"Haruhi-kun, you look so cute in that kimono you're wearing," one of Haruhi's customers complimented.
"Yeah, You almost look like a girl in it," another of Haruhi's customers agreed.
Haruhi smiled, "Thank you very much."
"Haruhi, you have another request," Kyoya interrupted, "Your clients have pretty well stabilized lately, haven't they? Keep it up. We're not planning to charge interest on the original debt you incurred so just keep working hard, and pay it off," Suddenly, sparkling roses appeared behind Kyoya ('cause why not? It's an anime and a fanfiction is it not), "The rental fee for that kimono is nothing to sneeze at, after all."
Who is this guy, the crooked magistrate? Haruhi thought, sulking, as Fumika comforted her though she doesn't know why Haruhi was sulking, "There there, Haruhi, there there."
"Kyoya-sama," a girl interrupted.
"You're just too much, in that kimono," her friend finished, "Are there any new photo collections of the Host Club coming out?"
"Unfortunately, nothing is scheduled at the present," Kyoya said, putting on a fake smile.
"The club makes much of its money-" Hikaru started
"-from the sale of promotional items, right?" Kaoru finished.
"The promotional items themselves are poor," Kyoya said, turning around to face the twins, "The photo collections are just amateur hidden camera shots. In order to draw even more for the club's expenses out of the school budget, we have to start coming up with some higher-quality products."
Kyoya's really smart. If it weren't him, I'm pretty sure that this club wouldn't be able to run smoothly-and would probably go bankrupt, Fumika thought.
"Haru-chan. I lost one of my sandals," Honey sniffled, walking up to them, holding only one sandal.
"Weren't you just wearing them a while ago?" Haruhi asked, walking over to Honey.
"Mitsukuni..." Mori said, taking Honey's right foot and slipping on his (Honey's) lost sandal.
"Takashi..." Honey sniffled.
"It was lying over there," Mori simply said.
"Takashi!" Honey shouted, hugging Mori.
"Fantastic!"
"It is fantastic!"
"These tearful scenes seem to be spreading," Haruhi muttered to Fumika, "How is it that everyone can get so weepy so suddenly?"
"Eye drops?" Fumika suggested, as Haruhi accidentally bumped into Hikaru, "Oops."
Something dropped out of Hikaru's sleeve when Haruhi bumped into him, and onto the floor.
"Eye drops?" Haruhi said, holding the bottle up.
"I told you," Fumika muttered to her.
"I should let you know, it's a common practice for a host," Hikaru said.
"There isn't a girl around who won't swoon over moist eyes," Kaoru said.
"That's cheating," Haruhi said.
"Here, Haruhi," Kaoru said, pulling out a box of confections, "this is for you."
"Can I really have this?" Haruhi said, sparkling.
"She's so cute," Hikaru and Kaoru gushed.
"Haruhi-kun, you like confections?" a girl squealed.
"No, I'm not much for sweets but..." Haruhi said, staring at the box fondly, "I think it'd be a nice memorial offering for my mother."
All the girls stared at Haruhi, blushing, touched at what she said.
"How admirable of you!" Tamaki shouted dramatically, "Such devotion to your parents! Here, Haruhi, take as many as you like!" Tamaki started placing more confections in Haruhi's hands.
"Are those fake tears, too?" Haruhi asked.
"How can you say that!" Tamaki shouted, "My tears are always genuine. Being able to cry without using eye drops is the mark of a true host." Tamaki blinked his 'tears' away, "Well? Are you impressed? Have you fallen for me anew?"
"Not really," Haruhi answered truthfully.
"My overtures just don't seem to reach you, huh, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, "Perhaps I should alter my character somewhat."
However, Haruhi wasn't paying attention. She was looking at the girl who was hiding behind a pillar.
"Huh? We have a brand-new guest!" the twins exclaim, walking over to the girl.
"What are you waiting for?" Hikaru asked, leaning against the pillar, "Come on in."
