Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Ouran Host Club. If I did, there would be yaoi couples and MORIXHARUHI! Never, ever, ever, Morixhuni. EVER.

My Thoughts You Can't Decode

A New Member

The boy sighed dejectedly. Shutting yet another door, he shuffled down the long hallway. At this rate, he'd never get to study. "Damn these rich people," he muttered irritably. "Isn't the point of a library to study?" That may have been true at other schools, normal schools. But, this boy was trapped in Ouran Academy, a big step up from normal high schools.

A private school for the super rich, it seemed like more of a social gathering. This boy was not super rich. He wasn't even kinda rich. In fact, he was the poorest person to have ever walked these prestigious halls. Aside from just studying, what the boy really wanted was to be alone. He stuck out like a sore thumb at this school.

The boy looked insanely out of place with his baggy shirt, over-sized glasses, and scruffy hair. Students here wore uniforms worth 300,000 yen. That was more than his dad made in a year. The boy was Haruhi Fujioka, and the truth was, he was a girl. Her father, Ranka, as he preferred, was a transvestite. Meaning he liked to wear women's clothing instead of men's. He even looked like a woman to most people he met. Hell, sometimes he even fooled his own daughter!

To support them, Ranka worked at a bar with other cross-dressers. The money was decent enough to pay for rent and food. Dad had to work at night mostly, so Haruhi took up the household chores and cooking. She soon grew used to being alone. It made her strong and independent.

Her mother, Kotoko, had died when Haruhi had been five years old. She had been a beautiful woman, a great lawyer, a perfect wife, and a loving mother. Haruhi remembered a flashback from when she was very small. She remembered standing outside the crematorium, holding her father's hand. "So, I'm not gonna see Mommy anymore?" she had asked. Ranka, who still wore men's clothing then, had squeezed her little hand tightly.

Through middle school, Haruhi's appearance was like that of a girl. Her hair had been dark, very long and very straight. She'd had contacts, and was biologically registered a girl. At Ouran, she was one too, but no one needed to know that. If they thought she was a weird commoner boy, they'd leave her alone. That was all right with her.

Haruhi had always studied hard, with very few friends. Her goal was to become a lawyer, for her mother's sake. Wanting to go to law school, she knew Ouran was the next step. Ranka couldn't afford the tuition money, and Haruhi couldn't get it all saved up. She needed a scholarship, and practically lived and breathed studying to get it. Haruhi had been very relieved when she'd gotten her acceptance letter. Ranka had cried.

Then, the day before her new high school life began, her contacts had been lost and her hair gone. A neighborhood kid had managed to get gum in it, God knows how. Haruhi was a lazy girl, and had absolutely no desire to spend HOURS getting it out. So, snip snip snip, went the scissors and off went her hair. Now, it was about the length of a boy's.

Ranka had been livid when he got home. Afterwards, when the shock set it, he crumbled into dramatic sobs and whimpers. And when he saw what clothes she would wear, the poor man fainted dead away in the kitchen. "Haruhi, why?" he whimpered. "You were so pretty honey!" The brunette had ignored him, shuffling on her merry way to school.

And now, here she was. Trapped in a rich person's school, and nowhere to study. Haruhi was so tired; she just wanted to go home. She decided to have one more try at a study room. Maybe she could sleep in there, too. Another door loomed before her. Haruhi pressed her ear to the door. 'I don't hear anyone.' She silently rejoiced. 'Mom.' She thought to her deceased mother. 'I've found a place to study!'

Haruhi grasped the door handle.

The door slowly opened to reveal…

Six gorgeous guys in a shower of rose petals. "Welcome!" they chorused.

The door shut with an ominous click. Haruhi retreated against it, fumbling for the handle. 'They're all so cute!' she thought. 'What the hell are they doing in here anyway?'

"Oh, look." Two orange-haired boys said, "It's a boy." The way they leaned against each other showed a deep personal bond. 'They must be twins.' Haruhi scrambled for her thoughts to clear. "And the scholarship student, no less." A bespectacled brunette affirmed. 'Okay, HE just looks EVIL.' Haruhi's movements for the doorknob were more frantic.

A tall blonde skipped up to her. His violet eyes seemed care-free and ridiculously goofy. "Who knew the new scholarship student," he whispered, tilting her chin up, "Was gay?"

