//Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.//

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

LOBELIA

Asami heaves a tired sigh, pancaking on the table in front of her. Kazuki eyes her worriedly and reaches over to pat her back in sympathy. She arrived early to school today to get away from her family for a bit. Learning about her future arranged marriage is weighing heavily on her mind. How could her father do this to her? How could he take away her autonomy? Her thoughts pause as she remembers that her father is merely a puppet whose strings are being pulled by her grandmother. Her grandmother becomes more and more horrible with each interaction. This is why Asami was forced to attend finishing school—not because she needed to learn how to be a proper lady, but so she learned how to be a proper wife. Wife...a shudder runs down her spine. She should not even be worrying about such things at her age. She wishes her father protected her from Shizue better.

"Asami, what's wrong?" Kazuki asks quietly. "Do I need to kill someone for you?" He reaches over and rests a worrying hand on hers.

"Yeah, I have a whole list for you to murder." She mumbles jokingly while lifting her head from the table. The list of suitors flash in her mind. She wonders who is all on it.

"Give me the list, I'll get it done by the weekend." He informs her in a serious tone. She laughs at him, running a hand through her hair.

"At least I know you'll always be my ride or die." She giggles and decides to get out her school supplies for the day. Kazuki fakes laugh, pretending that he wasn't legitimately offering to kill someone for her. She looks at the door with a slight frown. "Where is everyone? People are usually here earlier than me for class." Kazuki sends her a confused look.

"Today is the exhibition event for cultural clubs. Most people are with their club to prepare for the event." He informs her. She pauses and furrows her eyebrows.

"Why did I not know about this?" She groans. Tamaki must have forgotten to inform her. "So that means I have to get up to the host club room and prepare." She starts to put her things away, slowly rising from her seat when Kazuki puts a hand on her own to stop her actions. She tilts her head curiously at him.

"Not every club member needs to prepare, you only have to join them in the afternoon when people begin to go from club to club to observe the cultural event. Why don't you take the morning off and spend some time with me in the gardens?" He smiles at her. She hums and thinks for a moment. Since Tamaki and the rest of the host club forgot to tell her, she suspects that preparing for the cultural event must not be that important.

"Okay," she returns his smile. "Lead the way." He grabs her things and slings her bag over his shoulder while holding his hand out for her to take. She laughs, "what a gentleman," and takes his hand. The two head out of the classroom and begin to make their way to the gardens.

She sees many students rushing around the corridors, props and papers in hand. She watches in amusement at all the chaos when suddenly, someone bumps into her from behind. She stumbles forward and nearly falls on her face if it weren't for Kazuki hurriedly catching her. She gazes up to see a blond-haired boy with red eyes who is wearing a school uniform she does not recognize—a white blouse, gray cardigan and a tripped red and white tie.

"I'm terribly sorry for bumping into you," the unknown male apologized with a gentle smile on his face. Asami narrows her eyes, getting the feeling that this princely attitude is fake. "Are you alright? I do hope I didn't hurt you." A brunette, brown-eyed girl appears next to him wearing a similar school uniforms—expect she has on a yellow vest, a teal pleated skirt, and a stripped bow.

"I'm sorry about him!" She apologizes to them as well. "He tends to not watch where he's going." She laughs nervously, wrapping an arm around his.

"It's okay, I wasn't paying attention either." Asami lifts herself out of Kazuki's arms and brushes off her dress. "I'm Souh Asami," she holds out her hand. The boy has a flash of recognition in his eyes at her name. She turns to Kazuki for him to introduce himself, but he seems to have taken a few steps away from them with his arms crossed.

"I'm Shinohara Erika," the girl smiles brightly and shakes Asami's hand.

"I'm Sata Kyouya," he grabs Asami's hand and plants a gentle kiss onto it. Erika's face twitches in slight annoyance which causes Asami to think of two things: 1. They're dating or she at least likes him. Or 2. His princely act is fake and she's annoyed by it. Asami takes her hand back and wipes the kiss off on Kazuki's blazer. Erika and Kyouya both look a bit shocked at this action.

"You remind me a lot of my brother with the princely act." Asami comments with a grimace. "I hope you enjoy the cultural event, goodbye." She grabs Kazuki's hand and starts to quickly to the garden. "Lord, I hope we don't run into any other people." She grumbles.

"I think you jinxed yourself." Kazuki winces when they enter the garden only to see massive amounts of people in various different school uniforms. The two attempt to find a quiet place to sit; however, every single table and bench is taken by a group of people. Eventually, they find a table that only has three people sitting which is the least amount of people they have seen.