"It isn't any fun just to watch," Kaoru said, leaning against his brother.
"Come on," they said together.
"U-um..." the girl stuttered.
"Hey, I'm always telling to be more courteous to our first-time guests, aren't I?" Tamaki scolded them, scaring the girl, "Here, don't be afraid, princess. Welcome to the Ouran Host Club."
"N-" the girl started
"N-?" Tamaki urged.
"No! Don't touch me, you phony!" the girl shrieked, pushing Tamaki away.
Tamaki stepped back in shock, "I-I'm a phony?!"
"Yes! You're a phony! I can't believe that you are the prince figure in this club!" the girl shouted, "The prince character doesn't go spreading his love around so easily! How can you be so stupid?! It's almost like you're a dim-witted narcissist! Imcompetent!Mediocre! The pits!"
At those last words, Tamaki started falling down in slow-motion.
"Oh! It's a new technique!" Hikaru shouted.
"One-man-slow-motion!" Kaoru exclaimed.
Kyoya looked at the girl in surprise, "By any chance, are you-"
The girl turned to look at Kyoya and gasped, "Kyoya-sama!" The girl ran over Tamaki and hugged Kyoya, "I've wanted to meet you. My own prince."
Fumika's eyed widened, 'EH?!'
|| Time Skip ||
"Fiancée?"
"Kyoya-senpai's?"
"Yes. My name is Hoshakuji Renge," the girl introduced herself, "I will be transferring into 1st-Year, Class A tomorrow."
Fumika felt like her heart was torn straight from her body, 'Why do I feel this way? I mean, it's not like Kyoya likes me anyway.'
"Look, he looks mad," Hikaru commented, looking at Tamaki, who was sulking in his-more like a wall- emo corner.
"Why is he mad?" Haruhi asked, confused at what's going on.
"That's because Mommy was hiding something from Daddy," Kaoru explained.
"Whatever," Kyoya said, "Are you trying to make this married couple thing stick?"
"It is indeed love at first sight," Renge continued, not even paying attention to the conversation that was going on, "The way you were adoring those flowers by yourself in the back courtyard, even when no one else was looking. And the way you kindly reached out to that injured little kitty."
"Who are you talking about?" the twins interrupted, staring at Kyoya as if he had two heads.
"Could you perhaps, have the wrong person?" Haruhi asked.
"Nope. There is no way in hell Kyoya would do something like that," the twins said, in unison.
"No! You can't fool these eyes!" Renge shouted, "He's someone who is kind to everyone, and yet does not seek to have anyone take notice of him. He loves solitude, but is actually lonesome. The one who looks just like the star of the currently popular love simulation game, 'Uki-doki Memorial',"
In the background, everything was crazy. The twins were running around causing havoc in Music Room #3, everyone was wondering who this person Renge was talking about, because obviously it wasn't Kyoya.
"Ichijo Miyabi-kun, and that's you!" Renge shouted, pointing at Kyoya.
"Uki?"
"Doki?"
"Otaku!" Tamaki shouted, shocked.
"She's an otaku!" Hikaru shouted.
"Hm?" was all Mori grunted.
"I've never seen one before!" Kaoru shouted.
"I see now," Kyoya said, sitting down on a couch, "You're infatuated with a character. You're projecting the character infatuation onto me, going as far as to delude yourself that we are engaged. This Miyabi-kun character probably wears glasses too, right?"
"Whoa, deluded, you say?" Tamaki said, "Then, that story about her being your fiancée..."
"I don't remember ever acknowledging that," Kyoya said, "For one thing, I've never even met her before today."
"What?!" Tamaki and the twins shouted, "You could have said so sooner."
Meanwhile, Fumika sighed in relief, 'Thank goodness.'
|| Time Skip ||
"If I heard correctly Kyoya-sama, I understand that you administer everything about this club," Renge said.
"That's right. Kyo-chan is our director," Honey said.