"Wait, WHAT?" Haruhi got her voice back, slapping his hand away. The blonde froze and ran off to a corner, which had suddenly turned dark and foreboding. 'Was it something I said?' Haruhi sweat dropped. "Nice job." The two doppelgangers said, sneaking up behind her. "Yeah, no one's ever upset Tono so quickly before." One said, smiling at her.

"I'm Hikaru." The other said, winking at her. "And I'm Kaoru." The one that smiled at her said back.

"Who are you guys?" Haruhi choked out, shocked at their closeness. "We're the Ouran Host Club, at your service." They all said in unison. Rose petals blew around the room again. The evil-looking brunette looked at her from his chair. "And you're Haruhi Fujioka." He stated matter-of-factly, closing his laptop. "I'm Kyouya Ootori. You might know my name from several of my family's hospitals around Japan." He pushed up his glasses, and they flashed menacingly. "As you can imagine, I have a lot of pull here."

Haruhi gulped. 'So evil. What is this guy capable of?'

"A lot." Kyouya answered. She froze, terrified. 'HE CAN READ MINDS TOO?'

"How do you know my-" Haruhi was cut short by a flying figure. "Haru-chaaaaaan!" a short blonde yelled, latching on to her arm. He spun her around with surprising strength for a little kid. 'What the…..' "Do you wanna have some cake with me?" The child's eyes sparkled as he held a stuffed bunny. "Wait, what's your name?" she asked. Then she yelled, "And who you calling Haru-chan?" The boy's eyes watered and he looked down.

"Ummmmmm…" she struggled for words. A dark shadow suddenly loomed over her. A tall, well-built brunette boy looked down on her, his eyes unreadable. "Gah!" Her eyes grew big. Haruhi panicked. 'Is this that kid's bodyguard?'

"Eh, um, of course I'd like some cake!" she smiled, biting back a nervous laugh. "YAY!" the little boy jumped at her again, hugging her with as much strength as before. "I'm Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but you can just call me Hani-sempai, 'kay?" He beamed at her with big golden eyes. "Okay?"

Hani giggled, spinning her around the room. His weird shadow followed them. Haruhi made a mental note to watch him. Then everything faded into slow motion. A banana peel lay on the ground, unbeknownst to Hani and Haruhi. Hani's foot slipped, and his face slipped into a worried frown. In his surprise, the senior let go of Haruhi's hands, and she flew across the room, alarmed. Everyone, except Kyouya, gasped. He just sat there, typing away on his PineApple.

(A/N: I'm sorry, but I LOVE making Kyouya seem evil! XD)

An agonizing crash, then the sound of breaking china. On instinct, Haruhi flung out her arms for protection. Sharp pain radiated from her hands to her wrists. Her glasses fell off. "Haruhi!" the twins ran over to her, "Are you okay?" Concerned fell upon their mischievous faces. The violet-eyed boy returned from his corner of woe. "My dear, Haruhi, are you all right?" he whispered. Hani sped over, pushing everyone out of the way.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan, I'm so sorry!" he cried, tears spilling over. "Here," Hani sniffled, "You can hold Usa-chan!" He held out his prized stuffed animal. The only one who hadn't moved in this incident was Kyouya. "I've decided," Haruhi mumbled, "I'm gonna call him the Shadow King from now on." Hikaru and Kaoru looked at her, and

then fell backwards, laughing manically. Even the flaunty blonde chuckled a little.

Kyouya didn't stop typing. "Mori-sempai?" he said offhandedly, "Take Miss Fujioka into the other room." Suddenly, Haruhi was in the air, in the arms of the tall, straight-faced man. "Ha!" she gasped. "I-I can walk!" Haruhi protested, blushing. "Mori-sempai, right?" He nodded. Mori carried her into another room.

Kyouya turned towards the other hosts in the room. His laptop shut with a menacing snap. "So…." He whispered, every word radiating evil, " I'm the Shadow King, am I?" The twins and the blonde stopped laughing. "Well, then….." the Shadow King said, rising from his chair. "I should live up to my name, shouldn't I?" The three hosts turned white. Hani, who saw the black aura around Kyouya in advance, retreated to a table in the corner, and was now eating cake with Usa-chan. "This is fun, huh?" Hani smiled, talking to the stuffed rabbit.

Sitting her on a stool, Mori rooted around for a first aid kit. Haruhi just stared at her hands, ignoring the screams of terror outside the door. Mori soon sat down next to her, holding tweezers and bandages. "Give me your hands." Haruhi jumped. 'He can speak!'

