tree. The medicine packet was left on the ground forgotten, while two other students were engaged in a fight. No, it was totally one-sided, now it looked like bullying since one was kicking the other on the ground. Anyone would know that bullying was bad.
What made it worse was that the victim of a theft was the one bullying the thief.
"Jun?! What are you doing?! Stop it!"
At Tamaki's voice, Jun stopped in mid-kick and glanced at the group. He slowly turned around, his head tilted downwards and eyes upturned at their presence. His blue eyes seemed to glow more than usual, exuding an aura of danger even the cat could feel. Without moving from the spot, he paused for what seemed like a deathly minute before his mouth curled upwards into a cold smile.
"Well well, if it isn't the Host Club. Guess I should be leaving now, ciao."
He then collapsed onto his side, slamming straight to the pavement.
"?! Jun! Hey Jun!"
The Host Club split to help the two. Kyoya, Honey and Mori went to Jun's side, while Tamaki and the twins rushed to the bullied student's side. His eyes were as wide as saucers, as if he had taken a peek into pure hell and survived. His mouth trembled as he stammered, all blood drained from his face leaving behind a pure white shade.
"... M-M-Monster! That guy's a MONSTER! He... he... sniff...!"
He then buried his face into Tamaki's blazer, his entire body trembling with fear. The twins then looked among themselves cluelessly, while Kyoya pocketed the medicine and kept an eye on Jun. Nobody said a word for a moment as they tried to absorb the day's event.
"So Milord, what are we going to do?"
Tamaki stood up and supported the injured student by the shoulders, his usual cheery face replaced with a very serious one.
"Mori-senpai, take this student to the infirmary. The rest of you, capture Sakurai Jun. it's time we have a little talk."
Upon the King's words, the rest of the members saluted in response and together, they took Jun away with them.
*******
My eyes fluttered open to bright light, to which I immediately averted my eyes from and looked about. This place was an unfamiliar room, with plush couches here and there for some social event. I was surely still in school, but where exactly am I? Looking down, I saw ropes binding my wrists together.
"?! What the hell?!"
"Ah, looks like he's awake."
I hopped off the couch and whipped about to see a group of guys sitting by a table. The speaker was from one of the orange-haired twins and together, they pushed me back down onto the couch.
"Hey what's the big deal?! Untie me! Where is this place?! Why are you doing this to me?!"
The twins grew wide-eyed leaning in, they gave me identical looks of shock.
"You still dare to ask? Woah, you're unbelievable."
"Seriously twin, I think this guy's a nut job."
"Agreed, we should have him expelled as soon as possible."
While the two discussed my punishment, I tried to recall back the events that may have lead me to this. I was chasing a cat, yes, I remember running pass the courtyard too. Then, I vaguely remember having a headache too, the rest after that was blank.
That could only mean one thing.
"God damn it Ren, you bastard."
I muttered that as I allowed myself a facepalm, surprisingly both the twins and everyone else. Meanwhile, a guy with glasses came into view, turning out to be Kyoya.
"So that was the other persona, interesting..."
My eyes darted up to Kyoya's, at the same time my heart sank. Persona? Uh oh. Tamaki then showed up behind him, mimicking the same puzzled looks on the rest of our faces.
"Kyo... ya?"
What could this guy be up to? Taking out a black notebook, he scribbled in at a brisk speed. Once he was done, he read out what he had written.
"Sakurai Jun, born on the 2nd of January, 1st-year freshman of Ouran High School, a sports scholarship holder of Ouran High School. Grades are above average, family background is of nothing special. Well I must say, nothing really stands out about you except the fact that you're an elite squash player. However..."
He investigated... my background?! I stared at Kyoya in disbelief. Who the hell does that?! He then shut his notebook and made his way towards the group, which had gone silent as they stared from Kyoya to me and to me again. He turned towards me, his presence towering over me as his glasses glinted to hide his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he gave the final blow.
"...it appears that Sakurai Jun suffers from a condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, otherwise known as DID for short."
I knew it, he had already gone through my medical records as well. Sighing, I let my head hang low. The sweet voice of the little shota-boy of blonde hair color carried easily over the room, lightening the heavy atmosphere.
"Huh?! What is that?"
"It's a mental illness, I believe you guys are familiar with the term of having 'two personalities' , am I correct?"