"Hello," she strolls up to the table with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to bother you, but every other table is completely full. May we sit here?" She points to the unaccompanied seats while observing the trio. One of the males has bright green eyes and spiky blond hair. The girl has brownish amber eyes with black hair. The other male has short, dark green hair and dark orange eyes.

"Of course!" The green haired boy happily exclaims. The other two frown, but agree with the earlier statement.

"Thank you." She tells them, sliding into the end seat with Kazuki. "My name is Souh Asami."

"Hayami Kazuki." Kazuki greets with narrowed eyes at the males.

"I'm Yukimura Shoichiro!" The dark haired informs her. "These are my friends, Ayuzawa Misaki and Usui Takumi." She nods her head at the quiet duo. "Are you apart of any of the clubs? You guys have so many, it's hard to decide which ones to visit."

"I help out my brother with his Host Club," she informs him. A scoffs interrupts her and she turns her head to face the girl.

"Host Club?" Misaki wrinkles her nose. "Men are unreliable, dirty and inconsiderate. The fact that is a club is ridiculous."

"All men may not be great, but my brother and his friends are amazing." Asami frowns.

"How amazing are they when they're fake fawning over girls for money?" Misaki comments. "They're giving numerous girls false  hope that she's the one when in reality, she's just a job. It's cruel." Asami blinks in surprise at the pure hatred for men, men she never even meant, coming from this girl.

"They're not forcing any of the girls to be there," Asami rises from her seat and gestures for Kazuki to do the same. "I think we overstayed our welcome here." She turns her attention onto Shoichiro. "I play music for the host club, I would love if you came to hear me play this afternoon." She sends a glare at Misaki. "Goodbye." Together, the two head out of the gardens. "How rude," she growls.

"I mean, she had a point." Kazuki flinches when Asami directs her anger onto him. "I meant to say she didn't have a point. How rude and ignorant of her, I can't believe it." Asami's anger dissipates and she smiles at him.

"Right, what does she know about the host club? Nothing." She laughs. "She's missing out on knowing amazing people." Kazuki's fists curls at the word amazing. The two decide to walk from club to club to see how they're coming along for the cultural event.

"Hello," a male with strawberry blond hair and violet eyes suddenly appears next to them with a group of nervous people behind him, "I heard there's a trivia competition. Do you know where that is being held?" In his hands is a map of the school.

"Oh, yeah," Asami looks at the map and points to a spot, "it's being held in classroom 3-A which is right there." He nods his head in thanks and leaves. "Are there any clubs you want to see today?" She asks Kazuki.

"Not particularly. Maybe the theater club just to see what act they're putting on. I heard it was between Romeo and Juliet or BeetleJuice."

"I hope they did BeetleJucie, what a classic. I wanted to see the musical in person, but never had the chance to."

"Asami, I think you forget that you're apart of a rich and influential family. I'm sure you could snag some tickets for a musical."

"I don't like using my name or my family money for things. It feels wrong."

"Why does it feel wrong? It's your name and your money now. You should be getting use to that."

"Still—" she cuts herself off after seeing a disturbing sight. "What are they doing?" Asami frowns at a group of seven males who are wearing bizarre outfits and are hiding in the darkest classroom with a single girl in the middle of them. "That looks entirely wrong," Kazuki grabs her and shakes his head when she goes to walk toward them, "but," she protests but is meant with a dark look. "Fine, I won't get involved. I should at least text Umehito and let him know he has possible recruits from other schools here." The one male with reddish  spiked hair and green eyes smirks at her, sending her a wink. "They're even wearing fake fangs." She shakes her head at them. "They'll fit in perfectly with the Dark Magic Club." She takes out her phone and sends a quick text to Umehito. Kazuki peaks at her phone and frowns at the contact name: Purrfection Sama. The small green monster in his soul rears up from its sleep.

From: Queen Kitty

Ume-senpai, I found some people that look like they'll fit in your club. They're from another school, but maybe they can start a dark magic club at their school and you guys can meet up on weekends 😊

From: Purrfection Sama

That is great news! Thank you for alerting me to possible new recruits. I do wish you would leave the Host Club and join us. We could have playdates with our cats during club meetings.

Asami smiles at that, imagining her five cats running around and playing with Umehito's cats. It would be fun, but anything dealing with the occult does freak her out—only a little bit because she believes in all of it so she feels like she might accidentally get a dark entity attached to her during a ritual. She groans when a new text notification shows up.

GROUP-CHAT NAME: THE HOST CLUB FAILURES

From: Servant Kaoru

Haruhi, Asami, if you aren't too busy right now, can you guys please grab more instant coffee for the club? Renge has never tried it and we're all out.