Haruhi placed her hands in the taller boy's lap. Mori looked at her, with indifferent eyes of grey. "This may hurt a little." Haruhi braced herself, shutting her eyes. Nothing happened. She opened one eye. A piece of glass lay on the floor next to Mori. "That was nothing!" She giggled, proud of her pain tolerance. The glass shards slowly began to pile up. Haruhi stared at Mori, determined to find an emotion. 'He's so gentle for someone his size.' Haruhi found her self thinking. 'I wonder if he's always like this.'

"So, you're a girl, right?" Mori suddenly said nonchalantly. "What?" she jumped just as Mori pulled on a glass shard. It dug deeper into her palm. She hissed in pain. "How did you know that?" she whispered urgently. Mori surprised her by looking up into her eyes. "No boy has eyes like that." For a moment, she detected something like gentleness in his grey eyes, but it disappeared quickly. She blushed, and looked away from his eyes. 'What?' she cursed her self. 'Why am I blushing? If any guy had complimented me, this would not be my reaction.' Haruhi breathed slowly out. 'But this is a regular guy, so that explains it.'

"What did I break out there?" she inquired as he bandaged her hands. "A vase worth eight million yen." Haruhi jumped up, pulling her hands from Mori's lap. "EIGHT MILLION YEN?" she shrieked. Mori nodded, unfazed from her reaction. Haruhi sighed, and sat down again. "Sorry sempai." She sat back down. "I just don't have that kind of money." She laughed bitterly. "My dad doesn't even make an eighth of that."

Mori grunted, a lost response. Haruhi stood up, and opened the door. She was shocked by the scene before her.

The music room had turned black. Utterly, horribly, pitch black. A streak of thunder raced through the room, illuminating everything and making Haruhi scream. She was so afraid of lightning. Mori looked at her, a protective look coming on to his face. "Haruhi?"

"It's nothing, sempai; I'm just gonna go find the door now." Mori looked around for his cousin. "Mitsukuni!" he yelled. "Takashi!" the boy Lolita yelled, running for his cousin.

"I'm scared!" he wailed. Mori picked him up, and grabbed Haruhi too. "What happened to this place?" Haruhi yelled, looking at Hani. "Kyou-chan got angry at the nickname you gave him, and decided to give Tama-chan and Hika-chan and Kao-chan why he should live up to his name." Hani spoke in a rush. "And then the room got dark, and I pounded on the door, but no one heard me!" Mori sweat dropped, looking extremely guilty. 'Mitsukuni, I've failed you.' Mori thought silently.

Mori looked at the girl squished to his side. Thunder crackled again, and she jumped. Her big brown eyes were frightened. Mori suddenly felt a rush of protection over this girl. 'I'd want to protect anyone in this situation.' He thought, banishing unwelcome ideas.

Suddenly, the room cleared and returned to its normal color. Haruhi stopped trembling and looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes. Mori leaned down, offering her a tissue. "Thanks, Mori-sempai." She said thickly, dabbing her eyes. Kyouya walked up to them slowly. 'Where did he come from?' Mori thought, suppressing a shiver. The Shadow King was full of surprises. "Ah, Haruhi, Mori-sempai, Hani-sempai, there you are." He straightened his glasses.

"K-Kyouya-sempai, what happened?" Haruhi tried to keep her voice from trembling. "I had to show Tamaki and the twins why I was called the Shadow King." He smiled evilly. "Now, what to do about you, Miss Fujioka?" Haruhi gulped. "You did break an eight million yen vase." He thoughtfully tapped his chin. "I know."

He gestured all around the Music Room. "Starting today, Miss Fujioka, you are a host!"

Haruhi sweat dropped. "WHAT?" Tamaki and the twins materialized suddenly, limping slightly. "Yes, Haruhi, you are a host starting today!" The twins leaned against her, staring her down. "But of course, you'll have to keep your gender a secret." Hani jumped up, looking at her. "Otherwise, you can't pay off your debt!" Mori just nodded. "But, but….." Haruhi sighed. 'All I wanted was a place to study.'

Tamaki snapped his fingers. "Hikaru, Kaoru." They snapped to attention, arms raised in a salute. "Yes, sir!" Without a word, they grabbed Haruhi and raced towards the dressing rooms. "Kyouya!" He gulped. "M-My stylist, please." Kyouya smirked. "You got it." Finally, he pointed at Mori. "Mori-sempai, get some contacts!" The stoic host nodded.

