To be a Princess
Chapter three
The New Host has a Secret
Small rays of light slipped past the gaps between the curtains of Yuki's window and shone directly into her face. She squinted slightly before fluttering her eyes open and sitting up to get the bright light out of her face. She sloppily got out of bed and prepared herself to go to school as usual.
At the gate Yuki turned back to look at the vast estate before turning around and beginning her walk to school. While she was walking along the footpath, kicking a stone repeatedly as she did so, a black limousine with dark tinted windows pulled up beside here and began to drive at a snail-like pace. Yuki turned to the tinted window, staring at it to see if she could recognise who was inside. Then the window rolled down, revealing the Host King.
"Good morning Yuki!" he greeted cheerily. Yuki almost had to squint as he shone a bright smile at her. "Why don't you have a chauffeur? I thought you were rich? Unless..." he trailed off.
"You're a commoner in disguise!" he said dramatically as he pointed an accusing finger right at her face. her eyebrow twitched slightly in annoyance.
"Umm... No senpai. My father- I mean I just wanted to get some exercise. You know. Keep in shape. " She lied smoothly.
"Well you can come to school in my car of you like?" he offered as he opened the car door with a small click. "No I couldn't." Yuki refused as she took a step away from the shiny black car. 'I can't disobey father's orders.' she reminded herself determinedly
"I'm not taking no for an answer." Tamaki said with a serious tone and expression. After ten seconds of endless staring Yuki gave in. "Fine." she agreed as she begrudgingly entered the car. 'It's better to do this then waste time arguing with this guy.'
For most of the trip, Yuki was predominately quiet and just listened to the blonde host chatter on and on about new ideas for the Host Club. Just as she was getting dizzy from all the talking that he was doing, they fortunately arrived at the Academy. Upon exiting the limo, wild chattering erupted from the girl waiting around, for Tamaki of course. They obviously didn't expect Yuki to come out of the car with him.
The rest of the day was a blur for Yuki as she had already learnt the topics they were teaching. 'I guess all the studying did come in handy after all' she thought as she stared into space while half listening to what the teacher had to say.
|~|~|~|Host club time|~|~|~|
At last, the school day was over and it was time to head over to the Host Club. Yuki opened the large wooden doors of the Host Club and entered the room to be given a flowery greeting. "Welcome!"
"Seeing as you are here, I suppose it means that you're allowed to join us?" Kyouya theorised while he pushed up his glasses with a smirk. "Yes. My father said that I could join." Yuki confirmed with a small nod of her head.
"Yay! Another addition to the family!" the blonde Host chanted as he jumped around in circles with glee. Dozens of spring flowers seemed to bloom around him due to the happy aura he was exerting to the area around him. "Ummm...." Yuki began unsurely as she observed the so called 'King' of the club.
"Alright! You can be my son!" Tamaki declared as he placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder as he looked off into the far distance where he - and only he - could see his future with his family. 'Did he just force me into being his son? Strange...' Yuki thought as she tried to edge away from her strange senpai.
"Oh, I just remembered we haven't introduced you to everyone yet" the glassed Host reminded himself.
"I'm Kyouya Ottori, those two are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin. You already know Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai." He said, gesturing to them as he introduced each host.
"And that blonde idiot over there is Tamaki Suou." he said as he jabbed his finger in Tamaki's direction. Tamaki seemed to be dancing in a field of flowers with a carefree expression and his head above the clouds. "So that's everyone." Kyouya finished.
"Wait a moment! We don't know what type he is!" the twins said in unison as they clasped their hands together
"Type?" Yuki asked as she tilted her head in confusion. This Host Club stuff was weird.
It was then that Tamaki's mind returned to the earth and he spun and struck a dramatic pose. "Allow me to educate you on the matter my son! Every host has a different type. Kyouya is the cool type, Hani-senpai is the Loli-shota type, Mori-senpai is the strong and silent type, the twins are the devil type!"
Yuki nodded her head as to show that she understood. "And last but not least, we have me, the King of Hosts, the princely type!" Tamaki exclaimed dramatically as sparkles and roses framed his flawless face. Yuki could almost see the field of flowers and a large castle in the background.
Yuki sweat dropped at the Host king's antics. 'Is he always like this?' she thought as she stared at Tamaki with a blank expression.
"Don't worry he's always like this." Kyouya answered, having already guessed what Yuki was thinking. She supposed it was normal for people to be thinking that after seeing Tamaki for the first time.
"So what type will you be?" Tamaki pondered as he struck a thinking pose.
"Umm... I dunno..." Yuki mumbled quietly.
"Well... Hmmm..." Tamaki pondered before smiling as an idea popped into his mind. Suddenly, Tamaki twirled around before holding out a fragrant red rose to Yuki with a dashing smile.
Yuki was slightly taken aback by this action but decided to accept the rose as to not hurt Tamaki's fragile feelings. "T-Thank you..." Yuki said as her big eyes peered up at Tamaki cutely and she gavve a small smile.
"So.... CUTE~!" the twins chimed simultaneously as they spun each other around in circles. "Eh?" Yuki said in confusion.
"I have decided. You shall be the shy type!" Tamaki declared pointing a finger at Yuki who was clearly confused. "But..."
"You're right Tono. It suits him really well." the twins chimed as they have Yuki two identical smirks. Yuki had a bad feeling about those looks they were giving her.
