Author's notes will be at the end of chapters, with the exception of content warnings. This story is rated T for mature themes and possibly language, because I have a terrible sense of humor and whatnot. Please read with that in mind.

The day that things started to change for Hisakawa Azumi was remarkably similar to every other day.

"Hisa-san, it's time to wake up. You have class today!" Sari said cheerily, shaking Azumi gently until she groggily lifted a hand out of her cocoon of covers, signaling that she was awake.

"Remember, tonight your mother will be flying in from Germany," Sari said as she walked around Azumi's room, opening her curtains to let in some light. Azumi groaned and shifted in her bed, not ready to leave her sanctuary.

Sari doesn't leave, because this morning is no different from any other. Azumi knew she was standing patiently by the window, waiting for Azumi to crawl out of bed and take a shower. She's a good servant, and secretly Azumi considered her to be a dear friend, even if it isn't very appropriate. Sari understood better than most people how easily Azumi got lost in her own mind.

After a few more seconds of bliss in bed, Azumi sighed and crawled her way out of her wrap of blankets, tripping over her sheets and stumbling as she made her way to the bathroom.

"You're going to have a wonderful day, Hisa-san!" Sari called as the bathroom door shut. Despite the early morning and the lack of sleep Azumi got, she smiled. Sari truly is a wonderful person.

In the shower, Azumi washed her face and body, then worked on untangling her hair, which she twisted into knots last night while sleeping. It took a while, but eventually her hair is free of tangles and knots. She turned off the water and wrapped herself into a towel, wrapping a second towel around her hair, and exited the bathroom.

Sari had laid out her uniform yellow dress on the bed and a clean pair of tights and undergarments. Azumi knew that on the dresser her hairbrush and hair ties have been laid out as well, waiting for her.

Sari is gone, which is also normal, and she knew that when she went down to breakfast she would find Sari already seated, along with Katsumi, another servant, and Hiroto, the Hisakawa's driver. Azumi knew that her sisters will be there as well, with Mai grumbling into her food and Sachi animatedly babbling to anyone who will listen.

She put on some undergarments and then her tights, moving to her dresser to fix her hair. She brushed out her damp, dark blonde hair, twisting it into a braid down her back and securing it with a hair tie. She inspected herself, seeing her brown eyes and fair skin, and decided she looks decent for school.

She slipped on her dress and put on her shoes, fumbling with the buckles like she did every day.

When she got downstairs, after the lengthy walk from her room to the informal dining room, she saw exactly what she expected. Sari and Katsumi and nodding along to whatever Sachi is going on about, Hiroto reading the newspaper, and Mai glaring at her bowl of fruit, angry to be awake before noon.

Azumi smiled politely, bidding everyone a good morning before sitting down. She ate her breakfast and let herself get lost in her mind, thinking about the painting she started last night, which was going to be a landscape when it was finished. She was excited about it, enjoying the contrasting colors and the balance between darks and lights she had found. It needed a lot of work, but she felt confident that when it was finished, she could happily hang it up in their art gallery, where her other paintings were.

She was lost in herself as she finished her breakfast, but made sure to say thank you to Sari and Katsumi for helping her this morning, as she did every morning. She waited for her sisters to do the same before nodding to Hiroto that they were ready to go to school.

Sari and Katsumi walked them to the door, wishing them a good day and handing them their school bags. Azumi told them thank you once more, made sure her sisters did the same, and then got into the limo.

The ride consisted of Mai and Sachi bickering good-naturedly, but Azumi tuned it out, letting her mind go blissfully blank as she watched the scenery pass by. Stopping off at the Ouran elementary school for Sachi, who was only a fourth year there, and at the Ouran middle school for Mai, who was a seventh year, Azumi wished them both a good day, which they returned kindly. Azumi prided herself on having a good relationship with both of her sisters

When Hiroto pulled up to the Ouran high school, he opened the door for her, and Azumi made sure to thank him once more before heading inside. Just as every morning, Azumi was early enough that she didn't have to rush.

As a third year, Azumi had a very light schedule. She had taken an abundance of classes her first two years in order to make room for art classes during her final year of high school. She headed toward the West wing, where her first class of the day was. She walked down the winding hallways and up immense staircases, not really noticing her classmates around her. Azumi let her mind wander as she took the familiar path to her classroom.