"Tama-chan, Tama-chan, what can I do?" Hani's eyes sparkled, eager to help. "Hani-sempai!" His eyes brightened. "Yes, sir!" Tamaki thought for a moment. "You…" he walked off, "Go eat some cake." Hani whimpered, dragging himself to his table. "It's just you and me, Usa-chan." He said dejectedly to his bunny, "Everyone else is busy." He sighed.

Haruhi slowly inched her way out of the dressing room. The whole Host Club was there. That made it all the more embarrassing. She had been totally pimped out. (A/N: Sorry. I had to. :D) Her hair had been professionally styled, contacts put in, and she'd been forced to put on a snooty, rich-kid uniform. She hated to admit it, but she felt that she looked good. She was approachable, at least.

Everyone except Mori and Kyouya moved towards her. She was enveloped in hugs and snuggles. Haruhi couldn't breathe. She looked for help. Haruhi knew that Kyouya wouldn't do anything. "Mori-sempai!" she cried to the stoic host. "Help me!" In about two seconds, she was pulled away from those groping hands, and lifted high into the air. Mori was looking at her with an expression she just couldn't place. 'What I would give to know what he's thinking.'

Mori stared up into the big brown eyes of their newest host club member. He felt a connection, similar to his one with Mitsukuni. 'I've decided.' Mori thought, staring into her hazel eyes. 'I'm going to protect her from now on as I protect Mitsukuni. She's gonna need it.' Tamaki looked at them. "Mori-sempai?" he said. "You really didn't have to go that far."

Mori began to set Haruhi down carefully. "Wait." Mori paused. "Do not set me down until they agree to stop touching me." He lifted her up again, placing her on his shoulders. "Well?" The Host Club looked at her. "Fiiiiiiiiiine." They all whined pathetically. "Thank you." Mori set her down. She looked up at him. "Thank you, Mori-sempai." He gave her a tiny, tiny smile.

Kyouya clapped his hands together. "C'mon everybody, we've got a club to see to." He ushered them along. "Time is yen, go on." Hani scrambled up to Mori's shoulders. "Hey Takashi," he whispered in his cousins ear. "What do you think of Haru-chan?" Mori grunted neither a yes nor a no sound. "Okay." Hani smiled. "Well, I LIKE her!"

The Host Club went rather successfully. The new customers all fawned over Haruhi, and she seemed to enjoy the club as well. Then, it came to the end of the day. Haruhi looked down at the pond, admiring the view. A dark shape floated in it, and she squinted curiously. 'Aw man. My wallet is in that bag.'

Dodging Kyouya, she managed to run into the courtyard. Without a second's hesitation, Haruhi jumped into the pond, rummaging for her stuff. Tamaki walked up to her, and tilted his head curiously. "Haruhi?" Said girl looked up, embarrassed. "How'd your bag get into the pond?" he asked, wading in with her. Haruhi looked up, noticing a dark shape in the window of the Music Room. 'So. It was her.'

The next day, a girl got water poured on her head, was accused of trashing a host's possessions, and was kicked out of the Host Club. She had been jealous of Haruhi for becoming a favorite of the hosts so quickly. (A/N: I didn't like the girl at all, she's lucky she gets even a little part in my story.)

At the end of the day, Haruhi crawled into her small bed, hanging her new uniform in the closet next to her. As she lay there, she talked about her day to her mom.

'Mom. I've been forced into servitude by a group that calls themselves the Host Club. I may not like it, but I think I'll learn to enjoy it in the future. This might actually be fun. I wish you were here to meet them.'

Haruhi grew drowsy. A white figure appeared next to her just as she began to drift between consciousnesses. But she wasn't afraid. Haruhi knew it was her mother, as an angel, standing there next to her. "I love you, Mom." She whispered before she fell asleep. The figure kneeled, and kissed her daughter one last time. 'I love you, Haruhi.'

Okay! Chapter One is done! I hope you all enjoyed the slow beginnings of the Host Club. Btws, the angel-apparition thing was something that happened to my mom. She said she saw a figure by her bed the day after her dad died. It convinced her to move on and live life happily. So, just thought I'd explain that. Stay tuned for chapter two. AnimeAuthorForevr signing off!