From: The Future King Hikaru

Go grab more coffee for your future king, my peasants.

From: Lowly Peasant Haruhi

No.

From: Duchess Asami

Who are you calling peasants 😑 why can't one of you go get it

From: The Future King Hikaru

We're busy setting up for the cultural event, what are you two doing? Or should I tell Tamaki that you both purposely skipped helping us because he's under the impression that you're both busy with something else. I wonder how our king would take that news 👀

From: Lowly Peasant Haruhi

Fine. Asami, I'll meet up with you at the front doors.

From: Duchess Asami

You're so mean Hikaru 😭 I'll see you there, Haruhi

Asami puts her phone away and sighs, turning to face Kazuki. "I'm sorry, but I have to make a supply run for the host club with Haruhi." Kazuki smiles at her.

"I understand, do you two need help carrying stuff?" He asks.

"Thank you, but I think we'll be fine." She stands on her tip toes and plants a quick kiss on his cheek. "Let's hang out later, okay? Let me know how the cultural event goes!" She rushes away, oblivious to the stunned male she left behind who is holding his cheek like it's precious treasure.

•••

Asami and Haruhi are strolling back to the school with bags of instant coffee in hand. Asami twirls while singing a song that has been stuck in her head. "Everything's perfect here, and the sun is shining. Everything's perfect here, there's nobody crying. Oompa Loompa, doompa-de-doo, I got a bad feeling 'bout you. Oompa Loompa, I don't know, dude. I got a bad feeling 'bout you." Haruhi smiles at Asami, happy to see that the usual gloomy aura around the blonde haired girl seems to be gone for today.

"Asami, watch out!" Haruhi suddenly cries out. Asami glances down to see a banana peel and shrieks as she slips on it. She reaches out for Haruhi's outstretched hand when suddenly, another figure catches Asami. Asami blinks up at the masculine looking female holding her.

"You must be the sweet voice I just heard. It would be unfortunate if you injured your throat and was unable to emit such beautiful sounds." The unknown girl smirks at her before directing her attention onto Haruhi. "Hello madam, look at that cute face." Asami and Haruhi's eyes widen in shock that this girl could easily tell Haruhi's true gender.

"Can we never have a peaceful day?" Asami groans, cursing the twins for sending them on this errand. She blushes bright red when the unknown girl lifts her bridal style. "E-excuse me, please put me down! I can walk perfectly fine." Haruhi covers her mouth while she silently laughs at the situation. She can imagine the look of horror on Kaoru's face when he sees another love rival.

"I must ensure your safety, my singing angel. I could never forgive myself if you got hurt." The girl closes her eyes and smiles brightly. "My name is Benio, at your service."

•••

In front of the Host Club room, two girls are quietly conversing. One girl has wavy, waist length brown hair and brown eyes and the other girl has chin-length brown hair and grey eyes. "Hinako," the brown eyed girl calls out to the grey eyed girl, "this seems like the place."

"Indeed, Chizuru. Should we wait for Benio?"

"She'll catch up." Chizuru and Hinako open the door to the Host Club. The members of the Host Club minus Haruhi and Asami are dressed in medieval clothing. Each host is paying attention to their guests.

"Ahh princess, even if the world ended this minute, I want to be the man who even sacrifice his own life to protect you." Tamaki gently kisses a girl's hand. The girl squeals in happiness. Customers gush over how adorable the hosts look in their costumes.

"Oh my, "even sacrifice my own life"? Don't you think that's quite arrogant of you? Are you under the impression that the woman left behind would be happy with just those words?" Chizuru comments.

"You can't blame them, Suzuran-neesama. Men are lowly life forms who place honor above all else. They change their own worthlessness of not being able to defend themselves to something more convenient and how abominable of them to make it seem as if we have to thank them." Hinako scoffs.

"Oh my, Daisy, you know everything." The two sip their tea with a giggle.

"That was pretty harsh. Then what kind of words do you desire?" Tamaki asks. The door to the club opens again to reveal Asami in the arms of Benio and Haruhi following.

"Let's see. If it were me, I would never leave my lover alone."

"Asami?" Hikaru and Kaoru both frown. Tamaki squeaks. Benio acts out a dramatic scene with Asami and Haruhi. She adjusts Asami to be hugged closely to her body with one arm and twirls Haruhi with her free arms, pulling her into a side embrace. She drops to her knees and kisses both girls hands. "We shall fight together... and we shall perish together if we are not allowed to live. I vow that I shall leave your side til the day my life ends." Asami stares down at Benio, who is smirking upwards at her, and is seriously questioning her sexuality in that moment.