Azumi wasn't an unkind person. She didn't mean to ignore her classmates, it just happened. She was caught up in her on world. She thought about art all day, and she failed to engage herself in the real world more often than not. Sari constantly encouraged her to go out with some school friends or invite people over for dinner as her sisters did, but Azumi never had any interest in that. She wasn't a social person. She enjoyed being alone, because she was able to do things at her own pace, and never had to worry about saying the wrong thing or not picking up on social cues. She enjoyed her independence, she thrived on it.

She was shocked out of her morning walk when she ran into someone, tripping over her own foot and falling to the floor. When she looked up, she saw a boy with a scowling face looking down at her. She blinked, not understanding why he would be so upset over something so trivial.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," Azumi said, reaching over to grab her bag, which had been knocked off her shoulder.

"Watch where you're going, then," He muttered, walking off. Blinking after him, she couldn't believe how rude he had been. Rolling her eyes, she pushing her bag back onto her shoulder. She moved to get up when a hand appeared in front of her.

A tall young man held his hand out, offering to help her up. He had dark hair, tanned skin, and stoic eyes. She noticed he had a handsome face, and was well built, meaning he probably did some form of martial arts. Azumi figured he was in her year, judging by his size. She smiled at him and took the offered hand, lifting herself off the ground with his help.

She brushed off her dress and glanced up at him. He was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, as if silently asking whether she was okay or not.

"Thank you for your help," she said, bowing slightly to him. He held up his hand, silently saying that no thanks was needed. She smiled at him before continuing her walk to class.

Azumi was back in her own world after a few steps to steady herself. She didn't notice the eyes of her classmates that followed her, silently gossiping over how Morinozuka had helped her up, and if they were friends. Jealousy spiked in a few girls, while the rest simply questioned why she hadn't fawned over him, before forgetting the entire thing.

Mori's eyes stayed on Azumi's retreating figure, ignoring the gossip.

"Hisa-san, what about you?" Kimi asked. Azumi looked up from her lunch, startled that someone had spoken to her. She hadn't even noticed that there were people sitting at the same table as her. She'd been lost in her sketchbook, drawing an old woman, and hadn't even noticed when they sat down, apparently.

"I'm sorry, I must have drifted off, what were you saying, Ito-san?" Azumi asked.

"What are your plans after school?" Kimi asked, smiling. Ito Kimi was a fellow classmate of Azumi's. She was a nice enough girl, always around her cousin Ito Runa, who was sitting next to her.

"I was planning to take a look at the flowers they just planted in the gardens," Azumi said, smiling politely.

"We were thinking of going to the Host Club today, would you like to join us?" Kimi asked.

Azumi blinked. Host Club?

"What is that?" Azumi asked.

Kimi and Runa stopped, looking at her in shock. Kimi's chopsticks were hovering in front of her mouth, food dripping back into her bowl, and Runa's mouth was open in disbelief.

"You can't be serious, Hisa-san. You must know of the Host Club, they're quite notorious!" Runa said, looking at Azumi as if she had grown a second head.

"Is it some type of escort service?" Azumi asked, wondering why they would want to go to such a thing, much less why they would openly ask her to join.

They both looked at each other in shock before giggling. Azumi felt herself flush in embarrassment.

"Not at all, it's a club of gentleman that entertain us after school! It's such an exciting experience! Would you please join us today? We'd enjoy being the ones to take you for the first time," Kimi said, smiling at her.

Host club? It sounds like an odd ordeal, Azumi doesn't really think it's worth spending her afternoon on.

"I don't know, it doesn't sound like something I would enjoy," Azumi said, taking a sip of her tea.

The idea of men telling her what they think she wants to hear sounds entirely unappealing. Kimi and Runa, however, seem to take her indecision as agreement, because they're already gushing about each of the members, and how they like to cosplay and how gentlemanly they are.

Azumi nodded her head along and smiles, figuring that she should give it a chance before she decides it isn't her cup of tea.

Kimi and Runa look back at her excitedly as they pushed open the door to Music Room #3, and ignored the rose petals that floated out. Azumi watched them flutter to the floor in confusion.

That seems like a waste of rose petals, she thought.

