"Okay, you guys," I said, pacing in front of a seated Host Club. It was nine-thirty, and the gang were arriving at ten. "I'm going to explain something to you."
The school was ghostly quiet, empty of anyone but the Club, and we were currently sitting in Music Room 3. Otsu and Hirase had come and were sitting outside of the room. I wasn't sure how much they knew and, frankly, would rather they knew less.
I told the Host Club a brief summary of middle school within twenty minutes. "That's it! Now you guys know everything. It should explain any questions. And these are my middle school friends who are coming to visit."
"So you lied to us," Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison with matching dull looks.
"I didn't really have a choice to." I replied, shrugging. Then I bowed. "Sorry about lying to you guys. It's just that if my mom finds out that, well, that I still haven't exactly changed, then who knows what she'll do."
"We forgive you." The twins grinned. "If you'll model for us."
"No!" I shouted, shoving them away. "Look, it's mainly because my friends want to meet you guys, and I'm sure you guys will love them too."
"Your friends aren't all guys are they?" Tamaki asked in concern. It almost looked like he had puppy eyes.
"No, they're not. There's also Mina and Akane." I replied. "But you better stay away from Mina, since she's already got a boyfriend. And don't say cheesy words to Akane cause you'll just get smacked."
"Haruhi, you've got new girlfriends!" Tamaki glomped Haruhi. He hadn't heard a thing after I said the first word. Talk about selective hearing.
I smiled. "Haruhi, I'm sure you'll like them. They're all very down-to-earth, good people, and, uh, commoners."
"Commoners?!" The idiot trio said with glittering eyes.
"More commoners, Tono!" The twins began dancing around Tamaki. Kyoya sighed, pushing his glasses up.
"Wait, Rika-senpai," The twins stopped their crazy dancing. "Your girlfriends are pretty right?"
"Pretty? Of course, they're pretty! In fact, Akane is the definition of beauty! And Mina is really cute!" I grinned proudly, then froze in suspicion. "Hey, why'd you ask?"
The twins shared conspiring smiles. "Maybe they'd like to model for us."
"Quit hunting down models!" I screeched, waving a fist at them threateningly. Then I glanced at the clock. "Okay, come on, you guys! Let's go to the main doors and wait for them."
We exited Music Room 3 to head towards the school main doors, but I stopped at the doors for a moment.
"Hey, Otsu, Hirase, can you guys, um, keep a secret?" I asked with an innocent look. I held a finger to my lips. "Don't tell Mom!"
"Our only orders were to protect you," Hirase smiled back knowingly. "Nothing about reporting your actions, Princess."
"No 'Princess', Hirase!" I stuck my tongue out, something I'd been wanting to do since I'd met up with him.
He grinned, reaching a hand out to pat my head. I dodged it and then dashed off to join the Host Club, walking alongside Honey. Honey was another worry. What if he didn't get along with someone? What if Akane, or Mina, didn't like him?
I looked down at my outfit. I'd snuck one of Kimiko's hooded jackets out and so was wearing a sapphire blue skirt, white blouse, and a black jacket zipped over it. My casual wear back in middle school had consisted of jeans, t-shirts, and jackets. I really didn't want my appearance to stray too far when I met up with the gang.
We stopped in front of the doors.
"Do I look alright, Mitsukuni?" I asked Honey nervously, tugging my skirt down a bit more. The jacket was a bit too big for me too, since I was just a tad smaller than Kimiko.
He looked up and down and then nodded. "You look cute as always."
I turned away and luckily didn't blush. Well, I should have expected that. In fact, asking him was just asking for that kind of response.
"So, what do we do now?" Hikaru asked. "Stare at the doors?"
I grinned. "Yup! Let's just... wait for them to come!"
"Boring!" Kaoru complained, leaning against his brother.
"Psh, you..." I paused. My ears had caught onto some other noise, and I leaned forward involuntarily. I could just start to make out voices.
"It's pink. It's frickin' pink! Does no one else notice this?"
A smile danced across my lips. I have dreamed of that voice for so long. "Of course we do, Ryota. We're not blind. It's just, you know, interesting." "Rich people sure spend their money in strange ways."