"Benibara-sama, you're late."

"You problematic person...And where did you pick up such charming ladies?"

"Ah, just out there. This one has the voice of an angel which caught my attention immediately," she gestures to Asami before turning her attention onto Haruhi, "I could tell from one glance that she's a women, even if she was wearing mens' clothes." Benio leans Haruhi backwards as if to kiss her. "Behold, her lucid maiden eyes!" Chizuru and Hinako rub Haruhi's skin.

"My, her skin is so beautiful."

"Really... She is great material that can be sharpened into something brilliant." They turn their eyes into Asami and begin to do the same. "Wow, she's like a princess."

"Two precious diamonds, one nicely polished and refined while the other is a little rough." Haruhi deadpans at being called a rough diamond.

"Hold it! Don't be touching my Haruhi and Asami without my permission!" Tamaki charges the group, but Benio punches him away.

"Don't touch them, you snob!" Benio angrily shouts.

"She punched me! She's so violent!" Tamaki cries, tears streaming down his face as he glares at her.

"Tama-chan, be strong!" Mitsukuni encourages his brave leader.

"They are even more inferior than rumors say. A group of randomly selected light-minded fiends with little history." Benio scoffs. Asami finally escapes their grasps and rushes over to the twins, feeling very violated at the moment. Kaoru immediately pulls her in, wrapping an arm around her waist protectively as Hikaru positions himself to stand in front of her. The two glare at the trio of girls.

"That uniform... You girls are from Lobelia Girls' Academy, right?" Kyoya asks. Asami perks up as she recognizes the name of the school she nearly went to. She is thankful that she didn't now.

"Indeed." Benio, Hinako, and Chizuru tear their uniforms off, revealing theatre-esque costumes. Together, they harmonize, "Lobelia!
St. Lobelia Girls' Academy high school junior, Amakusa Benio. Zuka Club."

"High school junior, Maihara Chizuru. Zuka Club"

"High school freshman, Tsuwabuki Hinako. Zuka Club"

"We are the White Lily Society of St. Lobelia Girls' Academy. We are also known as... the Zuka Club!" Asami feels the twins shaking and shakes her head in amusement when they erupt into laughter. Kaoru leans his body onto Asami, laughter overcoming his senses.

"Awesome naming sense! Zuka Club, man! My stomach hurts!" Hikaru says.

"Zuka Club is the best! They went through the trouble of hiding costumes under their uniforms!" Kaoru comments.

"You cannot underestimate the Zuka Club! Ohohoho~!" Renge rises up through the floor on a pedestal. Asami groans at the sight of the her. "Ohohoho...I may not know instant coffee, but leave it to me to be moe about girl schools. St. Lobelia Girls' Academy: the garden of maidens. Within the school, the Zuka Club are a gathering of maidens who are amongst the strongest advocates of women supremacy. A society that prides itself for its thirty-year history, it is a society of maidens, by maidens, and for maidens. Activities of the Zuka Club include the maiden tea party, the maiden discussions, and above all, the musical show presented by the top members of the society."

Kyoya takes off his costume and returns to his school uniform appearance. "Renge-kun, you cover a wide field of knowledge."

"This is nothing more than admiration on my part. The fact that there are no guys around spells utter failure for me." She huffs.

"A maiden's beauty...It is a pure energy that rivals exterior looks, power, and lust. Because we're women." The Lobelia girls start to monologue. Kaoru grabs Asami's hand and intervenes their fingers together, leading her away and to the couch with Hikaru following. The trio sit down and start going through the bags of instant coffee.

"We're just women. We are tired of this oppressive discrimination of women by men."

"Our pride. A mutual relationship from the depths of our souls because of our common gender and resolve. For example, it could even be a love relationship."

"Oh you, Benio."

"Benibara-sama..." The Host Club members have gone back to doing their own thing and are ignoring the Zuka Club members.

"Oh my, oh my. Are you all speechless before our noble love? Ohoho!"

"What is she talking about?" Hikaru stares at the trio in confusion and irritation.

"Ah, I haven't drank this one before. It's a new one." Kaoru grabs a package and observes it.

"That's my favorite," Asami says, "the caramel adds enough sweetness to the bitterness of coffee."

"Stop making fun of them, Hinagiku. They are very troubled because their best host techniques don't work on us."

"Hah. However, it was worthwhile to have come to peek at this notorious Ouran Host Club after our show."

"We're notorious?" Mitsukuni asks.

"Who knows?" Takashi sighs.