Realization reflected onto their faces and I could feel their stares burning into me, who refused to face the group. Great, there goes my secret... my other secret. Kyoya continued.
"I had heard of your special condition and your admittance to Ouran through my family's hospital, so I specially staged some of the events today for my research. Looks like I have gained valuable information through this, so thank you for your help."
He gave a curt bow, but instead of being polite and all, I slipped out from the ropes and took a stand.
This guy just used me for his research?! He was the one behind all this?! My voice came out as aggressive as my alter ego's.
"How dare you, did you just USE me?! Why couldn't you just ask me instead of making me switch?!"
Oh c'mon, where's the fun in that?
"Shut up Ren I'm talking!"
The whole group gave me a mix of difficult expressions. Well I couldn't blame them, how would you feel if you saw someone yelling at no one in particular? Once the anger ebbed away, and fairly quickly too, I slumped onto the couch while heaving a huge sigh.
"Okay fine, you got me. I do have two personalities, my counterpart's name is Ren and he's the one quick to resort to violence. That medicine you guys were looking for is for my condition; it's to make sure Ren doesn't come out. There, happy?"
I finished off with a huff and faced away from the group, making sure that my sulk could be seen. Although I had made it clear that I didn't want to talk anymore, Kyoya still pushed on.
"I do have one question though. Most DID patients do not even realize that they have the disease because they are separated from their counterparts. However, you seem to be able to communicate with yours somehow, how is that possible? Do tell."
That question sparked curiosity within me. I'm the only who can have a conversation with Ren? Wasn't it something other people like me could do? Automatically I rested my chin on my fingers, assuming a thinking position.
"I don't really know, I've always been talking to Ren since like forever. Is this a really rare thing?"
Kyoya nodded.
"Very rare, in fact you could be the only person who can do it. It stands to reason that further research has to be conducted to understand the deep workings behind DID. Therefore, I would be very grateful if Jun can participate in this research-"
"I refuse."
My statement came out before he could even finish. There was no way I was gonna be some guinea pig, hell no. In my head, I could hear Ren laughing away. The glasses guy seemed to have anticipated this though, he simply took out his tablet and showed me its screen. The moment I saw it, I froze to the bones. There was the picture of me/ Ren beating up the other student, in HD and capturing the identity of the two students easily.
So this was what happened after Ren took over. My fists clenched in frustration.
.... Ren you bastard ....
Sorry, my bad...
"I'll make a deal with you, Sakurai Jun. If you agree to help me with my research, I will gladly hand over this picture and silence the victim from exposing anything, I will also pay you greatly since this is a project that may benefit mankind. If you refuse, I will keep this picture and follow the normal procedures, that is to report this matter to the school authorities. Now, you wouldn't want that scholarship to fly out of your hands, would you?"
The Demon King spoke in that business-like tone, with an air around him that signaled his complete victory. I glanced at the rest of the Host Club members, praying that someone would try to stop him. Nope, not one of them dared to move an inch just like me. I had been trapped from the start, playing right into this guy's hands.
... Oh well, it doesn't even matter anymore.
"... Deal."
I coughed that out in a defeated breath. While pity reflected in the eyes of the host club, Kyoya simply jotted down stuff in his notebook before shutting it close.
"Brilliant, I will contact you about the arrangements soon. Nice doing business with you, Jun."
I gave him one final glare before leaving the room, then waved back at everyone else before shutting the door. I leaned against the door and sighed. My days here in this academy were just going to get more complicated.
Well damn, he got you good, didn't he?
No thanks to you REN!!! I yelled that in my head, making sure that my voice sounded venomous mentally, well if that was possible. Silence followed before Ren responded, in a softer tone than the usual.
... Hey at least you're getting paid for this right? Also, he's the heir to the Ootori group, so this research thing might actually work. Don't look so down, jeesh.
I blinked in surprise. The ever-obnoxious Ren, was being concerned for me? This had to be a first, since all he ever does was to nag, nag and nag. A smile crept up at the corners of my lips before they formed a sincere smile.
'Thanks Ren, you're surprisingly soft somehow.'
! Shut up! N-Nobody's being a softie, especially not ME! D-Don't be ridiculous!
'Yeah, whatever you say Ren~' I then walked to my classroom with a smile on my face.
Perhaps, perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.