"Yeah! Yesterday all Yuki-chan had to do was mutter a few shy responses and he was surrounded by girls!" Hani-senpai exclaimed with a closed eyed smile. "Yeah..." Mori-senpai agreed.
"Okay. Shy type it is." Kyouya concluded as he scribbled something in his book.
A few minutes later, Yuki had received a long list of reservations. The word had already spread that there was a new host, and she had already gain many fans from her interactions witth some of the customers the day before. She dutifully moved towards the white sofa where three of her customers were waiting rather excitedly. As she approached, their smiles seemed to grow wider and wider in anticipation.
"So... Yuki-kun..." One of the girls began. "Y-Yes?" She replied timidly.
"What's your life at home like?" She asked as she took a sip out of her tea cup.
"Ummm..." Yuki drifted off as she paused to think of how to answer such a question. 'KYA! Yuki-kun's thinking expression is so cute!' they all thought as they fangirled inwardly.
'Well, I can't just say: 'It's tough and tiring I have to train for three hours every day.' Wouldn't they think that I was weird? I don't want that...' She thought as she tried to think of something to say.
"Um.. I guess it'd be like anyone else's life here at Ouran. " Yuki replied nervously as she avoided their eyes slightly to make it seem like she couldn't look at them in the eye because she was too shy to do so. Their eyes sparkled at the adorable host and they all sighed happily.
"Yeah! It probably would be Yuki-kun." they sighed with hearts in their eyes, not minding her vague answer.
|~|~|~|After host club hours|~|~|~|
The busy hosts lounged around the sofas as they recovered from the onslaught of guests for the day. "So. How did you find your first day as a host?" Kyouya asked as he jotted down notes in his clipboard.
"Yeah. It was okay." Yuki replied with a shrug of her shoulders. It was no big deal, she had gone through more strenuous things in her life. Satisfied with her answer the Host King lifted her up into the air. "Good job today my son!!!" Tamaki said as he span her around in circles with surprising ease. The other hosts watched as a blur of brown spun out and fell onto the floor. Noticing this, Tamaki stopped in his tracks and let Yuki down
"Ah! Dizzy..." Yuki mumbled as she fell to the ground. Her vision was distorted and her mind felt like it was fuzzy.
"Yuki... Y-your hair." Tamaki stuttered, with a shocked expression.
"What about it?" she asked as she felt her own head. As she smoother her hand down her hair her eyes widened as her locks extended past her shoulders. She gasped. It was long. Her eyes flicked to her messy wig, now flat on the floor several metres away from her.
" Did Yuki's hair grow? Wow, so fast! Did magic make it grow?" Hani-senpai asked with curious round eyes
Yuki quickly grabbed her wig and ran out the door as the host club members yelled out her name. 'It's finished. Father's not going to be happy. It'll be just like after mother's funeral. All over again.' Yuki thought as tears began falling down her cheeks. She continued to run away from the room, unaware of her surroundings. She just wanted to escape from it all.
Once she opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by roses and shrubbery. The scent of the roses and their pink and red hues made her recall those happy memories of so long ago. 'Mother...'
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a large amount of footsteps coming closer and closer. But there was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
"Yuki!" a voice shouted from afar. She knew it was them. She froze on the spot facing away from her pursuers. "Why didn't you tell us that you were a girl?" a soft voice cried out.
Yuki stayed silent.
"Is it because of your father?" another voice questioned.
More silence filled the air.
"Please Yuki, talk to us!" a pair of voices begged.
"No! I don't want to talk about it! It's none of your business!" she shouted with venom in her voice.
"But-"
"I said it's none of your business." she growled adding a glare in their direction with tears in her eyes.
"Yuki we can help. We just need to know why." Tamaki said in his gentle mellow voice.
'I can't tell them the real reason. They'd hate me. They'd think that I was using the club to beat Hani.' Yuki thought. One part of her wanted to remain loyal to her father, but the other was begging and longing to let it all out and trust in others.
"The purpose of the Host Club is to make girls happy. And since you're a girl, we need to help you too." Kyouya stated kindly. Yuki was surprised at his words and felt touched by them. However, her fear of disappointing her father was stronger and she built up her resolve. 'I need to lie.'
"Okay." she replied as she took a deep breath. 'Think! Think! Think!'
"My father always wanted a boy so he wanted me to dress as a boy. He's always said that boys would get the job done right. " Yuki explained with her eyes staring at the ground. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. He had always wanted a boy to take over the dojo and bring honour to the family name. It was believable.
The other host members fell silent as they all reflected on what Yuki had just said. In one way or another, they could all relate to the constant pressure that their parents had put on them to succeed and attain perfection.
"So... can I still be in the Host Club?" Yuki asked as she looked at them with her round olive eyes. All of their eyes zeroed in on Kyouya - the mastermind behind it all. Without his approval, it would likely be difficult to move forward as a group. At last, Kyouya replied.
"Okay. As long as you keep your secret well hidden." Kyouya reminded. The rest of the members cheered and rushed around Yuki for a group hug. Yuki felt squished but it felt good to be a part of something. "Yep! I definitely will now!" She said with a genuine smile.
'Let's hope I can keep both secrets. One from my father one from the school.'
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Edited: 1/06/2022