「Riko」
Long time no see, Japan! It had changed a lot since I left. Oh, I'm sorry! Let me introduce myself. My name is Riko Fujioka and one day, I will take over the world. Nah, just kidding. I was born in Japan with my mother, father, and my older fraternal twin sister Haruhi. When Mom died, Dad had to send me to the states to live with my Aunt due to financial issues. It was heartbreaking, but I knew that it was the only thing we could do.
Years later in the present, Auntie has unfortunately passed away due to an illness she was battling against. With no guardian or other relative here, I was at a loss of where to go. Luckily, Auntie had been prepared in case something like this would happen. She had left behind a substantial amount of money in my name. Using that money along with some cash that I've managed to save up from part time jobs, I was able to buy a ticket back to Japan to live with Dad and Haruhi. I planned on surprising them, so they didn't even know I was coming home. Boy, were they're in for a shock.
Did I mention that I was going to be attending Ouran Private Academy? Apparently, it was one of the most prestigious schools in Japan for the elite and wealthy. When I found out how much the tuition was, I automatically thought, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
However, Haruhi told me through email that she was attending there and really wanted me to attend school with her. As strange as it sounded, she said that she didn't want to be alone with "arrogant self-centered annoying bakas." Whatever that meant. For her sake, I took the entrance exam. As fate would have it, I scored a scholarship for the performing arts.
Scanning the throngs of people in the airport, I tried to search for a certain raven haired female. My old childhood friend was picking me up. This assured that I'd arrive in utmost secrecy while Haruhi was at school and Dad was at work.
"Where is she? She's late," I murmured, checking my watch to see that she was indeed fifteen minutes late.
"Riko!" an excited voice shouted. I was nearly tackled to the floor by the owner of the voice, better yet known as my friend Tisumi.
"Long time no see, Tisumi," I said smiling at her. "Where have you been? Gee, I was afraid I'd have to camp out in the airport tonight."
"I'm really sorry about that. Traffic has been crazy today. Let's head on to my place," she smiled cheerily.
After loading my things into her car, we began driving to her house. During the drive, we began catching up on the years that had passed. It had been so long. Eventually, the topic of school came up during our conversation.
"Wait, you're going to attend Ouran? As in Ouran Private Academy?!" Tisumi exclaimed in disbelief as I nodded in response. "You're so lucky! I would do anything to attend there," Tisumi sighed in envy.
"It's just a school," I shrugged.
She looked at me as if I had grown two heads and an extra pair of legs. Before another word could escape her mouth, we had already pulled up onto her driveway. Tisumi helped take my luggage out of the car and into the house. It was a cozy home that was medium sized and nicely furnished, complete with a flower garden up front. Perfect for someone wanting to live a peaceful lifestyle.
~~~~~~
A few days had passed since I arrived in Japan. Tisumi had insisted on me staying with her due to my jetlag. She knew that I wanted to be well rested before I reunite with my family again. Unfortunately, today marked another special event: my first day of school.
"Your uniform came in the mail today," Tisumi informed, giggling a little.
I raised an eyebrow at her, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all," she replied, waving her hand nonchalantly.
I looked at her with narrowed eyes. She's hiding something for sure. Deciding not to question it any further, Tisumi proceeded to inform me that she had to leave. Her school was further away, so she had to leave a bit earlier than eye. Handing me a spare key, she told me to stop by after to pick up the rest of my things.
With a final hug, I sent her off. Now, it was time for me to get ready as well. Heading to the guest room where I stayed, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets the moment I stepped into the room. Pinching my shoulder to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I yelped at the sharp pain I inflicted on myself. This was reality.
"Oh. My. God," I gaped, "You've got to be kidding me."
I stared at the atrocious item laying on the bed. There lay a puffy yellow dress that I assumed was my new uniform. I had my girly moments, but this was a bit too girly for my tastes. It puffed out so much that I was pretty sure I'd look like a baby chick. And no, it isn't as cute as it sounds.
Reluctantly, I slipped the dress on with a pair of black Mary Jane flats. Taking a look at the mirror, I sighed. Guess I'll have to deal with this later. Slinging my medium sized shoulder bag on, I left the house and began walking to school with nervous steps.