"Welcome, Kimi and Runa. It's so lovely to see you've returned. Who is your friend?" A boy with glasses asked. He's tall, with pale skin and dark hair, light glinting off his glasses. He's got a smirk on his face as if he already knows the answer, and is asking purely for formalities.

"This is Hisakawa Azumi, she's a classmate of ours. She's never heard of the Host Club, and once we found out we insisted she come with us to meet all of you!" Runa said, smiling and batting her eyes at the boy with glasses. His eyebrow quirks, and his smirk widens.

"Well then, allow me the liberty of showing her around. I trust you two will be visiting Tamaki today?" He asked, pulling out a notebook, pen poised, as if their answers were important enough information to be worth writing down.

"Oh, Kyoya, you know us so well," Kimi said, blushing as they bowed, waving to Azumi and they walked toward a blonde boy gesturing wildly.

Azumi turned back to Kyoya, who was writing quickly in his notebook. She felt the familiar creeping of anxiety climb up her spine, and tried to push it down, reminding herself that it was just one day, and if she didn't have a good time she didn't have to come back again.

"It's very nice to have you here, Hisakawa-san, I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the Host Club. My name is Ootori Kyoya. Would you like a tour?" He asked, elbow already out, as if her answer has already been decided. She pushed down the wave of irritation that bubbled up, telling herself that he was probably raised in a formal household and didn't wait for people's answers often. No one could possibly be this self-involved without someone else raising them this way.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Azumi said, but didn't take his elbow. Kyoya raised an eyebrow at her, but started walking anyways.

"The Host Club is dedicated to making the women at Ouran happy, we've got many different types of hosts to choose from," Kyoya said, leading her over to two twins, who were holding each other in an embrace.

"These are the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. They come with our brotherly love package," Kyoya said. The twins noticed them, and smirked, before heading over.

"Ooh, fresh meat," one of them said.

"Kyoya, who is our newest guest?" The other asked, taking her hand to place a kiss on it. Some girls that were on a nearby couch squealed, but Azumi just raised an eyebrow.

"This is Hisakawa Azumi. She's a third year. It's her first time here, so please, try to be polite," Kyoya said, glaring at them during the last part. The twins shared a look, before turning to her.

"Are you new to Ouran?" They asked.

"No," Azumi said, pulling her hand back. She watched their looks of confusion, confused herself.

"How have you not been here before? I thought every girl at Ouran had heard of the Host Club," One of them said, giving her a look while the other one nodded along.

Kyoya looked at her as well, as if he too wanted to know the answer to this question. The girls nearby turned their heads, listening in so obviously that Azumi tried not to roll her eyes. Didn't these people have anything better to do?

"I don't know, I didn't know this club existed until today. I thought it was an escort service," Azumi said shrugging.

There was a squawk from across the room, and suddenly the blonde boy Runa and Kimi were sitting with was charging over towards her, red faced and wide eyed, arms flailing as he shouted inconsequential things to Azumi, who wasn't paying attention to him.

"This is our club president, Suoh Tamaki. You'll have to excuse him, he's quite excitable, like a small child," Kyoya said, smirking. This only seemed to enrage Tamaki even more, whose arms started flailing even faster.

"Or a small dog," The twins said, snickering. Tamaki's cries became even louder, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

"Oh my, it looks like Tamaki is having a fit," A girl said.

Instantly, Tamaki was next to her, grabbing her chin as he looked deep into her eyes.

"My dear, the only reason I'm in such a fit is because your beauty if too vast to comprehend," He said, and then tilted her face to kiss her cheek.

Azumi rolled her eyes as all the girls nearby sighed. This is ridiculous.

"We also offer the Lolita package, the Strong, Silent package, and the Natural package," Kyoya said. He has his clipboard poised, ready to take down her decision.

"I'm sorry, this is kind of overwhelming. I don't even know what your club is supposed to do," Azumi said, backing up slightly. Kyoya looks at her for a little while, before smirking again.

This guy really likes smirking.

"I think I should introduce you to Haruhi, our natural."

Kyoya leads Azumi towards a boy who has a book propped on his lap, clearly busy studying. She wondered why Kyoya would bring her over to someone who obviously had something to do.

"Haruhi, this is our newest customer, Hisakawa Azumi. Hisakawa-san, this is Fujioka Haruhi," Kyoya said. Haruhi looked up, smiling at her and bowing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Are you enjoying the Host Club?" He asked. Azumi smiled, bowing back in greeting.