"The director? That's perfect!" Renge exclaimed, "I've always dreamed of being the drawing card for someone's business."
"We don't need one," the twins interrupted, "We're a host club, after all."
Renge just ignored them, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to be this host club's manager!"
"Hey, Kyoya..." Tamaki whispered to Kyoya.
"She's the daughter of a client that's important to the Ootori family," Kyoya interrupted him, already knowing what Tamaki was going to say, "I ask you be sure no to do anything impolite." Tamaki just groaned.
"Everyone, it's going to be a pleasure," Renge said, smiling.
|| The Next Day... ||
"I thought about it all last night," Tamaki announced, "and having a lady manager might not be all that bad."
"Why do you say that?" the twins asked.
"Don't you see? She has transferred into the same class as Haruhi. If the two of them all become friends as girls, Haruhi might become more girlish. The uniquely girl air of tenderness about her could stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."
"Good grief," Haruhi muttered.
"This is a grand-scale project in order to stir Haruhi to be more girly!" Tamaki continued, "Only having these two disreputable twins as close classmates, is not good for Haruhi."
"That's telling us, all right," the twins said, annoyed.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Renge walked in, "Everyone, Renge, your manager has baked some cookies."
"Oh, how ladylike! I'm so moved!" Tamaki exclaimed dramatically.
"I didn't bake them for you, you phony prince," Renge said, causing Tamaki to go sulk in his emo-not so cornered-corner, "They're for my Kyoya-sama! They're a little bit burnt, but I know what you're going to say." Then she started squealing.
Unknown to her, Honey had taken a cookie, too," You're right these are burnt."
"Don't eat them, Mitsukuni, they're bad for you," Mori told him. That comment caused Renge to start chasing them.
"Aaaaaaah! She's scaring me!" Honey shouted.
"They're actually not that bad," Haruhi commented, placing a cookie in her mouth.
However before she could, Kaoru lifted her chin up towards him. "Let me see..." he said, taking a bite of the cookie in her mouth. That drew the attention of Tamaki.
"Oh, Haruhi, you have cookie dough on your face," Hikaru said, licking the dough off her cheek. That did it.
"Before anyone realized it, they've become a congenial classmate trio," Kyoya commented.
"You know, if you'd just say so, I could get them off myself," Haruhi pouted, wiping her cheek, "And if you wanted one, they're right here."
"Y-y-your reaction is all wrong!" Tamaki shouted, taking Haruhi's face in his hands, "This is where you're supposed to rebuff them, and casually brush them aside!"
"Please stop sexually harassing me, Senpai," Haruhi said.
"Harassing you?! If I'm harassing you, then they're twice as guilty!" Tamaki shouted.
"K-Kyoya-senpai," Fumika said, walking up to him, "U-um... I also made some c-cookies f-for you..."
Kyoya looked up from his black notebook, "Ah, thank you Fumika."
Fumika watched in anticipation as Kyoya took a bite out of a cookie.
"This is surprisingly delicious," Kyoya said, taking another cookie, "Good job."
Fumika brightened "Thank you so much!"
"But I believe there's something that can make this cookie more delicious."
"Really? Please tell me, so I'll know what to do next ti-!" Before Fumika could finish speaking, Kyoya had taken a cookie and placed it in her mouth. After doing so, he quickly took a bite of the cookie, making sure his lip had lightly brushed over the now frozen girl.
Kyoya pulled back and smirked at the bright red and frozen girl, "I was right," he said, licking his lips, "It does taste better.
Meanwhile, while the two were busy, chaos had erupted.
"It's all too tepid!" Renge shouted, causing all of the commotion to stop, "Except for Kyoya-sama, all of your characters are too lackluster! All of you hosts are lacking a 'dark' side! Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men going through trauma! If you keep carrying on in this ridiculous manner, it's only a matter of time before everyone grows tired of it!
