Hello, minna! I wanted to give a quick thanks to you all before we get this chapter started, all the support with this since I brought it back is very appreciated, and I am glad you all who continue to read this love it better than what it once was. Again, arigatou gozaimashita! c;
The song for this chapter (since I couldn't find one to upload to there thanks to ownership rights on YouTube) is "The Anthem," by Good Charlotte.
Listen at your leisure, as they are an amazing band, and thank you once more!
~AV_Krypt
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Another day at Ouran done and gone, and it was much easier than the last. The whole idea of me being in this school washed over just like that, and I was back to being the wallflower of the school. By now I was used to the idea, as I was used to being alone, one unfortunate standard as being a Sohma. Some were lucky while others were not. I was in the crummy, unfortunate bunch.
The hallways were chock-full of students and their acquaintances, all smiling and laughing like Life was such a frickin' joke. It made me want to gag. I could already tell by my second day here that all of these numbskulls were filled with some sort of false hope- that went double for the ladies. In my highest suspicion, I already figured it was that Host Club from yesterday. I remember peeking glances and toning out all other sounds except for a few conversations once in a while; all they did in there was fool girls into believing they loved them.
Those idiots couldn't possibly understand the depths of such emotion.
Tch. I quipped, slugging a shoulder and continuing to walk down the halls and out to the front of the school. A hand fell over my eyes as I squinted, looking out to the busy street as students left with maids and butlers of all types and sizes. This didn't help me warm up to their never-ending luxury any more. I despised how oblivious they were of reality. It really made me sick.
"Aiko-kun, where are you going?!" Behind me was yet again Hinako Mitsugaru, that weird smile still on her face. "You aren't going to the Host Club today?"
I raised a curious brow, giving her my undivided attention. "Of course not. It was only to see if I was interested in any clubs here and it turns out that I'm not."
"Oh..." She looked down, sadness lingering in her eyes as her lips quivered. Dammit Aiko, not again. "I see... You poor, lonely soul! We will give you friends!" Her somber expression aroused and her eyes grew wild with fire, excitement dancing around her as she grabbed my wrist and forced me back into the building, leading me down a familiar pathway.
"Nani?! Matte!" I shouted, trying to draw back, but I couldn't as her grip only grew tighter. I winced. "Where are you taking me? Who is 'we'? Let me go!"
My struggles were futile, but very amuse to Hinako as she giggled, her friends now dashing behind us. "Why, to the Host Club, silly! We want to learn more about you!"
That had to be the absolute dumbest thing I'd ever heard. Someone wanting to learn about a freak wallflower? As a child, I remember wondering if everything I felt was already predestined, much like the other cursed members who seemed to only live by what stigma was left on them years and years ago. Of course, I was never in the curse up until now, so that only made me even more curious as to if my entire life was already planned by God.
"Ah~... Poor, lonely Aiko-kun! You need friends!" One of her friends swooned, pressing her gloved hands to her cheek and cried.
"I don't need friends!"
Complaining didn't get me nowhere, and it only stirred their hysterics more until they made it to the doors of the host club. Still trying to get out of their reach, I gasped as the doors creaked open, and just like yesterday, we were greeted with the warm light, rose petals, and a chorus of voices.
"Oh look, it's Ai-chan and Hinako-chan!" Hani hollered, signaling everyone's attention to the front doors.
I silently groaned as Hinako and her friends continued to pull me along as I tried desperately to run away.
"Honey-senpai, hi!" She greeted, her voice bubbly and innocent. "We're going to borrow a sofa and table if that's ok."
"Of course, but what for?" Tamaki asked, his arm leaning over a sofa, his gaze questionable.
This room was just as it was yesterday; every active member in the club flaunting their beauty to other girls, making them feel special to each one. False love like such, I couldn't even stand saying I was in the same grade and class as two of the members.
"We want to spend time with Aiko-kun!" All three of the friends shouted at once, killing my ears.
Tamaki's eyes widened. Him, the twins, and Hani all came to the front of the room where we were. I already hated this and nothing had happened yet.
"We want to learn everything about Aiko-sama!"
"S-sama!?" I stammered.
"Aiko-kun needs friends!"
"How many times do I have to tell you?! I don't need friends!" I protested, finally freeing my wrist from her grasp and backing up a reasonable distance from the girls. "I already explained that I only came here because I thought it would be a club I was interested in, well I wasn't. I don't find the idea of distributing fake romance to naive girls anything to joke about or to be involved with! It makes me sick just watching them all fall for the same routine they show other women, it's messed up! If you really love someone then you devote all your passion and love to that one person, you don't expand it to anyone else! Love like this shouldn't even exist!"
I could feel it, extorting all my emotions into that outburst was stirring the transformation. Without a second thought, I raced out the doors, ignoring all the pleas to come back, ignoring all the hellos from people in the hallways, ignoring everything except that consistent law that flowed within me. I could never have a relationship, I could never fit normally into society, I could never say those three little words... I could never defy God's Will.
