Chapter 3

With the ring of the final bell, Shion sighed in relief and put his things away. Sadly, he didn't have music in his first semester, though it wasn't that much of a disappointment as he had drama instead. He seemed to make a good first impression being with the type of crowd he was accustomed to. Most of them were more down to earth than other crowds—comparatively.

Some seemed to know him from the plays he starred in as a child. Others from soap operas as a child actor. Another from a show he starred in a few years ago.

"Hmm..." Now that he was thinking about his childhood, "I should get into contact with Haruhi."

Shion twirled the keys he had been loaned around his finger and started his trek across the school to the music wing. He needed the space to practice for the time being as practising music in an apartment setting was not ideal.

I would get so many complaints it wouldn't be funny. It's difficult to be quiet and sound good on a trumpet.

Arriving at his destination, the first thing Shion did was to check if the door was locked—and for some reason, it was not. Frowning, the first thought that popped to mind was something akin to a horror movie, though he reasoned it was just open for cleaning or something.

Opening the door, Shion was greeted by a breeze with rose petals floating by. The first thing he saw after being blinded was a group of men standing in a formation that was clearly rehearsed.

"Welcome Princess to the Host Club!"

Shion stared at them in confusion and disbelief for a second, nothing going through his mind as it malfunctioned. Nope. He closed the door immediately. What the hell did I just witness?... Wait a minute... He recalled seeing the telltale colour of blond hair and the gleam of glasses as he abruptly shut the door. "Why the fuck did they call me a Princess...?"

Since he was obviously at the wrong room, he looked up to see that the number on his key and the number on this door were indeed different. "Oh." Then he recalled the two classmates he just saw to visit them. I'm not too sure about it now, but fuck it, it looks entertaining.

"Hey... Wasn't that...? It was!" Tamaki shouted and ran to the door, not wanting Shion to run off. He didn't think that Shion would actually show up, but waiting turned out to be worth it.

Shion sighed and opened the door rather forcefully, and Tamaki, who had run over to drag Shion back after realizing that it was him, was hit by the large door. Shion heard a hollow thud but dismissed it for the door hitting the wall.

There was no one else in the room other than the club members at the moment, and from the name of the club, Shion knew exactly what it was about.

"Ootori-san... This is the kind of club you run?" He gestured around him, raising an unamused eyebrow—but of course, he was acting. He just felt like messing with them, "I didn't expect you to be a playboy. Though Suoh-san surely fits the role," he chuckled to himself.

"What do you mean by that Hakuba?!" Tamaki jumped up from his ball-of-pain on the floor.

"You mean you aren't a deceiving playboy who toys with feeble woman's hearts?" Shion teased, "Because that was quite the impression you made."

Tamaki fell into his emo corner and poked at some mushrooms that magically appeared. "I am not a playboy..." he mumbled incoherently.

"Oh wow." Kaoru couldn't help but admire what the new person was doing and their counterpart looked to feel the same way.

Hikaru held his chin in thought, "Yeah, he has Tamaki around his finger."

They were wondering why everyone was told to stay after the weekly club meeting. Tamaki was more energetic than he usually was and that usually warranted a special event.

"Hmm..." Shion mused, a sly smirk growing as he saw Tamaki sulk. "Ootori-san, do you think I went too far?"

"He will recover soon enough," Kyoya replied, mildly amused, and Shion couldn't help but agree. Tamaki was like the stock market with how his mood fluctuated—crashing without warning.

Looking to the side, Shion noticed two ginger-haired, seemingly identical twins approach and start circling him like vultures. He didn't like the vibes that he was getting from them.

"So, who are you?"

Shion turned to the two voices and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, my name is Hakuba Shion."

"He transferred here from America where he used to attend–"

"Thanks, you information broker," Shion jabbed at Kyoya, his expression was threatening as he said, "but mind your own fucking business."

Kyoya was taken aback by the harsh words, while the twins looked amused, apparently relishing in his treatment of Kyoya. No one talked to him in that tone and got away with it.

"Oh!" Hikaru plopped his fist into an open palm, "You're that guy Tamaki wouldn't stop talking about at lunch!" Kaoru pitched in, "The one with the aura of a host he said."

Shion's annoyance dimmed with mild amusement. Did he really have this aura they were talking about? But it was Tamaki, he was all kinds of weird. Well, at least from what he knew since meeting him. "So I'm assuming you want me to join. Or am I wrong, Suoh-san?"