"It's been interesting, Fujioka-san," She said, smiling when Haruhi laughed at her answer. Kyoya even gave a smile, not one of the smirks that he had been wearing so far.

"Interesting is a good way to describe this place," Haruhi agreed. They chatted politely for a few more minutes, and Azumi learned that Haruhi was at Ouran on scholarship, and that he was an honor student. Azumi congratulated him on getting into Ouran on merit alone, which he thanked her for. Haruhi then excused himself to get back to studying, as he had a major math test the next morning.

Kyoya led her toward the other side of the room, where two boys were seated. The smaller boy was eating a piece of cake, and in the seat next to him was a pink, stuffed rabbit. On the couch nearby was a tall boy with short black hair and a stoic expression who was reading. As they got closer Azumi realized that he was the boy from this morning who helped her up.

"This is Haninozuka Mitskuni and Morinozuka Takashi," Kyoya said, and then walked away. Azumi stared after him, confused as to why he would suddenly leave her standing there. Her question was answered as soon as the small blonde opened his mouth, however.

"Hi! I'm Honey, and this is Takashi! Would you like to have some cake with me?" He asked. Azumi smiled, he was really adorable.

"I'll just have some tea, but thank you," She said, taking the seat that was open at the table when Honey gestured for her to sit down. He poured her a glass of tea as he babbled, and Azumi found herself struggling to keep up.

"How come you're never stopped by before, Azu-chan? We've been in the same class since we were fourth years! I remember when you used to wear your hair down, it was so pretty!" Honey babbled happily, eating his cake.

"Well, I didn't know about this club until today. Ito Kimi and Ito Runa brought me," Azumi said, smiling at him. Honey smiled at her, looking over to the silent boy, who was watching them.

"Takashi! Come sit with Azu-chan and me! We can have cake!" Honey said, pulling another slice of cake out of nowhere. The boy nodded and pulled up a chair between Honey and Azumi, looking out of place with how large he was and how short the table was.

Honey proceeded to eat another three slices of cake before anyone said anything. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, Honey ate his cake, Azumi drank her tea and sorted out her thoughts, and Mori read the book in his hand.

"Azu-chan, how do you like the Host Club so far?" Honey asked, playing with his stuffed bunny.

"This is a very interesting club, but I accidentally upset your president, I believe," She said.

"What happened?" Honey asked.

"Well, I hadn't heard of the Host Club before, and he overheard me when I told Ootori-san that I thought it was an escort service."

Honey's eyes widen as he looks at her, and Mori even puts down his book to look at her. She blinks, confused as to why they're looking at her so intensely, when Honey breaks the moment to start laughing wildly. Mori looks at her before smiling, and eventually Azumi smiles as well.

"Azu-chan, you're silly! Ne, Takashi?"

"Ah," The taller boy said, nodding. She expected him to go back to his book, but instead he turned to her.

"Did that boy bother you again?" He asked, his deep voice startling her slightly, as she wasn't expecting it. She smiled at him, however.

"No, but thank you for helping me up, Morinozuka-san, it was very nice of you," She said, nodding at him.

"Of course," He said.

Honey watched them interact with wide eyes, surprised that Mori was so talkative with someone he hadn't spoken to before.

"You don't have to be so formal with us, Azu-chan! We're friends, you can call us Honey and Mori, if you'd like," Honey insisted, trying to get her to loosen up a bit. He knew Azumi was a very introverted girl, and he hoped that maybe she would feel comfortable enough around them to loosen up.

"If that's okay with both of you," She said, looking at them to make sure it was okay, as they were asking her to drop their formal honorifics and go by nicknames, which signified friends. It would be improper to do so without making sure, first.

Honey nodded, and then she looked over to make sure that Mori was okay with it. He nodded at her, lifting up the corner of his mouth in an encouraging smile. Honey's eyes widened again.

Haruhi came over to them, unbuttoning his blazer and taking off his tie, which were both covered in tea.

"What happened, Haru-chan?" Honey asked.

"Tamaki-senpai spilled tea all over me, and now it's sticky. Do any of you happen to have anything I can borrow to wear? It's very uncomfortable," Haruhi sighed, fiddling with the collar of his shirt.