Benio puts her hand to the side of Haruhi's head. "I cannot believe they've got such helpless female students involved in their activities.
I don't care if your president is half-Japanese or not, but to use flashy looks to create a fictitious love and fool the pure heart of maidens is complete discrimination against females. To call this a club activity and use it for your own greed and profit is totally inexcusable! I swear... that I will abolish the Ouran Host Club at once! Hail Zuka Club!"

"I see. I understand your intention. But could we continue this another time?" Kyoya questions.

"Are you saying you will not face us?"

"No... but our president is still in bed from the culture shock." Kyoya says, turning to see Tamaki pathetically lying in a makeshift bed with a wet rag on his forehead.

"Umm, Tama-chan is a sleepy man right now." Mituskuni states.

"Get him up!" Benio roars in anger.

"I almost went there," Asami whispers to the twins with a grimace, "thank goodness I was found by Tamaki."

"Imagine if you did join that school and became a member of the Zuka club," Hikaru snickers, "you could've came with them and we'll be laughing at you too."

"I wonder how many alternative universes there are for each decision we didn't make in this timeline." Kaoru muses. "In one timeline, you're probably still with Emica and attending Lobelia. In another timeline, Emica successfully kidnapped you and we would be endlessly searching for you. I cannot imagine how miserable it must be in any timeline where I never got to meet you." Kaoru blinks at the looks he gets from Asami and Hikaru. "What?"

"That is deep." Hikaru comments with a nod.

"I'm happy I got to be in this timeline with you," Asami smiles sweetly at Kaoru. A blush creeps onto his cheeks at her words. Haruhi brings out a tray of prepared instant coffee to offer to the Zuka Club.

"Umm, I have coffee. Would you like some?"

"Thank you! How nice of you! This coffee made by you, fair maiden, has such a lovely fragrance." Benio gushes.

"It's just instant coffee..." Haruhi comments.

"Then let's have a tea party amongst the four of us." Tamaki sits up in bed immediately.

"You guys are wrong! What productivity is there in a love between two women?! Why do you think God made Adam and Eve—" As Tamaki charges toward Haruhi and the Zuka Club members, a banana appears out of nowhere. Asami narrows her eyes at the twins to see if one of them did it but could not find any evidence. Tamaki slips, causing his finger to land in one of the cups of coffee. "Hot, hot, hot, hot!!"

"That's karma for being homophobic." Asami calls out with a laugh.

Haruhi brings a roll of medical tape. "Gosh, be careful."

"No, let him suffer!" Asami cries out, dashing over to stop Haruhi from attending to Tamaki's wound. "How else will he learn?"

"So cruel to your precious brother." Tamaki sniffs as Haruhi wraps up Tamaki's finger despite Asami's protests. "Thank you. Do you always have bandages with you?"

"I got it as a bonus from the supermarket where I bought the instant coffee. The supermarket always gives me something extra."

"Looks like it's not even worth a talk." Benio pulls Haruhi up by the arm while Hinako and Chizuru drag Asami back over with them. "Now that we know the state of matters, we cannot leave the fair maidens in a club like this. We shall process their admission papers to Lobelia immediately and bring them into the Zuka Club!" Haruhi breaks away from Benio and quickly yanks Asami with her.

"Pl-Please wait. I'm sure there are a lot of misunderstandings, like saying Tamaki-senpai is half-Japanese.." Haruhi stutters.

"He is and so am I, we're both half French." Asami says with a tilt of her head. "Why do you think we look the way we do?"

"Huh? Uh, well, I don't think it's right to make false charges and say the Host Club has little history and stuff..."

"Well, we don't have any history. This is only our second year." Hikaru informs her.

"The club was established when our lord entered high school." Kaoru adds on.

"Well, I think it's going over the line to say that the club is in for our own greed and profit. It's not like we're getting money from our customers --" Asami winces as Haruhi further digs the club into a hole.

"Actually, it's a point system. On our club homepage's net auction, customers can redeem their points for credit toward their items. Oh look, Haruhi. The mechanical pencil that you used has been auctioned off for 30,000 yen. Aren't you glad?" Haruhi looks on Kyoya's computer to see her sold mechanical pencil.

"Wha?! That was the one I thought I lost! This is the first time I've heard of this! I didn't know we're getting money from this!" Haruhi spins toward Asami. "Did you?"

"Yes, I thought it was obvious." Asami furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "Do we not remember the photo albums we sold to customers?"

"You think we're doing this as a volunteer service? Well, if you subtract all the funds used on event planning, clothing, foods, and drinks, our profit margin is actually quite minimal." Kyoya states.

