• ¬Chapter 1: The Arrival and the Game
    Setsuka brushed through her hip-length jet black hair once more and sighed. She REALLY hated moving. And what’s more, moving to some rich neighborhood! Her mother marrying some rich man was aggravating, really aggravating. But at least she wasn’t the only one that was new; the whole Oshaiyo family moved out here. Oshaiyo was Setsuka’s new stepdad’s last name, and she refused to be called by it. She loved her last name; Matsuri. And she would never replace it, because that last name and photos were the only memories left of her father.
    ‘I suppose that there IS one good thing about moving here,’ she thought sullenly. Here, she met Oshaiyo Izumi, or rather, her new step-sister. Izumi had beautiful, wavy shoulder-length blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes with little specks of gold in them, while Setsuka had plain, straight hip-length black hair and light green eyes with little specks of silver in them. While she found a best friend in Izumi, she couldn’t help but feel jealous of her. Sure, she looked pretty, some people even say beautiful, but standing next to her step-sister, she was only second-best. The silver that compliments the gold, just as you can see from their eyes. That’s why whenever Izumi complimented on how much she loved her silver-specked eyes, Setsuka always thought that she had silver for a reason; she would never be able to surpass Izumi. Well, at least she thought so.
    “SETSUKA. Get your a** down here, already!” Izumi screamed from the bottom of the stairs. Setsuka cringed. Even in this big mansion, Izumi’s voice rang out like a bell. A LOUD bell.
    “I’m coming, geez! Cool your jets. Don’t scream so loud or my ears’ll start to bleed!” she retorted. Checking her reflection one last time, and adding her signature big neon green bow at the back of her head and her two neon green bobby pins to keep her bangs to the left side of her face, Setsuka grabbed her backpack and ran out the bedroom door, down to the kitchen, grabbed some toast, and ran for the limousine before Izumi left without her.
    “Honestly, Setsuka, I don’t know WHAT takes you so long in the morning,” Izumi remarked, sighing.
    “You know I love sleeping in!” Setsuka said.
    “Well, it’s gonna be the death of you one day! You’ll wake up in the middle of a burning forest, with no way to escape, and the whole time you’ll be thinking, “I should’ve listened to Izumi!” but you NEVER LISTEN. And then, when you’re burning, you’ll think of all the things you missed out on, all the anime conventions you never got to go to, and you’ll regret being a night owl, and always sleeping in! YOU’LL SEE!” she ranted. A few seconds of silence passed between them before they started howling with laughter. That was why Setsuka loved being with Izumi. They were both anime fanatics, both random, and both stubborn, making their arguments with each other the most hilarious things.
    “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll set an alarm tomorrow,” Setsuka agreed, still chuckling at how idiotic her friend could be. Izumi nodded; happy she got her point across, she started humming a lullaby. Setsuka looked out the window. She was just a “commoner who got lucky” around these parts, and whenever she talked to Izumi about it, Izumi giggled and said Setsuka was probably the furthest thing from common. While she always said that she didn’t belong with rich bastards, she couldn’t help a smile and a twinkle of excitement in her eyes from escaping her usually composed features. They were almost at Ouran Academy, where all the wealthy go, and apparently, according to some people that Izumi talked to on registration day, there were 6 good-looking boys in that school that lived to entertain women. The Host Club, she thought it was called. While that sounded player-ish of them, she did still want to meet them. ‘Who can resist hot guys?’ she thought. Certainly not her, and Izumi was even worse. Hell, Izumi was probably the worst flirt she knew.
    “Hey, Izumi,” Setsuka called.
    “Yeah?”
    “Try not to steal the whole Host Club from me, okay? 3 and 3. We’ll be like female pimps!”
    Izumi laughed. “Yeah, yeah.” She held up a picture a fan girl gave her. “I want that blonde one in the chair, the tall black-haired one, and the twin on the right.”
    “So you want Tamaki-sempai, Mori-sempai, and Hikaru?”
    “How do you remember their names?”
    “Because I actually listened to the rambling fan girls enough to catch their names.”
    “Loser.”
