Chapter 2
"I’ve been informed of some business that requires our immediate attention," Kyoya announced to the rest of the club the next afternoon.
"Is it about next week’s ball?" Tamaki asked. "I thought we’d already gone over the preparations for it."
"Yes, but we have a new situation on our hands," Kyoya said. "It seems the school is attempting to recruit a child prodigy and has invited her and her friends to come to the ball and spend some one-on-one time with the members of the Host Club - seven of them and seven of us. The school has already received her response. She will take the tour before attending the ball and give the school her final decision the following day."
"So then our original plans will have to take a backseat," Tamaki pondered.
"Yes, our usual clientele will have to be put on hold, but we can easily arrange to make up for that," Kyoya stated.
"Makes no difference to me," Haruhi put in.
"So what’s this girl like?" Honey asked.
And so began the impressive results of Kyoya’s background check. He posted a picture of Chiyo-chan onto the club’s dry-erase board and wrote her name above it, circling it and writing "guest of honor" next to it. "Chiyo Mihama is eleven years old but will be turning twelve at the end of the school year. Her family is well-off and she attends a prestigious commoners’ high school. The six friends she’s bringing with her to the ball are all commoners as well."
"Try not to use the word ‘commoner’ around them," Haruhi advised. "You’ll just end up insulting them." God help these girls for agreeing to come to this thing and dance with these people...
"Heavens, no," Tamaki protested. "While I admit I am fascinated by the commoners’ lifestyle, I would never use the word ‘commoner’ in a derogatory manner."
"Still, I’d refrain from saying anything that might set them off," Kyoya said, agreeing with Haruhi. "It’s bad for business."
One-track mind, Haruhi thought.
"As I was saying, Miss Mihama is tremendously intelligent for her age, but she’s still an eleven-year-old and enjoys cute things. So Honey-sempai, you will be dancing with her." He drew a line from Chiyo’s picture to the bottom of the board and wrote Honey’s name down.
"Are you sure it’s not just because I’m short?" Honey questioned.
"You’re not known as the boy lolita for nothing," Hikaru pointed out.
"I’m sure you two will have plenty of other things to talk about," Kaoru added.
"Moving on to her friends," Kyoya continued, pinning the girls’ pictures to the dry-erase board next to Chiyo-chan’s and writing down each of their names in turn. "Miss Sakaki is by far the tallest of the group." All eyes immediately turned toward Mori.
"So this really is about height," Honey muttered gloomily.
"No, it’s about compatibility of temperament," Kyoya stated. "Like Mori-sempai, Miss Sakaki is the strong silent type. She loves animals and hopes to attend a veterinary college."
"She sounds really nice, Takashi," Honey pointed out. "You should make an effort to talk to her a little bit. She might need someone to open up to."
"All right," Mori said.
"Next is Tomo Takino," Kyoya continued. "She’s spirited and enthusiastic. Competitive too, but not very bright. Though seeing as how she’s attending that school, she must be able to put her mind to it when it counts. That being said, Tamaki, you’ll be dancing with her."
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Tamaki inquired. "‘That being said.’"
"Your spirit and enthusiasm and being able to put your mind to things," Kaoru guessed.
"That is how you got all of us to join the club, isn’t it?" Hikaru pointed out.
"Very well, I shall be Miss Takino’s dance partner," Tamaki happily agreed.
"Fine," Kyoya said. "Now, Hikaru and Kaoru, before I tell you about your dance partners, you need to agree not to switch places on them or deliberately try to confuse them in any way. Is that clear?"
"We wouldn’t pull a stunt like that," Hikaru protested.
"We’re not even going to be dressing alike," Kaoru added.
"All right, then." Kyoya added their names to the board. "Hikaru, you’ll be dancing with Miss Kagura. She’s on the swim team and enjoys jogging too. Kaoru, you’ll be dancing with Miss Osaka. Her real name is Ayumu Kasuga, but since she’s from Osaka, all her friends call her Osaka. She’s a ditz but has a very unique way of thinking."
"That sounds like a load of fun," Hikaru remarked.
"It should be an interesting evening," Kaoru commented.
Kyoya turned to Haruhi. "Haruhi, you will be dancing with Miss Aida. Her name is Kaori but all her friends call her Kaorin. She belongs to the astronomy club."
"And what will I do if she realizes I’m a girl?" Haruhi asked.
"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it," Kyoya responded. "After all, none of the girls here have realized your true gender when they danced or otherwise had physical contact with you."
"So you’re saying you’re willing to take that risk?"
"Since it’s a special circumstance, your time will count for double."
"Fine, I’m in," Haruhi said reluctantly. She was still so deep in debt to the club that she was willing to go along with the tasks they presented her with. "And who will you be dancing with, Kyoya-senpai?"
"My dance partner for the evening will be Koyomi Mizuhara," Kyoya replied, capping the marker. "She’s both intelligent and athletic but a terrible singer, though she loves karaoke."
"Don’t you think this is a little unfair?" Haruhi broached.
"How so?" Kyoya asked.
"You collected all this information about them, but they don’t know a thing about us. The school sent Chiyo an invitation, but they probably didn’t include any promotional literature about the club."
"Haruhi has a point," Tamaki agreed. "While some women might like the idea of attending another school’s ball with no idea of whom they will be meeting there, it might not be the case with these girls. A little advance notice wouldn’t hurt. We could even send roses to show our appreciation of their agreeing to come."
"Yeah, you do that," Haruhi said. "Just keep it simple."
"Simple is good," Kyoya agreed.
There’s that one-track mind again, Haruhi thought.
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