"That's no reason for you to sell my belongings! You're thieves!" Haruhi shouts.

"We're not thieves! It was on the ground!" The twins defend themselves.

"Wahh! I'm sorry, Haruhi! It's not like we were hiding this! Here, I'll give you my mechanical pencil. Look, it's one with a bear." Tamaki holds his mechanical pencil out for Haruhi.

"I don't want that kind of thing." Haruhi glares.

"Then I'll tell you all about my birth, along with the magnificent memories of my seventeen years!"

"Actually, that's the most irrelevant information that was new to me today." Tamaki sulks against the wall. The Zuka Club gather around Haruhi.

"Poor girl...You're in shock because of all the lies, right?"

"Hey, leave those people and come join us."

"Well, wait, Hinagiku. The fair maiden is disturbed right now. We shall come ask her again tomorrow. We look forward to a good response from you." Benio turns toward Asami, "and we hope to hear from you as well. Well then, adieu!" The Zuka Club members leave the Host Club room. Haruhi turns to the rest of the Host Club members.

"I, too, shall excuse myself for today." Haruhi leaves the Host Club room.

"That's not good." Asami winces. "She looks beyond angry."

"Why did we have to tell her the truth and add oil to the fire?!" Tamaki cries.

"The truth is the truth." Kyoya shrugs.

"Selling her pencil must've been bad." Mitsukuni comments.

"Hmm... It could have been a memento from her mother." Kaoru points out.

"Actually, I think it's just an extra from the electronics store." Hikaru states.

"I think it's more of the fact that you guys didn't ask for permission, you just took it and sold it." Asami informs them. "I mean, I would be pretty upset if you guys did the same thing to me." Suddenly, there is silence and a guilty looking Tamaki. "What did you take from me?" She sighs, getting up from her seat and leaning over Kyoya to see his laptop screen. She freezes when she sees the item.

'Finding Souh. One of a kind copy with exclusive content from the host club members.' Current Highest Bid: 95,000 yen. Auction still open.

"Oh." Asami blinks and stands up robotically. "I didn't realize she finished the book so soon."

"Asami," the twins nervously calls out her name at the sight of her dead expression.

"I will be taking my leave as well, goodbye." She ignores them calling out her name and the apologizes being shouted at her as she walks out of the room. A tear slides down her face before a whole stream floods her cheeks. She bites her lips, trying to contain her sobs. How could they exploit her story like this? It's bad enough her grandmother forced her to be interviewed by Mrs. Ayanokoji for the book, but she never thought her friends and family would actually try selling the book themselves for profit. She never even read the draft of the book, especially after finding out that the whole book is dramatized to be more exciting for readers. It's not even an accurate story of her life. She sniffs and reaches up to wipe her face when suddenly, someone appears before her.

"Asami," she glances up to see Umehito staring at her in concern.

"Ume-senpai," she breaths out in greeting.

The two have only grown closer since the beach trip, constantly texting one another and sending cat memes to each other. "I was coming up to thank you, I was able to get a dark magic club started at another school with those group of people you told me about." In his hands is a plate of red bean cake, her favorite. "Why are you crying?"

"The host club just aren't who I thought they were." She whispers with her lips quivering.

"I'm sorry," Umehito shyly opens his arms and she throws herself into them. She tucks her face into his black cloak, closing her eyes as she tries to think of a good reason on why they would be supporting the selling of such a book—especially the twins and Tamaki. She knows she spoke about how much the book hurts her to the twins during one of their many sleepovers. Tamaki was there when the book idea was first brought up to her and he saw her reaction to it. How could they let Kyoya sell the book? Kyoya, she understands, he only does stuff in the interest of the club. Takashi and Mitsukuni would have never known about her feelings toward the book since she never spoke about it to them. Her pain is directed towards the three she trusted the most in the club. And why would they help Mrs. Ayanokji by providing exclusive content? "Would you like to come with me to a nearby cat cafe?" She pulls away and nods her head.

"I'd like that." She mumbles. He holds out the plate of red bean cake to her and watches as she nibbles on it. He frowns, wondering what the host club did to evoke such a reaction from her.

Asami spends the rest of her day with Umehito at the cat cafe, happily sipping on passion fruit bubble tea while petting cats and eating dessert.

•••

Asami ignores Tamaki as they ride in the car home. She never thought that Tamaki would hurt her one day. "Asami, I'm sorry. Please talk to me." She rolls her eyes at him and hurried into their house with him chasing after her. "Hear me out, I didn't know that Kyoya was going to buy a copy and sell it."