    “Love you too, Izumi. Besides, I want Kyouya-sempai, Kaoru, and Hunny-sempai anyways.” Setsuka remarked.
    “Ohh, Hunny-sempai is too cute! And apparently the twins have a sweet brotherly love act. You know I love my yaoi! Who do you think we should request today?” They spent the rest of the limo ride talking about who they should request, and figured that today, they’d request the twins, tomorrow Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai, and the day after tomorrow, Izumi would request Tamaki-sempai, and Setsuka would request Kyouya-sempai. As the two got out of the limo, and walked into the building, all eyes were on the new students. Both were wearing the male uniform, because the female uniform made them look like lemons, and they were too poofy.
    “Are you ready?” Izumi asked.
    “No.” Setsuka replied.
    “Neither am I.” Both of them sighed, took a deep breath, and opened the door to class 1-A.
    The thing neither of them was expecting was being in the same class as the twins. Class hadn’t started yet, but when it did, they’d have to introduce themselves. Yuck.
    “Haruhi!” Two voices called in perfect synchronization. There was a groan of despair. Izumi turned to where the voices came from, her eyes widening in realization, and she spun towards Setsuka.
    “Setsuka!” she whispered harshly. “We’re in the same class as the twins!” she squealed and started giggling. Setsuka looked at her friend, sometimes wishing that Izumi could be less of a fan girl. Her squealing got people’s attention, and Setsuka hated drawing attention to herself. Stage fright issues. She walked over to a desk in the back, not realizing she actually sat next to Kaoru. Hikaru, Haruhi, and Kaoru were all giving her a look, puzzlement from Haruhi’s and Kaoru’s, while Hikaru’s made her think of the saying, “If looks could kill”.
    She turned to Kaoru and Haruhi. “What? A person can’t sit down?” She pointed to Hikaru. “You must be one overprotective brother, man,” gave him a pointed glare, and repositioned herself by Izumi, way in the corner by the back.
    “You chased the new kid away, Hikaru!” Kaoru whined.
    “You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here anymore,” Setsuka said.
    “Well, I don’t like strangers sitting next to my brother, Kaoru.”
    “Hello, I’m right here, I don’t like being called a stranger!”
    “It’s a classroom, it’s not like she’s gonna murder me or anything.” The kid in the middle just sighed. Setsuka smacked her head against her desk and started wondering if all rich kids were that dumb. Izumi snickered.
    “Hey, wait,” Izumi remarked, looking at Haruhi. “The fan girls told me about the twins but who’re you?”
    “You don’t have to be so rude about it, Izumi,” Setsuka looked at her step-sister. “Baka.” Before the conversation of sorts could continue any further, the teacher walked in, and called Izumi and Setsuka up to introduce themselves.
    “Oshaiyo Izumi, pleased to be here!” Izumi remarked happily, smiling a most gorgeous smile.
    “Matsuri Setsuka, pleased to meet you!” Setsuka called and smiled a big smile. Nobody except for Izumi could tell it was fake, though. Only she knew Setsuka wasn’t enjoying herself, uncomfortable around “those rich bastards” and almost burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking. Setsuka gave her a quizzical look, but dismissed it as Izumi being an idiot. Whether the twin’s eyes widened at their smiles, or just how utterly enthusiastic they could be was left to their imagination. The teacher nodded, and told Setsuka to sit on Kaoru’s left, and Izumi to Hikaru’s right, so they “wouldn’t disturb the class with their chattering”.
    “How rude,” Setsuka muttered. “Just because we’re girls doesn’t mean we talk all the time. Sexist pig.” Kaoru just laughed. This girl intrigued him.
    ^_^
    “Hiya! I’m Izumi,” she said to Hikaru. He just glanced at her. “…What? Are you still mad at Setsuka? Sorry, she doesn’t really pay attention to what she does half the time.”
    “Gee, thanks for the support. Maybe he just thinks you’re annoying. I did when I first met you,” she mumbled. Izumi ignored her and Hikaru cracked a small smile.
    The girl in the middle said, “You asked who I was, right? I’m Haruhi. It’s nice to meet you,” she smiled.