"They should have made it purple."
"No, red!"
Wait a minute. I thought only the gang was coming, like only Akane, Mina, Mikiya, Ryota, and the 3 Musketeers. So why do I hear...?
Musketeers. So why do I hear...?
"Guys, this has nothing to do with-"
"I knew this was the wrong choice! What if Rika's completely different?"
"Please, Goofy, Mickey and your little bro all said she's exactly the same."
"What if that's actually bad?"
"Stop worrying! There's nothing wrong with change! Jeez, you're more of a worrywart than Mikiya!" "Hey! Mina!"
"Dude, is this made of marble?"
"How are we supposed to know?"
"Hey, hey, do you think that's gold?"
"How are we supposed to know?!"
"Guys, it's here, right?" "Yeah, Ri-"
I grabbed the double doors and pulled them open with all my might. Whoosh! A gust of wind blew in and I was blinded for a moment.
Standing before me was a group of eleven people. A huge grin spread across my face. "Oh my God-"
"Rika!"
"Rika-chan!"
I launched myself at the one person I'd wanted to see the most for years. "Akane!" She caught me in her arms, and I burst out laughing in sheer happiness.
"Rika! It's so great to see you again!" Her arms tightened around me, and that gorgeous peal of laughter echoed in my ears. I could feel her soft blond hair tickling my arms. Yes, this was Akane. Finally, after all these years, I was with Akane.
"I've missed you so much!" I said, looking up at her. Then I frowned. "Akane, how tall are you?"
"About five feet five," she replied calmly.
"Why are you so tall too?!"
Akane grinned. Her eyes were a brilliant, rich blue color, like the pool water sparkling under sunlight. Her hair was a bit shorter than I'd last seen it but still fell to her shoulder blades.
"Don't worry, Rika! I'm only five two!" A cheery voice said. I turned to my left and spotted Mina, whose black hair was now short, reaching just about her chin, and straight.
"Wow, Mina! You've cut your hair!" I hugged her. "It looks cute!"
"Thanks, Rika! You're still cute too." Mina giggled.
"Of course Rika's still cute." Akane said, almost defensively. "And, you know, Rika-"
"Rika-chan!" Arms swept me up into the air and I shrieked as my feet left the ground. Then I spotted the familiar, scraggly face. His brown hair was a bit shaggy but not too long, and he had grown a small beard. His eyes were the same bright brown as I remembered them, glimmering with humor and amusement.
"Suzaku-senpai!" I said while laughing. "Put me down!"
He grinned, setting me down. He towered over me, perhaps a whole head and a half. "You're so tiny!"
"Shut up!" I had to get on my toes to punch his shoulder. "Why are you so tall? Are judo members supposed to be so tall?"
Suzaku shrugged. "It just happened. And you still punch hard, huh?"
"Oi, quit hogging Rika!" Someone shoved Suzaku to the side, revealing the medium-height kendo champion. "Rika!" Yukari pulled me into a hug. "It's so good to see you again! How are you? I think you've grown! Don't let those monsters get to you!"
I hugged her back. "It's good to see you too, Yukari-senpai. I see you still like purple."
"Of course!" Yukari pulled away with a smile. Her slightly wavy black hair cascaded down her back, and she'd maintained that stripe of purple hair. "That's why I was saying your school should have been painted purple instead of pink."
"You guys are all crazy," Eiji said with a shake of his head. "As usual." I grinned, holding out a fist. "Yo Eiji-senpai!"
He bumped his fist against mine. "Yo, Rika-chan! How are you doing?"
"I'm good!" I replied with a grin.
"So, Rika-senpai," I heard Hikaru say. "Wanna introduce them?"
"Yeah!" I ran back to the Host Club's side. My gang clustered around to face the Club. "Guys, meet the Host Club."
"One of them is a girl," Suzaku said bluntly, pointing at Haruhi.
"Don't point!" Yukari slapped the hand down. "It's rude."
"Hey, where's Hisashi-senpai and Hisao-senpai?" I looked around but couldn't spot the two burly wrestlers.