"Why is there exclusive content from the host club in it?" She growls. "What did you guys possibly say to Mrs. Ayanokoji? Why didn't you guys say, 'screw you,' to her and send her away when she approached you?"

"Asami," the two get cut off by a cough. They turn to see Yuzuru nervously standing here. Asami slowly glances up to the figure standing above her father to see Shizue. Asami's body freezes, is this what she thinks it is? Please lord, don't do this to her, give her more time to be a child.

"What poor manners." Shizue takes. "Remedy that now because we have very special guests with us tonight." She smiles at Asami. "One of your suitors is here." Tamaki goes rigid next to her at those words. "Hana," the maid immediately grabs Asmai and begins to escort her away, "make sure she wears the dress I have picked out for her."

"Yes, madam." Hana replies in a dead tone. Once they were out of sight, Hana sighs and pulls Asami into a hug. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't be entertaining suitors at your age. I must warn you that this family does not mess around. They are highly revered for their competitiveness and they ensure that they dominate in every area; whether that be education or sports. The father is strict and does not have a good relationship with the son. If you are left alone with the son, do not bring up the father." Asami feels herself getting more and more nervous about meeting this suitor. "Please get dressed and prepare yourself, mentally and emotionally." An intricate blue kimono with lavender flowers lays on the bed. She changes into it and quickly makes her way to the dining room. She straightens her back, lifts her chin and takes a deep breath in. She nods her head at Hana who opens the door for her, curtsying at the people inside. She takes note the absence of Tamaki and briefly wonders why he is not attending. Did Shizue forbid him to? Did Tamaki not want to see his grandmother pimp Asami out? She enters and blinks in surprise when she sees a familiar face. The boy is the same one that asked her for directions to the trivia competition at school.

"Asami, please meet our esteemed guests. Mr. Asano Gakuho and his son, Gakushu." Shizue introduces the guests.

"Hello sirs, thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. My name is Souh Asami, please take care of me." She curtsies and bows her head low to show respect. She raises and takes the seat next to her father, in front of the boy. He seems to recognize her as well with the raised eyebrow he sends her.

"She is pleasant on the eyes." Gakuho comments. A sick feeling settles in her stomach at those words. "What are her grades like?"

"She is in class 1-A and receives all A's. Her teachers regularly inform me about how intelligent and hard working she is. She is a star student." Shizue replies. Asami clenches her fists in her lap, angry that she cannot speak for herself.

"Any extracurricular activities?"

"She is apart of a social club where she secures connections with future heirs and heiress. She typically plays music for the club." Asami wonders how Shizue even knows that much about her. It is a bit amusing that she is calling the host club a social club. The two continue to speak about the two as if they were mere toys they are trading. She begins to block the conversation out and locks eyes with the son, who seems equally annoyed as her; however, he keeps his face completely expressionless. The annoyance is clear in his eyes. "Asami," she tunes back in and turns to her grandmother, "take Gakushu with you to the garden. You may have a few moments alone." Asami stands up, bows her head at them and heads out of the room with the boy following her.

"I hope the garden is to your liking, Asano-sama." Asami comments while observing the male.

"The beauty of the garden mirrors the grace of your company." He smiles at her. Asami has been around fake people a lot and red flags go off in her mind as she sees the smile. "You attend Ouran, then." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, I do. Which school do you attend, milord?" She asks curiously. She didn't know what school he went to due to not recognizing his uniform.

"I attend Kunugigaoka High School, I am in class 2-A there." He replies.

"How old are you then?" She questions.

"I am sixteen, and you?"

"I am fifteen," she sighs in relief at the fact that they weren't too far apart in age. It could've been worse.

"I know that this is a situation neither of us desire to be in, but we must for the good of our families." He states. "If your grandmother chooses me as your future husband, please know that I will do my best to care for you as long as you meet the Asano family's expectations."

"Expectations?" She pauses and stares at him, seeing that he has dropped the benevolent act and is now staring coldly at her.

"The Asano family strives to be best. I am the number one student at my school, I am the President of the student council, and I am the captain of my sport team. I run that school." He takes a step toward her with a threatening gleam in his eyes. "My future wife will have to be excellent in everything she does as well."

"I...see." She breathes out, her knees almost buckling underneath the intensity of his aura.

"I do not accept anything less than excellence." He comments. In an instant, his cold demeanor is gone and the benevolent act is back. "I believe it is time to rejoin the adults, let me escort you back, milady." He holds out his arm. She shakily takes it, allowing him to lead her. Oh goodness...are all of her suitors going to be this insane?

•••

"Bastards, I can't believe they would do that." Haruhi shakes her head as the two walk to the host club.