    “Nice to meet you too! At least somebody’s hospitable,” she remarked, glaring at Hikaru.
    His smile dropped and Kaoru said, “Sorry about Hikaru. He tends to hold grudges, and the seating’s annoying him since he wasn’t happy about Setsuka-chan sitting by me in the first place. Give him until lunch.” Setsuka just rolled her eyes at Hikaru’s possessiveness and childish instincts, and turned her attention to the front. Izumi giggled, and Hikaru looked at her. For some reason, he wanted to get to know this girl.
    >_>
    Lunch came quickly for Izumi, since she slept through most of her classes. Setsuka had no such luck, however, and had to listen to the twin’s constant whining, Haruhi’s constant attempts to shut them up, and the droning of the teachers about how math and history and all those things were important. She was starved by lunchtime.
    “It’s karma for sleeping in late,” Izumi said, and snickered. “After all, you only had a piece of toast. Poor girl.” She shook her head. Setsuka mumbled something about rich bastards and early risers and started devouring her food while the twins and Haruhi looked at her in fascination.
    “Does she have any manners at all?” Hikaru whispered to Izumi.
    “Not when she’s hungry,” she replied.
    Setsuka scoffed. “You’re one to talk, Izumi! You’re even worse when you’re hungry.” Izumi stuck her tongue out at her and gave her a glare, and Setsuka just swallowed her mouthful of sushi and smiled. The twins laughed.
    “I’m around idiots 24/7,” Haruhi grumbled.
    “What?” the four people in question asked, not quite hearing her.
    “Nothing, nothing at all,” she replied and sighed.
    “So are you guys gonna go visit the Host Club today?” the twins asked simultaneously.
    “Yeah. We were actually gonna request you guys today,” Izumi replied.
    “Yup, because Izumi’s got a thing for yaoi,” Setsuka remarked. Izumi hit her over the head and she laughed. The twins had a devious look in their eyes, but before anyone could ask what they were planning, the warning bell rang. Izumi grabbed Setsuka by the wrist and dragged her off to class, humming a little song, while Setsuka sighed and grumbled about not wanting to go back to class. The twins looked at each other and shrugged, grabbed Haruhi, and ran off to catch up with the two girls.

    <_<
    “So… where’s Haruhi? I thought you’d drag him along too,” Setsuka inquired.
    “He’s visiting his mother’s tombstone,” Hikaru said.
    “Ah, okay.”
    “You didn’t have to literally drag us out of the door, you know. We would’ve followed you anyway,” Izumi grumbled.
    “Well, yeah, but… we got impatient,” Kaoru answered.
    ‘Geez, these two…’ both Setsuka and Izumi thought.
    “You guys are gonna love the host club!” they said at the same time, and opened the door to the Third Music Room, but not before hiding both Setsuka and Izumi behind their backs.
    A flurry of rose petals and one, “Welcome!” later, Izumi found herself screaming in agony.
    “What, what happened?” Setsuka asked.
    “I got a rose petal stuck in my eye,” she remarked. The twins started laughing, Tamaki looked guilty, Hunny and Mori were standing there looking innocent, Kyouya was writing in his black notebook, and Setsuka was rushing around trying to help Izumi. “Okay, okay, I got it out!” she yelled.
    “I’m so sorry! I never thought that the rose petals would hurt anyone!” Tamaki cried suddenly.
    The twins sighed. “You had to get the rose petal in your eye. You ruined the surprise for the rest of the club,” they said sadly.
    “You would’ve just pushed us towards them anyway. I personally thought this entrance was much more entertaining,” Setsuka said.
    “Anyways,” they said, “This is Matsuri Setsuka,” Kaoru pointed to Setsuka, “and this is Oshaiyo Izumi,” Hikaru pointed to Izumi.
    While Tamaki was trying to sway Izumi’s feelings to his favor and forgive him for getting a rose petal jammed in her eye, Setsuka pranced over to Hunny-sempai and hugged him tightly. “So cute,” she cooed, a kitty face decorating her features. (A/N: A kitty face is :3 if you didn’t know.)