"Oh, they have a wrestling tournament coming up," Suzaku replied. "So they couldn't make it. They said hi, though, and they want us to take a picture."
I grinned. "Alright, tell them I said hi back okay?"
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Akane-san." Kyoya said suddenly, bowing to Akane. She smiled and bowed back.
"The pleasure's mine."
"Wh-What?!"
That wasn't just me.
"How do you two know each other?" I asked, whipping back and forth between Kyoya and Akane. "Go ahead with the introductions, Rika." Akane replied. "We'll explain afterwards."
I sighed. "Okay." I introduced each Host Club member, and then turned to the gang. "This is Katsushika Mina."
"Hello, beautiful princess," Tamaki said, out of reflex probably. He knelt in front of her and extended a rose. "It's an honor to finally meet you."
Mina giggled, taking the rose. "Um, okay. Thanks. It's an honor to meet you too." "Mina!" Mikiya said in protest. "How can you do that?"
"Don't worry. Tamaki's harmless." I said. "He treats all girls like that."
"What about me then?" Yukari teased.
"I could never forget you, Princess, when you're the most beautiful of them all." Tamaki whispered, holding a rose to her.
Yukari raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? A flirt, playboy, or womanizer? All of the above? Or just hopeless?" "He's just like that." Haruhi cut in. "Sorry about it."
"It's fine, Fujioka-san." Yukari smiled. "It's cute."
"This is Tomori Yukari, also known as Violet," I said with a gesture. "She was the leader of the girls kendo club at Chiasa Academy when we were in middle school. She, Eiji-senpai, and Suzaku-senpai are both a year above me and attended Chiasa, so currently college first years."
"I'm not the leader of kendo anymore, but I will be!"
"And this is Kanada Suzaku, also known as Cardinal, who was the leader of the boys kendo club, and the Color Squad." I stared at Honey, the only one who I'd told much about the Color Squad. "This is Sugiyama Eiji, a member of the kendo club."
Eiji was a shorter and buffer guy, with flat dark brown hair cut short. He was a friendly and slightly shy hard worker. He'd helped out with our gang fights a lot, perhaps the most, compared to the others.
"Yasuda Mikiya, who you guys all already met. Remember him, right? And this is Barton Akane, who's from America but has perfect Japanese. And she's my best friend, so you all better treat her well. These three buddies here," I pulled Rikuto out from the crowd. "Come on, you guys. Don't be shy, you're the three Musketeers."
"This is Ueda Rikuto." Rikuto was a tall, lanky guy with narrow, reddish-brown eyes and red stripes through his hair. He was a curious, friendly guy and asked a lot of questions.
"Matsuoka Tarou," I tugged on his arm. "Come on, Tarou. These guys don't bite." Tarou was quite the opposite. He was quiet around strangers and was also protective of his friends. His dark blond hair was gelled up into a single spike, and his gray eyes were staring at the ground intently.
"And this is Tsutomu Kenta, together, they make the 3 Musketeers." I smiled and hugged the three. "Hey, you guys!"
"Hey, Captain!" They said, grinning.
Kenta was the laziest one, with half his black hair dyed green. He slung an arm around me. "Rika-chan, if you only knew, Ryota-"
"Shut up Kenta!" Ryota yelled, smacking Kenta not so lightly.
I slipped out of Kenta's arm to fully face Ryota, the one person I had been waiting for. "Asari Ryota, and Asari Yuuta, his younger brother." I said, not even looking at the Host Club. Instead, I was staring calmly into Ryota's dark brown eyes. They were still as impenetrable as the last time.
"I think we should talk," I said breathlessly. Our gazes were locked, and he nodded.
"Yeah, definitely." His black hair was the same, longer than his brother's, messy, and a bit curly. And his voice was so much deeper. It was kinda strange, but it also fit him. Like Mikiya, he'd grown, and he looked stronger, tougher.
"Wait, Rika," Honey's voice cut through. "Don't you want to know how Kyo-chan knows Aka-chan?"