~~~~
There it was. Ouran Private Academy. Just looking at it, I can tell it was huge. One question though: Why was the school painted pink? Walking up to the gate, I stepped onto the school's campus. When I entered the school itself, I was right. It was huge. Good luck to me when trying to find my classes. Surprisingly, it didn't take long to find the office.
"Hello, I'm Riko Fujioka. Today is my first day," I politely said to secretary who had her nose buried into papers.
"Oh! Yes, that's right. We were expecting you. Here is your roster. It seems like you have quite a few classes with your sibling! I hope you'll enjoy attending Ouran with him!" She said and handed me a yellow slip of paper.
Thanking her, I quickly scanned the paper. Then, a thought hit me. Wait a minute. Did she say 'him'? Must be my imagination. Since I was in the office, I decided to ask about the uniform while I was still here.
"I have a question. Is this uniform mandatory for females?" I asked, suggesting to my attire.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Fujioka, but it is indeed mandatory. You're not the first to have asked this. You could talk to the Chairman of the school to see if he'll give you an exemption," the secretary informed.
"I see. Is it alright if I see him now?" I asked.
After confirming something over the phone, she finally nodded and pointed to a door on the right. Gently, I knocked on the oak door. After hearing a voice saying 'come in' , I entered the office. Sitting behind a wooden desk was a man with light brown hair and kind brown eyes to match. He looked to be in his late forties. On his desk, the name Mr. Suoh gleamed on a golden metal name plate.
"Why, hello there. You must be our new scholarship student," He smiled warmly, gesturing me to sit down. Bowing politely, I took a seat on the chair in front of his desk.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Riko Fujioka. This is a beautiful school," I said politely.
He chuckled, "Thank you, Mrs. Fujioka. I'm glad you think so. Is there something you need?"
"Yes, there is. I wanted to talk about the uniform," I began, gripping the fabric on my lap nervously. Oh man, How do I put this? "Due to certain circumstances, I don't exactly feel comfortable wearing this uniform. I was wondering if there is a separate alternative that I can do?" I asked, fidgeting in my seat.
"I'm sorry, but school rules state that all students must wear the uniform.The school board takes these rules seriously," Mr. Suoh frowned, nodding his head.
"Then, how about I give the dress a few adjustments? I will still be wearing the uniform, so technically I'm not breaking any rules," I tried to compromise.
Mr. Suoh hummed in thought, "Alright. You do make a valid point. However, there is one condition. You must send me a design of this new uniform to make sure it fits our protocols. "
"Of course! Thank you so much! I'll make sure to send you the design as soon as I can," I grinned, standing up to properly bow in appreciation.
After wishing me a good first day of school, I left his office. Time to explore the school now. Taking a look at my watch, it seems that class doesn't start until a good half hour from now. That leaves plenty of time to kill.
"It's still a little early for class to start. I'll look around to see if I can find Haruhi," I said to myself.
Walking up a flight of stairs, I began aimlessly walking down a few hallways. Every so often I would glance into several classrooms to see other students socializing before class. Conversations usually revolved around company stocks, heirs, and how much money they all have. Looking up at the class room signs that hung above each door, my footsteps ceased when I came across 'Music Room 3'.
"A music room! I think I'll check it out real quick before searching for Haruhi," I nodded, determined to see what's inside.
Placing my hand on the door handle, I twisted and pushed the doors open. All of a sudden, a gust of rose petals flew straight in my face. There before me stood seven handsome guys, posing in a perfect arrangement. At least, I think there were seven of them. One of them looked fairly feminine compared to the others.
"Welcome to the host club," they chorused in unison.
With all of the attention on me, I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. The tall blonde with violet colored eyes was the first person to greet me. He walked up towards me in an elegant manner, gently taking my hand and pulling me into the room. Then, he gently kissed the top of my hand. A small squeak of surprise passed my lips and I felt my face heat up at the gesture.
"Hello, princess. Welcome to the host club. What type do you prefer? The Cool type?" He said pointing to the raven haired male with glasses. He seemed to look at me with interest.
"The Silent/Strong type?" He pointed to the tallest guy in the room. He showed no other emotion on his face and only sported a poker face.