"Yes! A new protégé would most definitely liven up the host club!" Tamaki bounded out of his emo state and was filled with enthusiasm.

"It looks plenty lively to me already."

"Nonsense!" Then Tamaki went into a full-on rant that no one bothered to listen to.

"Now, you haven't met any of the other members yet have you?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I want—"

They took that as a cue to introduce themselves.

"I'm Hikaru–"

"I'm Kaoru–"

"And together we are the Hitachin twins!" As per their gimmick, they twirled around and embraced in a dramatic hug. Shion levelled them with a stare and chose to turn away once they started putting on their act of brotherly love.

"I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but everybody just calls me Hani!" He lifted up the stuffed animal in his arms to give Shion a better look, "and this is Usa-chan!"

Shion had to look down to see who was talking. Hani looked to be a kid with a pink bunny, and he would have been fooled if they weren't wearing the school's uniform. A chill went down his spine from the nickname. No thank you, child protection services. Go away. I don't need a swat team busting down my door.

Mister tall dark and quiet took his turn after the loli. He nodded and a deep voice resonated in the air, "Mori." That was it. A man of few words. Shion thought that was just a saying as he'd never met anyone that fit that description before, but there was a first for everything.

What black magic sorcery is this? From the colour of their ties, Shion could tell that those two were third years and they couldn't be more different. Hani looked like a grade-schooler with how short he was and large his eyes were, not to mention the pink bunny in tow. On the other side of the coin was Mori who did not look like he should be in a high school setting.

He should be paying mortgage bills and drinking whiskey with how old he looks. Shion absently wondered what the drinking age was now that the topic was in mind.

He glanced to the other person in the room and narrowed his eyes at the short-haired brunette. They weren't paying attention to the commotion and he seemed mildly familiar. Shion walked closer for a closer look, for his eyes sucked—that's why he had glasses, and upon closer inspection, he came to see that he was actually a she—a she that he knew very well.

"...Haruhi?" He raised his eyebrows in shock, she looked just as he remembered her—excluding the suit and cropped hair.

She, however, narrowed hers in confusion. Haruhi couldn't remember him, "Do I know you?"

"Well, of course, you wouldn't remember me," Shion looked down and adjusted his glasses forlornly, " it's been about ten years, and my last name changed when my mother married again."

"You mean?" Shion nodded. "You're that Shion?" Haruhi looked over Shion again. It couldn't be that pretty boy with a horrible personality. Gone were those large wide eyes and soft jaw, and in came the sharp jaw and eyes. I didn't think he would look so... dangerous? She got that vibe she usually felt from the shadier students from him.

"Mmhmm... Lots of things happened while I was gone, huh? Not to mention you posing as a guy... Which I bet has to do with these guys." He jabbed a thumb in Kyoya's and Tamaki's direction with a subtle dirty look. "Though I just hope Ryoji hadn't rubbed off on you."

"Haruhi here has to pay off a debt."

"A debt? For what?"

"She has broken a vase which we were going to auction off."

"Hmm, well you've got quite the handful don't you, Haruhi?" Shion grinned and ruffled her hair, knowing full well that she wouldn't like it.

She brushed his hand away with a scowl and scoffed, "No kidding."

"Ah... well, I've visited like you had asked Ootori-san. So I'll be taking my leave." This group of people was too much for him. Tamaki and Kyoya were enough alone during class and he wanted time to wind down from the chaos.

"Hakuba-san."

Shion sighed irritably and turned to the owner of that wise-ass, silvered voice, "What, Ootori." He could feel his irritation spike when he saw the plastic smile on Kyoya's face.

"You need to use music room number two, correct?"

Shion narrowed his eyes, from that tone he knew that he was planning something, "Yes. What of it, Ootori-san."

"My apologies, but we actually use it as a storage room. If you would like to use it, you will have to get our express permission."

Shion jingled the keys and twirled them around a finger, raising an eyebrow. He knew what game Kyoya was playing. "The Principal gave me the key to the room."

"Ah, but that didn't mean that it wasn't already occupied."

Shion caught the keys and raised his chin to look down on Kyoya. "Whose word is law here Ootori? I believe that the Principals would be, wouldn't it?" He chuckled lowly and his eyes moved to Tamaki who visibly flinched before returning to Kyoya with a wanton smile.

The host's simply stared and observed the argument, Tamaki and Hani oblivious to the malice in the air.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Definitely Kyoya," the Hitachiin twins whispered amongst the club members.