"Aka-chan?" Akane said. She shook her head. "No, you are not calling me that. I don't care if you're the great Honey, or whatever, or if you're even dating my best friend-"
"I'm still your best friend, right?" I cut in, bouncing to Akane's side. I wasn't sure if I wanted Akane to continue your rant. It'd be best if she could get along with Honey. She stared at me and nodded.
"Of course, Rika."
"Yay!" I hugged her. I loved Akane so much. She was the only best friend I'd ever had and ever would. "I miss you so much. Now would you like to explain how you know Kyoya?" And now, a smooth transition to a different topic.
Akane sighed. "It's a pretty long story."
"Rika-senpai," The twins whined. "Give us some incentive to listen to this long story." I stared at my friends. "Do you guys want to model?"
"Model what?" Mina asked.
"Lots of clothes," The twins grinned.
"Sure!" Yukari clapped her hands together. "It sounds fun!"
"There's your incentive," I said, as we headed towards Music Room 3. "Come on, we're going to the Host Club room."
As the others settled down in the room, I went to make some tea.
"Hey, Rika, you don't have to make tea." Akane called into the backroom.
"Please, it's early in the morning and you guys came all the way over here." I replied. I heard footsteps and saw Akane coming to my side.
"Then let me help," She smiled. "Hey, you know, Rika, I started an anime called Hetalia."
"Aw, really? That is such a good anime! You did a good job in picking that one how far in it are you? Have you finished the axis powers yet? Who'syourfavoritecharacterdoyoulikeRussiaImeanhowcanyounotlikeRussiahe'slikethemostpopularcharacterrig htButmyfavoriteisprobablyItalycausehe'ssocutewho'syourfavoritecharacterAkane?"
"Calm down, Rika!" Akane let out a short giggle. "I like Russia, but he's kinda scary. I think my favorite would be... hm, I don't know, but France is pretty funny. They all are."
"Ugh, it sucks cause I can't watch any more anime!" I frowned. "No manga and no anime for three years. It's a new high score for me."
She laughed. "It would be for me too. I'm already done with Axis Powers, and I've started reading some manga but not much. You'll have to give me some good recommendations."
"Okay! There are so many awesome mangas that you have got to read!" I picked up the first tray. Without having to say anything, Akane picked the other one up and followed after me. We launched into a discussion on genres and other mangas that Akane had already read.
The room was pretty quiet. Kyoya was talking to Mikiya, and Mina was listening. "Hey," Ryota stepped in front of Honey. "You're Honey, right? Rika's boyfriend?"
Honey nodded, swallowing. He had no idea what to do. He knew Ryota was a precious friend to Rika, but what if her feelings were deeper than that?
"It's nice to meet you." Honey stood and bowed.
Ryota bowed too, as Yuuta came to his side. "Hello, Honey-san."
Honey grinned. "Hello Yuu-chan!"
Ryota stiffened at the name. "Don't call him that."
"Why not?"
"Just don't," Ryota looked away, as a frown appeared.
"It's fine, Onii-chan." Yuuta said. He peered towards the back room as Rika and Akane stepped out chatting in lightning speed.
"-shethrewhimoutthewindow!"
"Yeahyeah!" Rika nodded vigorously. "Andwhenshesentthatcrazymonsterflyingintotheair?" "Andthattime-"
"Do they normally do that?" Hikaru asked.
Ryota nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Whenever they haven't seen each other in a long time, like a week, they'll go on these crazy rampages talking about anime."
"Otaku," Kaoru muttered.
"It's an otaku," Hikaru said, nodding in agreement.
"You know, they might be like that for a while," Ryota said. "Since they haven't seen each other for years." Rika and Akane went around passing tea.
"Thanks for the tea!"
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
"Okay, explanation?" I asked, sitting down in between Akane and Honey.
"The day after you were taken away," Akane said. "We were visited by your mom again. She was standing in front of the school and ushered us all into her limo."
"It was huge!" Rikuto said. "Ginormous! And shiny! And made of nice leather!"
"Dude, it's her mom's limo! Don't you think she'd know?" Kenta said with a friendly nudge in the shoulder. I smiled and even laughed. "We all know what a limo looks like."
"Rich bastards," Haruhi mumbled.