"The Loli Shota type?" Now he was referring to the cute, smaller blonde. Using the bunny's hand, he waved hello.
"The Little Devil type?" Next, was a pair of identical twins with auburn colored hair. They both had mischievous grins on their faces.
"The Natural Type?" It was feminine looking person of the bunch. I couldn't help but think that he looked oddly familiar.
"Or," he started, "Are you interested in The Prince Type?" the blonde male said, finally referring to himself as he offered me a white rose that seemingly came out of no where.
"Uh," I started to say something, but no words came out. I literally have no idea what this guy is talking about.
"Riko? Is that you?" The feminine male stepped forward.
Peeking behind the blonde in curiosity, I was going to ask how the other male knew my name. Looking at him from top to bottom, I peered into his big, brown eyes. We exchanged a short staring contest before I realized something. There's only one person I know with brown eyes like that.
"Haruhi?" I warily said, afraid that I might be wrong.
Much to my surprise, the person nodded. At that, a big smile spread across my face. "Well, hello there, big sister," I greeted.
In an instant, she ran to me and pulled me into a hug. Laughing, I eagerly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her frame closer to mine. She really hadn't changed that much after closer inspection. It felt good to finally hug my beloved sister again. While we were hugging, the others in the room looked shocked at what was happening, aside from the the guy with glasses who looked like he knew exactly what was going on.
"Riko! You're back! How? When? Where are you staying? Are you staying in Japan? " Haruhi rambled, still clutching onto me tightly in a death grip.
"H-Haruhi...can't breathe...," I huffed. Realizing that she was depriving me of oxygen, she immediately apologized and let go of me, her face worried. Feeling the air venture back into my lungs, I smiled at her in assurance.
"Why don't we sit down and talk?" I suggested and we sat down next to each other on an empty couch.
"Okay, we're sitting. Now explain," Haruhi ordered, still a bit hyper after my arrival. The image was amusing and kind of strange to see since she usually has a calm personality. After I thought about it, we haven't seen each other for so many years, so I understood why she was like this. I nodded.
"Unfortunately, Auntie passed away. I couldn't really afford to live there alone. So, I figured that I'd come back to Japan," I begun.
My voice trailed off at the mention of my Aunt's passing. Although I hadn't been too close to her, she still took care of me and her death was something I'm still getting over with. Putting up a brave front, I continued on answering the rest of Haruhi's questions. "I arrived a few days ago. I stayed over at Tisumi's for the time being because of jet lag and all. Last but not least, I'm staying here in Japan. Permanently."
At the news, Haruhi smiled widely. "Riko, you must come back home. I'm sure Dad will love to see you," she nodded eagerly, placing her hand over mines.
"That was the plan. I'd love to come home. I'll help around too since I earned money on my own for a while," I told her.
Turning my head, I glanced curiously at the group of attractive men around us. After seeing my attention on them, they immediately turned away and pretended like they were doing something else. I resisted a chuckle, knowing well that they were listening in on our conversation. Haruhi followed my gaze and had an annoyed tick mark on her head. Still, she oddly looked pretty used to this.
"I'll give you proper introductions since senpai has no common sense to introduce everyone properly," Haruhi said bluntly. Hearing her remark, the tall blonde who greeted me went to sulk in a corner animatedly. I sweat-dropped at that.
"This is Kyoya Ootori," Haruhi introduced me to the guy with glasses.
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Ms. Riko," he greeted, gently pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His glasses glinted for a split moment as he smiled, making him appear a bit scary.
"The pleasure is all mine," I responded with a small smile, slightly intimidated by the Japanese man.
"This is Takashi Morinozuka, but we call him Mori," Haruhi said, gesturing to the tall, silent male. He gave a slight nod in acknowledgment and I nodded back at him.
"This is Mitsukuni Haninozuka, better yet known as Honey senpai," Haruhi stated, pointing to the cute little blonde with the bunny plushie. He ran over to my side, enveloping me in a bear hug, nearly knocking me over. I laughed, returning the hug back.
"Hi, Riko-chan! Promise you'll eat cake with me one time later, yes?" He begged with cute pleading eyes.