I managed to make it outside, but at this point I could no longer run. My legs gave out and my knees buckled, falling to a kneel. Hands quivering, I grasped my stomach in pain, gasping for air as I finally stopped running. Heavy breaths escaped by lips, and tears fell from my eyes at the pain I felt in my stomach. That's when I realized what I said in there and who I spoke out against.
The very thought of being driven out from my home after speaking badly against the wealthy made me shake even more, I was such an idiot! "Dammit! Ah, why the hell did I go and do that?... Just seeing them happy... Damn!"
I couldn't even speak after being out of breath, it was pathetic; I could usually run longer, but I knew that if I tried to push myself here, I would only make my life and theirs worse. With no other choice but to relax, I sat up against the gates outside the school, taking a deep breath and calming down. The right thing would be to apologize to those boys, but I knew what I said was true, but I felt too embarrassed to even want to go to class tomorrow just to get those demeaning looks from Tamaki and Kyouya, speaking out against the club they were in.
"Well, this frickin' sucks..!"
"Hey, you should watch your language-"
"it's not polite to curse."
Damn them! Did they follow me?
The twins linked their arms symmetrically in one another's and looked at me with their inattentive expressions. Today they were in the usual Ouran male attire, which of course looked way better than my dark blue shirt and black vest with red streaks dotted in connected diamond shapes.
I gave a huff, the pain gone away and I stood up, clutching my bag to my chest. I refused to make eye contact with them, keeping my eyes fixated on the ground with slightly-puffed cheeks. "I don't want to put up with you right now, so if you'd so kindly go the hell away."
"Sorry, but we can't." They said in unison. "The boss wants us to bring you back to the club,-" one said, "-so that's what we will do." the brother finished.
Bring me back. A term like that only meant intimacy, and intimacy with another boy wasn't an easing thought. Pushing the thought aside, I returned their slowly-creeping smirks with a glare. "If you touch me I am calling the police."
"Go right ahead." The twin with his hair parted left [Hikaru] shrugged, his expression not even phased with worry.
"Kyouya-senpai's family runs the largest police force in Tokyo, so we'd be off the hook." His other half -hair parted right - [Kaoru] finished.
I groaned, grasping my hair (or what was left of it) and strangling it between my fingers in irritation. "You freakin' luxury-dwelling Satan-spawns are driving me insane! Can't you just leave me be?! I have better things to do than to be in this dumb school!"
I only half meant what I said. This school was driving me insane, but this was already the best education I had ever gotten. Tests here and the criteria we were forced to meet was already very high, and it pulled me in like a drug. I couldn't get enough of the knowledge they were teaching me. My brain only craved to learn.
Hikaru and Kaoru's eyes lit up with that same devilish look, their smirks spread from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat.
"When you scream-"
"you sound like a girl."
My eyes widened and inside I felt my heart race faster and faster. These idiots were already catching on to me, and it was only the second day here! If I keep this up I will definitely be pulled from this school and be forced to accept my fate that I knew was already so close...
Not wanting them to be any more suspicious, I stamped my foot on the ground. "Shut up! It's not my fault puberty is late! Goddam jerks!"
"There she goes again~!" They mused, further irritating me.
"Gah!" I released my hands from my head, throwing them around and throwing an unusual temper tantrum. "Forget I said anything! God, go back to your little marionettes and play with them instead of me! I already said I want to be left alone so leave me the hell alone! What don't you jerks understand?! Do I need to break it down simpler?!"
For some reason these guys were getting me worked up, and I couldn't figure out why, but that damn smirk on their faces only further increased the feeling. This feeling... I wanted to strangle them until those smirks fell off, I wanted them to stop acting so high and mighty just because they were rich. I wanted them to leave, but they were those stains that never went away.
"As we said, the boss needs you so we're taking you back into the club whether you like it or not."
"And I said, touch me and I'll call the police!"
They grunted simultaneously, their amused expressions fading out and turning bored as if this was some kind of game. Without any warning they forcefully grabbed each sleeve and yanked me beside them, forcing me back into the school that I didn't even want to see.
I did everything I could, dig my heels in the ground, kick their legs, yell, struggle, but these pretty boys wouldn't let lose- they were much stronger than they looked. "Let me go or I swear to God I will-"
"Will you hush up already?" One of the two demanded, ushering me to silence. "It's not going to work now and it won't. So stop fussing 'cause it'll get you nowhere."
At that, I slugged my head down and kept my mouth shut. They were right, fighting it was getting me nowhere and I would just tire myself out. Being in a school with not only females, but males, I had to be cautious. That went without saying.
We made it to the Host Club doors that were swung open, the room empty except for the hosts and Haruhi.
"It took you boys long enough." Tamaki remarked, meeting us at the front with his arms crossed over his chest. His questioning gaze suddenly turned demanding as his eyes met mine. I gulped, that stare was so creepy and sent the wrong kind of feeling down my spine. I puffed my cheeks and locked my gaze away from his. "Aiko, look here."
"What?" I snarled lowly.
The twins released my arms, but refused to give me any escape as they blocked the door with synced, nullified expressions. I huffed as he sat me down opposite from him at a sofa. My chin rested on my palm and I continued to watch Tamaki wearily as he continued to drink tea while the other hosts sat beside him. Hikaru and Kaoru both stood behind his sofa; they all gave me narrowed glances. Well damn. I was screwed.