Okay, so maybe Haruhi had a point with that remark. What I'd said was just a bit snobby and... stuck-up and what a rich brat might say. Crap. I'm turning into one of them! I should have said something else. I should have reworded that better. I-
Akane's eyebrow went up before a small smile broke out. "I think I like her, Rika." "Of course you would. It's Haruhi. Who doesn't like her?" I grinned.
"Haruhi is so cute!" Tamaki yelled, hugging the girl.
"Anyway," Akane said. "She told us that we couldn't try and contact you. She, like-" "She threatened us and bribed us," Ryota interrupted.
Mina nodded. "If we didn't try to contact you, she'd give the town and school and us money. If we did, she'd make our lives miserable."
Typical move. It's an irresistible deal. "We had to accept." Akane said.
"I know." I nodded. "I would have done the same. You can't win against my mom. It's best you guys know that early on."
"That's depressing," Suzaku said, leaning back in the couch. "Dang, how expensive are these couches?" "Three million a piece," Kyoya said.
"What?!" A mix of the gang yelled.
"We're sitting on a couch worth three million?" Mina squeaked, turning pale.
"Calm down," I said with a smile. "It's nothing."
"You really are a rich kid." Ryota scoffed, turning away from me.
"Ryota!" I said. He glanced at me, and it was quiet. But I actually didn't know what to say. I swallowed nervously. "Um, we'll talk later, okay? I just want to hear the explan-"
"I know." He shrugged, staring at the wall and not at me.
I bit my lip. Ryota! You're so frustrating and annoying, and I really want to hug you! Why are you still so cute?! I thought you'd be all buff and manly and stuff, but you're actually really adorable!
"Just let me talk," Akane said, shooting the gang with sharp stares to silence them. "So we accepted, and we didn't try to contact you for two years. Then, in the beginning of our third year, your mom showed up again. She told us that if we wanted to try and talk to you now, we could. If we could get to you. Mikiya and I searched around the databases and found out that you were attending Ouran. Mikiya hacked in, and I found out that you were a part of the Host Club. It took a while for this to happen though. The hacking was tough, took... what like a month? Maybe more. After that, I dug around myself and got Kyoya-san's information. I called him, and we started talking. That's how Mikiya met up with you."
"What do you mean?" Suspicion and confusion crept in.
"Kyoya-san told me that you guys would be going to that mall on a certain day. I sent Mikiya to the mall on that day on that time. I figured you'd be at the bookstore, so I sent him there. It was a good move, since you guys did get to meet. I couldn't find your cellphone number or email, so I had to get to you from some other way."
"Then, you mean, Mom doesn't mind if I talk-" I froze, thinking. "No, this is another test. Just like how she asked me which high school I want to go to. She's baiting me."
"What?" Akane leaned towards me. "But she came to us and said it'd be perfectly fine if we go find you." Argh, Mom, why are you so confusing and cryptic? Just flat out tell me what you want me to do!
"Is that it? Did Mom say anything else?" I asked.
Akane shook her head. "Not really. Well, the first time, she was pretty mad at us."
"Frickin' pissed," Ryota muttered. "I was ready for fire to come out of her."
I grinned. "I can see that happening too. So, uh, Ryota, who told the principal? It wasn't you, right?"
His eyes widened, and his head fell. "No, it wasn't, but it was my fault. I, uh, kinda blurted out who you really were. There was this guy who was trashing the gang and you, especially how we didn't know a thing about you. And, well, I got pissed and told him how you were actually a rich kid and some other stuff, and I guess he told the principal. I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, Rika!" He looked up and stared straight into my eyes, as if piercing through to my soul.
He was being honest. Whenever Ryota's being honest and really wants something to get through, he stares straight at that person. It's a good thing.
"Then, how come my mom said it was you who told the principal?" I asked.
Ryota shrugged. "I'm guessing the guy used my name, or something. Or, like, told the principal that I'd told him. I don't really know, because I didn't know he was the one who'd ratted you out until we graduated."
I nodded. "Okay. It's not your fault. Mom would have found out sooner or later anyway." He stood up, facing me directly. "I, uh, think it's time we sorted some things out."
I stood too. "Okay."