Shion growled in frustration, "Then let me take a wild guess. You want me to join the host club in exchange for using 'your' storage room." He air quoted with a roll of his eyes.

"You catch on quickly."

"No fucking way," Shion blurted, and Kyoya was caught unaware—he wasn't expecting that sort of answer. "Why should I join just to use the other room when I could just use one of the regular music rooms instead?" Shion countered. He didn't want to be forced into such things.

Kyoya, for some reason, was determined to get Shion to join. Kyoya hadn't had anyone refuse a deal from him before and it was something new. "Though the reason you need the rooms was for privacy. With the regular music room, you would not get such a thing."

"And why should I believe that you will give me this privacy that I seek? Because hell if I know Tamaki won't just barge in during his random bouts of energy," Shion scoffed, crossing his arms.

The twins laughed and Haruhi made a noise at the back of her throat, obviously finding that funny while Tamaki looked offended.

Another sigh escaped Shion's mouth. He was tired and being irritated was exhausting him further. "Well, the pros outweigh the cons and this way I would get to see Haruhi again... So, I'll accept on one condition. If I'm busy with something important I want the privilege to be able to skip out and do what I need to do."

"Then you have to come to the club at least four days a week unless it's urgent."

Anger welled up inside him, and he didn't have the energy to keep it in check. Shion's fists clenched while his brows furrowed and his eyes held an unrestrained ferocity that alarmed Kyoya. "What are you talking about have to. There is nothing to keep me from not coming," Shion argued. He reined his anger in and it was replaced with a cold, tired glare. "You're trying to force me into this Ootori-san and that is not convincing me any further. My response to this obvious manipulation?"

"Fuck. You."

He broke eye contact with Kyoya and looked to Haruhi with a faint smile, "I'll catch up with you later Haruhi."

"Shion wai—"

Haruhi's call was unheard as the door closed behind her childhood friend.

"Ooh, Kyoya's been rejected~"

"Hikaru, he'll hear you!" The twins were talking posh.

"Kyoya. Shion doesn't like being controlled. If you want him in the club, he would have to join on his own." Haruhi advised. Looking back, she realized that even as kids Shion could see through the adult's facades.

"Hmm," Kyoya watched Shion exit the room after hearing him mumble some incoherent words that he recognized as swears in English.

• • • • • •

"I can't believe the nerve! Rich people and their stupid inflated egos." He stormed down to the next music room to happily find that no one was currently inside. Now he could vent without anybody seeing. He sat down with an angry thump and brought his red book out and played one of his older pieces that he was currently revamping.

An angry refrain, the intensity of which was astounding. The volume, the accents of the short staccato notes emphasizing the explosive anger that happened in the heat of the moment. The key changed and with it came a sad portion of the song, representing the sad, wet anger full of grief and guilt. Using a rest, a dissonant chord jolted the feeling of the song into broken anger, sad and emotional but logical from the consistent string of base notes tying everything together. He ended the piece with a flare, a decrescendo with a loud double forte ending chord. He sighed and wiped his brow from the sweat that gathered under his bangs. He had written in things to fix and the pages of the score were littered with a lot of writing saying what to fix and what to leave alone.

Leaning back on the bench he looked at the clock he noticed that it was getting late, it was 6:30. He still had to unpack all his stuff at his apartment and set up his studio. He wiped the sweat and fingerprints off of the keys of the piano with a handkerchief that he always had on him.

"I haven't vented like that for a while." He felt lighter than usual, and after cleaning up, he was leaving when he noticed the door was open. Exiting the room, he came face to face with the one person he hadn't wanted to see and his once relieved self became tense again, "Ahem, Ootori-san..."

"Hakuba."

Behind Kyoya were the Hitachin twins and Tamaki who looked panicked.

"Oh, so you were the one playing that," Hikaru noticed from Shion closing the door behind him.

"You must have been really pissed off to play like that," Kaoru laughed.

"Yeah, and just who do you think made me angry?" He mumbled, obviously referring to Kyoya. Turning on his heel, he left the hosts in his dust before they could somehow convince him to join again.

"Kyoya, I think he's mad at you," Hani voiced and Mori nodded, fully agreeing with him. "I think he needs an apology."

"He won't forgive you anytime soon, I know that from experience. He's not a very forgiving person."

Not even to himself.

• • • • • •

Hello! I hope the story is enjoyable so far!

Please try to give me feedback on either if a character is Ooc, the grammar or spelling, or just to leave a reaction.

Anything helps motivate me really. XD