    “Ne ne, Setsu-chan, Izu-chan, do you like cake?” Hunny inquired.
    Setsuka stood up straight. “Cake?”
    “Oh boy, you had to say it. Setsuka loves cake,” Izumi sighed. Kyouya groaned and mumbled something unintelligible. “Um, Kyouya-sempai, why do you look so mad?” she asked.
    “We have to pay for even more cake now,” he replied coldly, sliding into his chair and beginning to type away on his laptop. Setsuka laughed.
    “If you don’t want me eating your cake, you could just say so, y’know. I’d eat some later when Izumi and I request the twins, anyway,” Setsuka said while poking Kyouya’s head to get his attention. When he sent her a glare that said, ‘Get away, now’, she shrunk behind Kaoru.
    “He’s scary,” she muttered. Everybody laughed, except for Izumi, who was shivering behind Hikaru, and Kyouya himself.
    “HE IS! You can’t laugh about it!” Izumi yelled. His glasses glinted before he turned back to his laptop, and the girls shuddered again.
    “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” Tamaki screamed. Setsuka hit him on the head.
    “It isn’t like he’s gonna murder us over cake, Tamaki-sempai,” she said. Tamaki ran over to his little corner, drawing squiggles on the floor and growing mushrooms, and Izumi ran over to console him.
    “You’re so mean, Setsuka!” she called.
    “But, Izu-chan, Tama-chan’s always like that, whenever somebody goes against something he says, right, Takashi?”
    “Ah,” he replied simply, while watching Tamaki’s dark aura go even darker. Everyone laughed at this, and Setsuka apologized for hitting him, and he cheered up immediately.
    “He sure gets over it fast enough,” she muttered, thinking, ‘Drama queen,’ in her head.
    Izumi poked Mori on the shoulder. “You don’t talk much, do you, Mori-sempai?” she asked. He just looked at her. “Guess that’s a no,” she mumbled. She felt a slight pressure on her back, and looked back to find Hikaru pushing her towards the door. She looked towards Setsuka and found Kaoru doing the exact same thing to her.
    “What’re you DOING?” the two girls asked at the same time.
    “We have to get ready, so come back in 15 minutes!” they replied enthusiastically, and rudely shut the door in their faces.
    “So, how’re you feeling exploring for 15 minutes, Izumi?” Setsuka inquired.
    “We’d probably get lost,” she replied. They looked at each other, sighed, and sat down on floor, waiting.
    >_> ^_^ <_<
    Setsuka and Izumi were the first people in 15 minutes later, Izumi being careful to shield her eyes, and heard another welcome from the 6 boys.
    Some girls asked, “Where’s Haruhi-kun?”
    “Haruhi’s visiting her mother’s tombstone today, so she went home early,” the twins said. The girls just squealed at how caring Haruhi was, or something along those lines. The Hosts were dressed in an Egyptian-looking style, and Setsuka blinked.
    “Hey, Setsuka, they’re COSPLAYERS,” Izumi whispered, and they cheered in their heads. Cosplayers were their kind of people. The two step-sisters pranced over to Hikaru and Kaoru’s table, and sat down.
    “So…” Setsuka started, “Where’s my cake?”
    Izumi snorted, trying to hold back her laugh, and replied, “You fatass.” Setsuka just gave her a look that said ‘Your point is…?’ and waited for the cake.
    “I feel like we’re being used for our cake, Hikaru,” Kaoru replied, his eyes watering.
    “No, Kaoru, don’t cry! Even if they’re using us, I’ll always love you!” he remarked, holding Kaoru’s face between his two hands.
    “Hikaru!” Kaoru cried, and most of the girls, Izumi included, squealed, but she didn’t faint like the other girls.
    “Good job at not fainting, Izumi. HAVE SOME DIGNITY!” Setsuka cried out.