"Are you trying to ruin my Kyoya-sama's precious business?! As manager, starting today, I'm changing all of your character backgrounds. Starting with..." Renge pointed at Honey, "You! If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're the same as a baby. As such, you're now 'The cute-face, who's actually a thug'! Morinozuka-senpai, you're the 'Childhood-friend flunkie'! The twins will be the basketball players, 'Shut up in their own world'! Haruhi-kun, you're an honor student face with 'Intense bullying'! And Tamaki-san, you are the school idol, esteemed for your looks, but actually, you have an inferiority complex, 'The lonesome prince'! And Kyoya-sama, you're already perfect as you are," Renge gushed.
"I'm honored," was all Kyoya said, causing Fumika to pout and glare at Renge
|| Time Skip ||
(skipping all the movie shots)
"I'm so sorry, Haru-chan! I can't do it!" Honey shouted, jumping into Haruhi's arms.
"Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut!" Renge shouted, "Stick to the script! Cameraman, hold up for now!"
"Yes boss!"
"Make the rain more heartrending!" Renge ordered.
"Good job, Haruhi," Fumika said, handing her sister a towel to dry herself.
"Thanks."
"Why have we suddenly gone from talking about changing our characters into a movie shoot?" Kaoru complained.
"And I have to say, it's an overblown film crew, isn't it?" Haruhi commented.
"Apparently, she rushed them here from Hollywood," Kyoya said, writing something down in his notebook.
"Hollywood?" Fumika repeated.
"Yes, haven't you ever seen them?" Kyoya explained, "That man is the director of 'Millennial Snow,' the vampire movie that was the number-one-box-office hit across America last year."
Damn these rich people, Haruhi thought.
"And another thing, how come this script has Kaoru being the seme?" Hikaru complained
"Yeah," Kaoru agreed.
"Seme?" Fumika repeated, turning to Haruhi, "Haruhi, what's a seme?"
Haruhi turned red and looked away, "I can't tell you."
"Why not?" Fumika pouted.
"I just can't alright," Haruhi said, "If you really want to know, ask Kyoya."
Fumika blinked in confusion and walked over to Kyoya, "Neh, Kyoya-senpai, what's a seme?"
Kyoya glanced at Fumika, and quickly turned away, "Ask Haruhi."
"But I tried, and she wouldn't tell me," Fumika complained.
|| Time Skip ||
"Haruhi-kun! You're on!" Renge called out.
"Okay!" Haruhi shouted back, walking to where Renge was, Fumika following closely behind.
"Over here!" Renge called out, before gesturing to 2 intimidating guys standing behind her,"I've just asked these two gentlemen to make a special appearance."
"Appearance?" one of the guys repeated, "What are you talking about?"
"We're going to need some villains for the big climax, after all," Renge said, "The jumble of club members unite to battle some true bad guy characters. According to my notes, while these two may be from a wealthy family, they are actually sons of members of the Japanese Mafia. These truly are ideal parts for you."
"What's with this girl?" Guy#1 shouted.
"Whatever my dad may be, it's got nothing to do with me!" Guy#2 shouted.
"Hold on, Renge-chan," Haruhi tried to warn her.
"Okay, just stand by over here," Renge ordered, pulling the guys over to the side."
"Just a minute here!" Guy#1, pulling his arm out of Renge's grip, "You think you can push around however you want to? Come off it!" The guy pushed Renge towards the equipment leaning on the wall.
"Look out!" Haruhi shouted.
Renge braced herself for impact, however she never felt it. She opened her eyes to see that Haruhi had jumped behind her to protect Renge from the impact, "Haruhi-kun! Are you okay?!"
"Those boys are right, you know," Haruhi said, covering her eyes with her hand, "Renge-chan, if you judge people by stereotypes and how they look, you won't ever be able to see what's really important."
"I'm not sure i understand what you mean," Renge said, confused.
"Haruhi! What happened?" Tamaki shouted, running over to where Renge and Haruhi were. He and the rest of the Host Club had heard the commotion and had rushed over to see what happened.