He's a senpai? I can't believe it! He's so cute! I couldn't resist the silent awe that left my mouth and I nodded to his request. "Of course I'll eat cake with you!" I nodded eagerly. Honey cheered happily before climbing on Mori's shoulders.
"The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. Be careful of these two," Haruhi continued introducing and pointed to the twins.
"Why should I be careful-,"
I was planning on asking Haruhi why before clamping my mouth shut. The twins came over with smirks on their faces and casually put their arms around both sides of me. I gulped and instantly shrunk at their contact. The glints in their eyes made me feel uneasy.
"Hey, Kaoru. We got ourselves another toy," The one on my right said to his brother.
"Yup, Hikaru. Now we can have twice the fun!" The one on my left responded.
I chuckled nervously and Haruhi flatly concluded, "Finally, the idiot sulking in the corner is Tamaki senpai."
The one named Tamaki sulked even more at her blunt words. A pang tugged at my heart, feeling bad for the poor guy. I walked up to him and crouched down on the heels of my foot so that I was at eye level with him. Next, I extended my hand out.
"Hello, Tamaki-senpai. I'm Riko Fujioka. It's a pleasure to meet you," I greeted, offering him an eyesmile.
Slightly surprised at my kind gesture, he immediately grinned and took my hand as I helped him up to his feet. Catching me by surprise, he used our interlocked hands to spin me around. Then, I found myself being dipped low as Tamaki held me tightly around the waist so I wouldn't fall. His other hand cupped my chin delicately. I blushed heavily due to the position we were in.
"It's an honor to be acquainted with such a beautiful flower such as yourself, princess," He smoothly spoke.
Suddenly, he was hit behind on the head with a magazine, causing him to let go of his grip on me. A pair of arms swiftly caught me just as I was about to hit the marble floor. I looked up to see that Mori had caught my fall. Thanking him, he nodded wordlessly and helped me stand.
"Haruhi~ Why'd you hit me? That isn't the right way for a girl to behave!" Tamaki whined, rubbing the back of his head, totally forgetting that he nearly dropped me to meet my demise with the floor. Thanks, dude.
Haruhi sighed, "That's what you get for making my sister uncomfortable, senpai."
As amusing as the scene was in front of me, I just had to bring something up to light. "Um, Haruhi? Why are you dressed as a boy?" I asked, suddenly taking in her appearance. Her long hair was cut short into a bob and she wore the boys uniform. In school, I found out that she was my brother, not my sister.
"Long story short. On my first day, I broke an 8 million yen vase and my punishment was to become a host to pay off my debt," Haruhi explained.
"A host?" I tilted my head in confusion, similar to that of a puppy.
Tamaki immediately glomped me, exclaiming, "Kawaii!" I blushed at the close contact and wiggled out of his grasp. Too close for comfort.
Kyouya was the next to speak, "Yes, that's right. This is the Ouran Host Club. Our job is to serve and entertain our female clients who have too much time on their hands, assuring them a wonderful experience. Each host here are a certain 'type' as Tamaki introduced earlier."
"I see," I nodded slowly, finding the idea of the club a bit strange. Checking my watch, I noticed it was almost time for class to start.
"Hey, Riko-chan. What class are you in?" one of the twins asked. I wasn't sure if it was Hikaru talking or Kaoru talking. I'm going to have to figure that out later.
"It wouldn't happened to be ours, is it?" the other added. Oh, he has a softer voice than the first twin. I'm guessing it was Kaoru who said this and Hikaru who spoke first since the glint in his eye was slightly more mischievous than his younger counterpart. Well, later came faster than I expected.
"Let's see. I have room 1-A," I said, double checking my roster. The twins' smiles morphed into smirks. For their expressions to change that quickly, I realized that I had to prepare myself for the worst.
"It seems you have the same class as me and the twins," Haruhi stated, walking over to my side.
Arms hooked around Haruhi's and I's arms. Before I could process what was happening, I felt the both of us being dragged out the doors by the Hitachiin pair.
"To the classroom!" They yelled at the same time. I laughed at their childishness while Haruhi sighed with an annoyed face.
Well, my life just got a lot more interesting, I thought with a smile.