Without making a single sound, Tamaki placed his cup on the table and folded his hands neatly in his lap, finally starting. "It has our attention that you don't really understand the basis of our club, Aiko. You sounded as if you hated this, so before I go pressing my concerns, I'd like to hear your side."
Was this a frickin' joke? I already exploded on what my thoughts were on the club and that should have been self-explanatory. "I think I already made my side clear so could you so kindly explain why the hell you sent your lackeys to kidnap me?" I demanded, not holding back any irritancy.
Tamaki tch-ed, and whipped out a magazine and smacked my hands with it. I yelped and glared at him while rubbing my hand. "I'm sorry, Aiko, but you need to learn respect for other people, women, and your elders. You lack any charm as a man with that temper of yours, but for some reason the ladies still fawn over you. If you don't learn to control that temper you will get nowhere and utterly lose everything."
That jerk... What did he think he knew? He knew nothing of this! Of course, I already knew I was going to get nowhere in life, I've been told that many times, and even when I wasn't told, they would always mention it behind closed doors and separate walls. My temper cooled and I sighed.
Tamaki continued. "I can already tell that losing your temper isn't common for you; if it was, you'd be losing it more right about now. But that's not what you are here to discuss." The lights suddenly dimmed, and I sunk back in the chair a little. "You are still a growing teen-"
"Don't talk like you're my mother, idiot!" I yelled.
He ignored me and continued on. "-and I understand that rash decisions are in that stage, but that doesn't mean you can't treat ladies like ladies and be a gentleman. As for today's outburst, you made our customers uneasy and nervous, so we had to go to extra time extremities to make sure nothing changed between our clients and them."
"So you're still suggesting you are feeding them false love, calling them clients you bastard."
Again, he smacked my hands with the magazine and gave me a scolding look. "As a member of the Host Club, I don't like to see women being at any risk of feeling unease,"
So males are fine? Jerk.
"and since you caused this in the first place, I want you to make up for it."
I groaned. Apologies were never my thing, and I hardly had to before. I never acted so childishly before, what the heck was going on with me? Why did these creeps make me so angry that I lost my temper? Why was I losing my temper? I never lost it before. "God... If you wanted an apology, why didn't you just say so? Why did you have to turn it into a big gathering?"
It was then I felt the tension build up, the entire room around me felt ice-cold. Kyouya pushed up his glasses and gave me a wryly grin. "I wouldn't say an apology is what we are taxing you with."
"Then what are you taxing me with?" I questioned, my fists balled up and my teeth clenched. My eyes narrowed as he continued to give me that grin.
Hani laughed and looked at me with innocent eyes. "We want you to join the Host Club, Ai-chan!"
I grimaced, shaking my head vigorously. These people were insane. "Sorry, but I'm not interested. Fooling women to believe I love them is not something I want to do."
"I told you he wouldn't want to do it guys. You can't force him to join." Haruhi sighed, clearly having been fed-up with them.
Tamaki leaned an arm dramatically over Haruhi's shoulder and she scowled, but he payed no mind. "Be that as it may, you should still control that temper around people. Uncommon as it may be, it is still there." He continued to drabble on about my flaws for a few minutes before I got bored listening to him. Flipping out a book I tuned him out, not caring until he slapped it out of my hand. "Would you pay attention?!"
Giving in from exhaustion after over-exerting myself, I sighed and closed the book, then giving him my undivided attention, no matter how much I would have liked to be elsewhere. "Fine. If it'll get you off my back I guess I'll have to listen."
While my attitude didn't suit his taste, he tightened his tie and attempted to act responsible.
"All I am asking is that you come here for Host Club activities to help you fit in around here. Being a commoner, smarty, and only fifteen will get you into a lot more than it's worth. Not to mention your lack of social graces-"
"I don't lack anything!" I snapped. "You just irritate me!"
"Why is that Aiko-chan?" Little Hani asked sweetly, looking as if he was on the verge of tears.
His eyes were too convincing, and I bit my lip to hold back any more irritation. It was failing, but helped for the meantime. "I don't know why, and that is driving me even more insane."
I rubbed my small hand in my hair, looking down with a scowl. I really didn't understand this one bit. Tempers weren't my thing, so why did these guys get on my every last nerve? Was it even them in the first place that made me angry?
Tamaki only smiled as I continued with my strained expressions. "I'll leave it to you to decide what you want to do, but for the next two weeks I would like it if you came here for club activities after school hours. Can we agree on that, Aiko?"
In all honesty, I didn't even want to give this a chance. Already it felt like the life was being drained out of me just being in these guys' presence, like soon I'd faint from exhaustion. However, I knew I would never be able to convince them otherwise, so I'd just be wasting my breath trying. For now, maybe it would be best to just agree to these terms and follow what Tamaki said and decide at the end of the two weeks.
"I guess we can, Suoh-san."
With a mere shake of our hands, the deal was sealed. For the next two weeks I would be giving false love to women and for what purpose, I would never know. Until then, I'll just have to wait and see.