Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction ❯ Hindrance ❯ Part Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
HINDRANCE
An Ouran High School Host Club Fanfic

Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess


AUTHOR'S NOTES: Born of a request from fellow LJ user, himehikari, and a quotation I found. Probably not as less angsty as I promised. I seem to thrive on the emotion. SORRY! But I still hope you'll enjoy. Kyoya + Renge. Possible OOC-ness. A Standard Disclaimer appears at the end of the chapter.


"The man who gives up accomplishes nothing and is only a hindrance. The man who does not give up can move mountains." –Ernest Hello


Part Two


Renge Houshakuji shook her head as she closed the door to Music Room three behind her.

'What was I thinking?'

It had been planned down to the color of the tablecloth. The set up was esthetically pleasing. The right ambience. His favorite fruits, cheeses and even tea. The cider was a risk, but it was her favorite if nothing else.

'Stupid, silly Renge.

She had finally gotten them out of her way. The Host Club. They had been a hindrance from the start. Monopolizing his time and energy. And now, without even planning for it, the opportunity to snatch him had arrived.

'All that talk about work. Then...then....'

The slip was unplanned. She had been too relaxed. There was to be nothing personal thrown into the conversation. It was nothing but work, she kept telling herself. And she had, for the time, accepted that if this was the only way she could spend time with him, then so be it.

'You've really blown it this time.'

She sighed to herself. Why would he want her anyway? She was nothing more than an annoyance to him. Sure, her ideas were marketable and she had brought a great amount of wealth to the Host Club since becoming their manager. But that had to be all he cared about. The money.

He really was nothing like the video game character she so admired.

"Why would he be?" Haruhi had asked during one of their many conversations. "This is real life, Houshakuji-san. Not a video game."

"You wouldn't understand," she replied. Haruhi was too practical a person to understand.

But Renge realized now that she had a point.

He wasn't a video game character, no matter how much he looked like one. He was a real person, with real thoughts. Real emotions. Real likes and dislikes.

But how did she go about getting to know him? The REAL him.

"He's really not that hard to figure out," Haruhi told her.

"He's a complex masterpiece," Renge replied. "How can you say that?"

Haruhi shrugged. "You just have to watch."

"But--?"

"I don't think he's as complicated as you're making him out to be," Haruhi assured her with a smile.

"So...I just need to watch him."

And she did.

So she immersed herself in everything Kyoya. She learned what made him smile. What made him frown. His favorite foods. Favorite books. The Host Club had been useful for that much. They knew him best, after all. Especially Haruhi, whose insights were simply amazing.

"Everything is here as you ordered, Miss Houshakuji."

"It doesn't look like much."

"It's all here. Sometimes a little goes a long way."

"We'll see. Thank you, Kazuki."

"Miss...."

Knowledge in hand, she put together this meeting. Utilizing what she learned and what, she thought, would make him happy – club business. This time, she was sure she'd be able to connect with him. For real.

"Of course, there's still the swap meet, and updates to the website. We've got several new items thanks to your photographer."

"I expect nothing less from you."

"Fruit?"

"Thank you."

"And for the Halloween party, I think we should use a classic horror theme."

"Perhaps a collaboration with the Black Magic Club?"

"My thoughts exactly. Here's a sketch for the costumes...."

"Easily done. Speak with the head of the Drama Club."

And for a second, she thought she did.

"I certainly appreciate the thought and effort you put into all this. But I think it's a bit much for business."

Perhaps he was tired of her fangirlish behavior. She couldn't deny she deserved it. But she wanted to really know him. Perhaps even fall in love with him.

‘Maybe I'm better off pining for a video game character.'

As she left the school, she looked up towards the window of Music Room three. The lights were still on. But as her car pulled up to the main gate, the driver exiting to open her door, the window went dark.

Resigned to a real fate, Renge got in her car and headed home. She sighed, asking the driver to take the long way home.

"Yes, Miss."

There was no looking back.

‘Goodbye, Kyoya Ohtori.'

But fate seemed to have a different idea.

As summer vacation quickly approached, Renge threw herself into her other work. She was more energetic during her daily program and focused on other things. There were other video games. Other characters. Other degrees of moe for her to be thrilled about.

"Today's news is absolutely wicked. Oh hohohohohoho. We're talking much more than the Broadway play folks!"

Her seemingly good spirits never left the television screen. It even had the crew completely fooled. Her classmates, too, never saw a change in her.

But...there had been a change.

"And in other news...."

Her laughter and smile belied a deep hurt.

Her heart was overwhelmed with her failure to reach out to Kyoya on a real level.

She was out of ideas. And out of hope. He never did respond to her Host Club suggestions. Perhaps he was waiting until after break. Surely he'd look in depth into her suggestions and research for himself. There was little hope of talking to any of the Host Club members either. She, too, needed to study for exams.

And Haruhi was never in the library when she looked.

"I'm so glad exams are over."

"Me, too."

"Enjoy your vacation."

"See you after break!"

"Don't forget to call me."

When exams were over, Renge had never been so happy to be leaving the school. She needed the vacation for a change. She could lose herself in a new video game, or some new books. Oh there was a new novel she had been anticipating for months that she couldn't wait to dig into.

Anything to be rid of the horrid reality she was forced to accept.

"Miss Houshakuji?"

"Yes."

Instead she was confronted by several men in black suits. They could have been working for any number of students at Ouran. For a moment she thought nothing of their presence. Until one of them spoke her name a she walked by.

"We need you to come with us?"

"May I ask why?"

"Please Miss, we don't have time to explain."

Was this a game?

But as the men in black escorted her to a waiting limousine, she realized that this was no game. Were they kidnapping her? Was there a vicious plot to soil her family's good name?

"Excuse me, but--!"

"All the arrangement have been made, Miss."

As she settled into the limousine, she asked, "By whom?"

"Mr. Ohtori."

"Oh." She was taken aback by the answer. Stunned, she settled back into the seat. Her mind ran a number of different possibilities all at once.

"Water, Miss?"

"No, thank you."

Perhaps, this was better than a video game.


~TO BE CONTINUED~

DISCLAIMER:
Ouran High School Host Club is a brilliant piece of work by creator Bisco Hatori. Originally published in 2003 by HAKUSENSHA, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, this masterpiece is being translated and published by VIZ Media for fans in America and Canada. I do not own a single piece of the characters used in this story. They were kidnapped and used here without permission.