"I'm sorry that they took your pencil. I thought you knew about everything concerning the host club." Asami apologizes.

"It's alright," Haruhi sighs, "you had no reason to believe that someone wouldn't tell me everything." They see Benio, Hinako, and Chizuru waiting for them but facing away. "Oh no." The Zuka Club girls turn toward the two.

"Hello, fair maidens."

"We have come as promised."

"We will convince the Host Club today."

"Convince them of what?" Haruhi asks.

"That fair maidens like you belong in places that fit you!" The Zuka Club girls, Asami and Haruhi go to the Host Club room. They open the doors, but the room is dark. "Huh?" One by one, the silhouettes of the Host Club members rise. Asami covers her mouth, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"♪ Ouran~! ♪ Ouran~! ♪ Ouran. ♪ Ouran~! ♪ Ouran~!" The lights turn on, revealing all the members of the Host Club in flamboyant costumes. "♪ Ouran~ ! Host Club~! ♪ Welcome!" The Zuka Club girls and Haruhi are completely dumbstruck. Asami is kneeling with her whole body violently shaking. Tamaki walks over to them.

"Oh, Haruhi. Asami. Welcome." Tamaki greets them.

"Haru-chan, Ami-chan! I'm a princess! Do I look good?" Mitsukuni giggles cutely, posing for them.

"What's the meaning of this?! Are you insulting our culture?!"

"Insulting? No, of course not. Everything is as planned. If you're a commoner, then this is the ultimate skill that will make crying kids smile, called the "big 'extra' strategy"! Fufu. I'm sure the Lobelia ladies that were carefully brought up wouldn't know that commoners are very susceptible to extras! Indeed, Haruhi and Asami may be attracted to the fascinations of the Zuka Club. But... if you choose our club, you can have both onii-samas and onee-samas! Yes, it's a scheme of being able to taste what the Zuka Club is like while inside the Host Club. Look, look, Haruhi! Don't I look beautiful?" Tamaki gushes.

"We're the Hitachiin sisters. Which one is beautiful?" The twins appear on either side of Asami. Asami waves her hands at them, trying desperately to stop her laughter.

"Haru-chan, Ami-chan! You can call me onee-sama, okay?" Takashi and Kyoya approach them but smile and say nothing.

"Y-You think the fair maidens would fall for such a thing? Do not try to joke, too..."

"I can't handle it... I don't get this! I knew you guys were idiots, but... Hahaha!" Haruhi falls down next to Asami, joining in the laughter. The two hold onto each other as they try, and fail, to calm down.

"Are we that funny? Call us onee-sama!" The twins and Mitsukuni chant.

"Stop! What are you guys thinking?" Haruhi asks.

"Because we want to work in this Host Club with you guys." Hikaru responds.

"Fair maidens, you..."

"I'm sorry. There are many kinds of people in this world, and I do think your way of thinking is unique and interesting, but I have a dream that I want to achieve and that's why I came to this school. I never had an intention of leaving Ouran." Haruhi informs them. She gets up slowly and helps Asami stand up.

"I could never leave either. My home is here." Asami comments.

"Awe!" The twins gloom the girls, rubbing their cheeks against theirs.

"Wait! If you never wanted to leave, then why did you get so angry yesterday?" Tamaki asks.

"Anyone would get mad if their stuff got sold!" Haruhi shouts.

"You supported that scam of a book!" Asami shrieks.

"I won't give up, fair maidens." Benio declares. "We swear... that we will rescue you from this place someday and destroy this Host Club!" The Zuka Club girls twirl away. Banana peels appear out of nowhere, and the Zuka Club girls slip. The doors to the Host Club close. The lights turn off, and a spotlight shines on Renge, who is coming up through the floor again.

"And thus, a new rival, in the form of the Zuka Club, has appeared, and the story reaches an even more interesting part. What shall be awaiting them ahead? Good luck, Host Club! Do not lose, Host Club!" Renge cackles.

"Hey! Don't be cooking things up by yourself!" Another banana peel appears out of nowhere, and Tamaki slips. Asami snorts before noticing that the twins were eating bananas. She narrows her eyes at them, now certain that they're the culprits for all the bananas peels.

When Asami went home, she made sure to change the group-chat and everyone's contact names.

GROUP-CHAT NAME: THE OURAN SISTERS

From: Onee-Sama Kaoru

I think I liked being a servant better

From: Onee-Sama Hikaru

I AM A FUTURE KING, NOT A SISTER

From: Imouto Haruhi

It's late. Stop texting.

From: Imouto Asami

Goodnight my darling sisters 😘