Honey and Mori both shook their heads, apologizing.

"That's okay, it's just going to be a long bus ride home with my shirt feeling like this," Haruhi sighed, turning to walk away.

"Fujioka-san, I have an extra shirt in my bag. It's my shirt for when I paint. You could borrow it, if you like. It's just a T-shirt," Azumi said, knowing that Haruhi must be uncomfortable enough to go so far as asking someone else if he could borrow clothing.

Haruhi turned and smiled at her.

"Thank you so much, Azumi-senpai, I appreciate it!" He said. Azumi nodded, reaching into her bag to get the shirt. When she looked up, Haruhi was gone.

"Haru-chan went to change, just behind those curtains," Honey said, pointing to the curtains in the back of the room. Azumi nodded, heading over towards the curtains.

She pushed them open a little poking her head through to give Haruhi the shirt.

Haruhi looked up, wearing a woman's undershirt, and suddenly Azumi realized that Haruhi wasn't a boy at all.

"Oh! Thanks again for letting me borrow the shirt. I'll get it back to you tomorrow," Haruhi said. Azumi nodded and handed the shirt over. Getting over the initial shock, Azumi smiled and nodded, closing the curtain.

As she walked back towards Honey and Mori, she decided that whatever reason Haruhi had for concealing her gender really wasn't any of her business, and she would respect Haruhi's privacy.

"Hisakawa-san, it would mean a great deal to the Host Club is you could keep Fujioka-san's gender a secret," Kyoya said, falling into step with her as she headed back towards Honey and Mori.

"Of course, Ootori-san, I wasn't planning to say anything anyways, it's not my business," She said as she reached the table. Honey and Mori looked up from the table, both giving Kyoya questioning looks.

"Thank you for your discretion, Hisakawa-san," Kyoya said, bowing to her and walking away. She nodded and grabbed her bag, not noticing the looks Honey and Mori were giving her.

"Thank you for the tea, Honey-kun and Mori-kun. I appreciate your company," She said, smiling at them, and turning to leave. Honey's eyes widened, knowing that if he did nothing, Azumi wouldn't come back again.

"Azu-chan! Will you come back tomorrow to have tea with us?" Honey asked, giving her his best puppy-dog look. She turned back to them, smiling.

"Of course, if that's what you want. I enjoyed talking to both of you," Azumi said, smiling. Honey brightened and nodded.

"That would be great, Azu-chan! See you tomorrow!" He said, waving. She nodded smiling, and walked out the door.

"Kyo-chan, why is Azu-chan being discrete?" Honey called from across the room, getting everyone's attention. Tamaki stopped mid rant, and the twins looked up from where they were quietly plotting some sort of scheme.

Kyoya looked up from his notebook, adjusted his glasses, and spoke to the now silent room.

"It seems that Hisakawa-san accidentally discovered Haruhi's gender. She agreed to keep everything quiet, and was very kind about the whole incident."

All eyes turned to Haruhi, who was back to studying.

"WHAT?" Tamaki cried, dashing over to Haruhi. The twins were running around Tamaki, provoking him and just generally making everything worse.

"Did someone walk in on my daughter changing? How did I miss this? Are you okay, Haruhi? Tell Daddy everything," He said, shoving her face against his chest. Haruhi rolled her eyes and pushed him off, giving him a lecture on personal boundaries as the twins laughed at him.

Honey glanced at Mori, who was watching Haruhi yell at Tamaki across the room, and smiled.

A plan was forming in Honey's mind, and as soon as the idea entered his head, he knew that it was worth all the effort it would take. After all, if anyone deserved to be happy, it was Mori.

A/N: So this is my first fic on this website. Any favorites or positive/constructive reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.

Please keep in mind I am heading to University in one week and things are going to be hectic for me for a while, so if updates get slow, yeah.

If you happen to see any spelling errors, please point them out to me? I have terrible eye-sight and I probably didn't see Word highlight them for me.

I'm really trying to get the Japanese honorifics and culture and whatnot right, but if I happen to be writing them incorrectly please don't hesitate to point that out to me, I'll fix it and send you a fruit basket. :)

TL;DR: I'm not good with spell check sometimes, tell me if I'm culturally stupid, updates may be staggered, if you leave kind and polite reviews you're awesome. :)