    “I am feeling kinda lightheaded though. MOE IS TOO CUTE!” she yelled, and joined the crazy screaming Moe fan girls. Setsuka just rolled her eyes and ate her cake. The rest of the 2 hours consisted of commenting on the twins’ brotherly love act, eating sweets, drinking tea, having irregular conversations like which commoner ramen brand is the best, and which commoner coffee brand is the best, watching the other girls fumble and stumble for words whenever the twins decided to use their “charm” on them, and the girls talking to Setsuka and Izumi about their life before and how they liked it at Ouran, seeming genuinely interested. When it was about time to leave, Setsuka and Izumi started getting up, but Tamaki told them to stay after everyone left, because he wanted to ask them something.
    As soon as the last girl left and the door closed, Tamaki spun around and yelled, “HOW DID YOU GET THE GIRLS TO BE SO INTERESTED IN YOU WHEN YOU’RE GIRLS? IT ISN’T NATURAL!” Izumi magically disappeared from her spot by Setsuka’s side, and Setsuka just gave a sheepish grin, and as Tamaki started stomping his way towards her, Izumi chucked a banana peel by his feet, and Tamaki slipped, grabbing the nearest table for support, breaking one of its legs and making all the tea cups and other various pieces of china fall and shatter onto the ground.
    “Ooooh,” the twins cried. “That was worth a lot of money.”
    “It wasn’t our fault!” the girls cried.
    “Well, technically, it was. Izumi threw the banana peel that caused Tamaki to fall, and I’m guessing you knew about it too, Setsuka, so you can’t try to wiggle your way out of it. You owe us over twice as much than Haruhi does,” Kyouya commented.
    “Great, just great,” Setsuka said, obviously ticked about their current situation.
    “So, how’re we supposed to pay it off? Our parents will refuse to do it for us,” Izumi stated.
    “Then, you’ll have to work in the Host Club!” Tamaki yelled in their ears.
    “But what’ll we do? We obviously can’t HOST,” the two yelled back at him.
    While Tamaki magically went back to his corner of woe, Kyouya replied, “Well, we are getting short on cooks and we don’t have anyone to serve our treats besides Haruhi, who should really stay with her designators. So you two can be both waitresses and cooks.”
    The two looked at each other and shrugged. “Sure,” they said. It wasn’t like they had anything better to do.
    “So make sure to tell your parents that you’ll be coming home around 5 every day,” the twins said enthusiastically.
    Kyouya handed them a stack of cookbooks. “Look through those tonight and see what you want to make so you can get started right away tomorrow,” he said.
    As the two were about to leave, the twins yelled, “Wait! Let’s play a game!”
    “What kind of game?” they asked.
    “The ‘Which one is Hikaru’ game!”
    “Do we have to?” Setsuka whined.
    “Yep!”
    Izumi sighed. “Fine, let’s play, then.”
    As the twins put on two identical caps, and zigged-zagged past each other a few times, the two girls were thinking about the differences between the two boys. When they were finally done and ready, Izumi pointed to the one on the right and said, “That one’s Hikaru,” and Setsuka pointed to the one on the left and said, “and that’s Kaoru.” The two boys looked astonished.
    “Did they get it right?” Hunny asked, his eyes portraying curiosity.
    “Y-Yeah,” the two stammered, obviously surprised. The girls only nodded in satisfaction.
    “Amazing, amazing!” Tamaki yelled, while going over to hug the two girls. “Only Haruhi’s gotten that right so far.”
    “Really? But it’s simple. See? Hikaru’s more to-the-point and blunt, but Kaoru tends to beat around the bush so he doesn’t hurt people’s feelings,” Izumi replied.
    “Yup, and Hikaru’s eyes always look more aggressive; almost like they’re saying, ‘Touch my brother and you die’, but Kaoru’s are more laid-back and understanding,” Setsuka added.
    “Well, we’ll see you tomorrow,” they said, walking out the door and calling a chauffeur to take them home while leaving six astonished boys behind in their wake.
    ~_~
    “…and that’s what happened,” the two girls finished, finally done explaining why they were so late to their parents.
    Setsuka’s mom sighed. “You two get into such odd things all the time,” she commented.
    “Well, I suppose you joining their club is fine, as long as you can finish your homework by the time you have to go to bed,” their dad remarked.
    “Hai hai!” they said, and ran off to their rooms to start their homework, wondering what crazy things awaited them tomorrow.