They all stopped, seeing Haruhi crouching on the ground covering her eyes, and when she looked over to them, tears were in her eyes. That was all it took, for in a flash, Tamaki had Guy#1 slammed against the wall.
"Which one of you started this?" Tamaki said, darkly.
"W-wait, Suoh! She's the one who started giving us a hard time!" Guy#2 protested.
"It's true, senpai," Haruhi said, getting up, "Those boys aren't at fault."
Tamaki released Guy#1 and quickly walked over to Haruhi, "Haruhi..."
Tamaki glared at the two boys, "You have 3 seconds to run, and God help me if I ever see you two near Haruhi again, I'll you both expelled from this school."
"Run away!" the boys shouted, quickly running away.
"Does it hurt, Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, his attention back on Haruhi.
"Yeah," Haruhi said, moving her hand away, "It's my contact."
"Your...contact?" Tamaki and the twins repeated.
"Yeah," Haruhi said, nodding, "It slipped out."
2 seconds had passed, before Tamaki started laughing.
"Oh, I see," Tamaki said, calming down, "Once you can cry without using eyedrops, you're a full-fledged host!"
"C-," Renge started softly, moved by the scene in front of her, "Cameraman, did you catch that?!"
"Yes boss!"
"Except for the contact falling out, that was the ideal last scene!" Renge exclaimed, "Now all it needs is for my Kyoya-sama to provide some moving narration-"
Crash!
"No! My camera!"
"K-Kyoya-sama?" Renge said.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence," Kyoya said, "I am extremely displease at the way you're acting like such a pest."
"Kyoya-sama, you're supposed to tell not to worry about it, and then gently pat me on the head!" Renge cried, "Why would someone as kind and affectionate you-"
"Because that's not who he is," Tamaki said.
Renge stared at him, shocked before falling to the ground, crying.
"It doesn't matter, does it?" Renge looked up to see Haruhi crouching in front of her, "Even if Kyoya-senpai is a little different from what you expected, Renge-chan, I think that watching people, and slowly, little by little, getting to know them, can be fun, too."
Unknown to any of them, Fumika was leaning against the wall where the equipment had been. While everyone thought that it was just Haruhi who had jumped behind Renge to save her, it was Fumika who had jumped behind the two of them and taken the full blow.
"Fumika." Fumika looked up to see Kyoya standing in front of her.
"Kyoya-senpai..."
"You're hurt," Kyoya stated, holding out his hand, "The nurse had a family emergency so she had to leave, but I'll do what I can to help you clean it."
Fumika took his hand and, with Kyoya's help, got up. However, as soon as she put her weight on her right foot, pain had shot through, causing her to fall. Kyoya caught her before she could.
"You must have sprained your ankle when you fell from the impact," Kyoya said, sighing, "I guess it can't be help."
"K-Kyoya-senpai, w-what-ah!" Fumika let out a squeal of surprise as Kyoya picked her up bridal style.
"Tsk, you injured your back as well," Kyoya tsked, "So reckless."
"Sorry..."
|| Time Skip ||
"Take off your dress."
"EH?!"
Kyoya sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fumika, I need to clean and bandage your back, and the only way I can do that is if you take off your dress."
"B-but, it's embarrassing," Fumika protested, hugging herself, "I'm not wearing anything underneath, just my tights and underwear."
"It's not like I haven't seen any of that before," Kyoya smirked, referring to the previous chapter, "Now take off your dress or I'll take it off for you."
"Fine! I'll do it," Fumika finally agreed, blushing at the thought of Kyoya undressing her.
Blushing like crazy, Fumika quickly undressed herself, wanting to get the embarrassment over with.
Kyoya smirked again, "Black lace again?"
"S-shut up!"
"You need to be more careful," Kyoya chided, cleaning her back.
"Sorry..."
"Ah! Kyoya!" Fumika squealed as Kyoya started wrapping a bandage around her injury (in the lower back, and stomach area), "It's too tight!"
"I apologize."
Just then, Tamaki and the rest of the Host Club decided to enter.
"Hey, Kyoya, are you in here..." Tamaki trailed off when he saw the scene in front of him.
"Wow Kyoya-senpai-" "-doing it in the music room-" "how naughty~" the twins said, smirking.
"Kyoya-senpai, why is my sister practically naked in front of you," Haruhi asked, blushing slightly.
"Hey, Takashi, what's going on?"
"Don't look, Mitskuni."
Finally Fumika realized that the Host Club can see her...and that she was in her underwear.
"KYA!!!"
|| Time Skip ||
"Wait, so you're Haruhi's sister?" Hikaru asked.
"You don't really look like her," Kaoru stated.
"Not all siblings look alike you guys," Haruhi said.
"Yeah, but she has blue eyes and you have brown."
"That's because she has our mother's eyes," Haruhi said.
"How come we've never noticed you before, Fumi-chan?" Honey asked.
"No one really notices me," Fumika told him, smiling sadly.
"I apologize deeply, princess," Tamaki said, dramatically, "To not notice such a beautiful flower until now... I am so so ashamed of myself.
"I-it's fine," Fumika reassured him, "I'll be in your care now, so please take care of me!"
"Aw! You're so cute! I've always wanted another daughter!"
"Tamaki release!"
"Ooooh! Kyoya-senpai's jealous!"
|| Time Skip ||
"Hey there, come on in."
"Bought that video!"
"Me too!"
"Me too!'
"That scene in the rain was the greatest!"
"The lonesome prince!"
"The deep relationship between Hikaru-sama and Kaoru-sama!"
"I want to see Honey-kun acting like a thug again!"
"And Haruhi-kun's poignant expressions!"
"Mori-kun was definitely some kind of masochist, huh?"
"Kyoya-" Tamaki started.
"I may have broken the lens, but naturally, the footage that was already shot still remains," Kyoya interrupted, "Of course, that one scene of violence was cut out. Sales have been pretty fair. That first-rate Hollywood staff did as good a job as you'd expect."
"Is this what you meant by 'interesting'?" the twins questioned.
"It's best to have as much as we can in the club budget, right?" Kyoya asked.
At what point did this guy start calculating all of this? Haruhi wondered.
"How are you all?" the Host Club turned to see Renge.
"Huh? I thought you went home to France," Tamaki commented.
"I realized something. Your kindness earlier, when you offered to teach me how to bake cookies and risked your life to protect me, and your deep love, for giving those, at times, stern admonitions," Renge said, taking Haruhi's hand, "This is what you meant by watching people, and falling in love with them, right, Haruhi-kun?"
"Um... yes?" Haruhi said, confused.
"Come, let's go to my house to play some games together. You have to find out more about me, too," Renge said, dragging Haruhi after her, accidentally bumping into Fumika.
"Ow."
"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Renge apologized, "Wait, you're Haruhi-kun's sister, right?"
"Yes?"
"Ah! Kyoya-sama told that you were the one that saved both me and Haruhi-kun from the impact," Renge said, grabbing Fumika's hands, "Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?"
"I-it's not a problem," Fumika tried to reassure her.
"I know! Come with me and my brother and get to know me!" Renge said, now dragging both Haruhi and Fumika behind her.
"Huh?"
The twins watched as Renge dragged Fumika and Haruhi towards the door, "Kyoya-senpai-" "-Are you sure this is okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Kyoya said, "She's not wrong in what she's saying."
"No it's not okay!" Tamaki objected.
"They're all becoming friends with each other as girls, just like you wanted," Kyoya said.
"But they're not all being girls!" Tamaki argued, "I wanted them to have girl friends not girlfriends!"
"Come on, Haruhi-kun, Fumika! Let's go!" Renge exclaimed.
"No! Come back! Don't take my Haruhi and Fumika away!" Tamaki shouted, chasing after them.