Azura

**RIIIIIINNNGGGG RIIINGGGGGG**

Azura leapt in her seat, surprised as the loud bell sounded about the academy. Academic classes for the first day of the school year have officially ended, it was now time for the students to attend extra curricular club meetings.

While everyone in class 3-A rushed to their next period, Azura took her time gathering her school supplies and placing them in her messenger bag. Unusual for her, since last year she would half-hazardly throw her textbooks and pencils into the satchel and be the first one out of class.
No, today she was nervous. Today she had to attend and officiate her first meeting as Ouran Academy's Host Club president. Normally this would not be a challenge for her due to her outstanding social skills. But as she stood up, butterflies fluttered inside her stomach causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and take deep breaths.

"I can do this." She said to the empty room.
"I already lasted the entire school day so far... Besides, Tamaki-Senpai put his trust in me."

Nodding her head with new found determination, Azura slung her tan suade bag over her shoulder and strolled into the hallway with her head held high. Passing a few doors she made a right and entered the third floor girls locker room.

She found her assigned locker, number 103, and spun the lock to enter her combination. Once the metallic door glided open, she quickly tore off her uniform and replaced it with her casual attire. Making sure to keep up the brisk pace so she was not late for the club meeting.

By the time she had finished getting dressed she had five minutes to spare. With one glance in the mirror she assessed that her appearance was satisfactory. Her long red hair was held in two low braids. Each hung past her shoulders, ending just below her chest. They were tied with silk dark green ribbon and her bangs framed her face. Her emerald green eyes seemed more pronounced with her choice of natural brown eye liner. Her lips shone with the carmex chapstique she put on after lunch. She wore a simple long sleeved, black v-neck paired with light grey skinny jeans and converse high tops.

Usually for such a special occasion she would dress up more. Wear a suit or maybe even a skirt. But with her state of mind, and her emotions running so rampant, she decided comfortable attire was the best way.

"You didn't hear about her?"

Azura froze, her ears perking up as she overheard the whispered conversation coming from a few feet away from her. Two students, both in her grade, were looking in her direction and speaking behind their hands. This muffled the sound and she could only just hear the last bit of their conversation.

"Yeah, suicide... It was quite tragic."

Azura's eyes widened. Her heart rate increased and tears threatened to shed. She gritted her teeth and fought back the wail that was building in her throat.

"No!" she thought, angry at her raw emotions.
"Not here. You've got to keep going. You're better than this.

Talking to herself is one of the crazy habits she picked up after her mental breakdown...

In attempt to distract herself as well as drown out any other possible upsetting topics, Azura placed her purple headphones atop her head and turned her iPod as loud as it could go. She then swung her bag once more over her shoulder and exited the locker room before walking to Music Room 3.

Once arriving, she observed the beautiful, ornate double doors before her. They were pale pink in color and we're obviously made out of an expensive wood. The handles were real gold as well no doubt. In attempt to overcome her last bit of nerves, Azura reached into her bag presenting her one and only vice... Chocolate pocky. She took the sweet between her teeth and chewed, letting the flavorful taste calm her. Closing her eyes, she took a final deep breath and turned the handle.

"Kiss! Kiss! Fall in love!" She sang along with her iPod as she entered the room.

Upon opening her eyes she froze. With her being so early the red head figured she would be the only one in the room. Apparently she was wrong because sitting near the coffee table was a boy seeming younger in age. His long black hair was held back in a single low ponytail. While his warm, brown eyes scanned her, calculating... Accessing. He seemed intelligent. That was the first impression Azura could muster of the stranger.

"Um... Sorry about that." Zu-Zu laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.
"I usually only sing in the shower. Not in front of live audiences."

Attempting to regain her composure she walked towards brown eyes with her hand held out.
"Hello! My name is Azura Lunarie. I'm the new Host Club president."
She grinned, dazzling him with her white smile and hidden dimples. Her depressing thoughts now forgotten temporarily due to the distraction before her, Azura's charm shone like the star she was in social situations.

As Sasaki heard the bell ring, he snapped out of his boredom induced haze. It was the first day and already he wasn't paying much attention in science. He sighed, deciding that he'd spend his evening recommitting himself. He gathered his stuff together quickly, knowing he had a place to be.

He was, admittedly, kind of excited to be a host, and he was lucky they were in need of a vice-president. He ended up speed walking over to the music room where the club was kept, not bothering to make any stops along the way. However, his excitement seemed to have gotten ahead of him, as he was the first to show up.

Not sure what to do for a moment, he looked around the room. It was just as well decorated as any other part of the school, perhaps more so, given it's meant for entertainment. He got out a pencil and paper to take a note that they would need to buy flowers for the vases, as they currently didn't have any. He placed the paper on a nearby coffee table and sat down, waiting for someone to walk in. It didn't take long before someone did.

Sasaki didn't recognize her at all, but she seemed older than him, and it seemed she was foreign. She walked into the room singing, apparently not expecting anyone, and then promptly announced as such.

As he continued listening to her, he looked her up and down, trying to get a general sense of her personality. She seems to make herself comfortable, which isn't bad, but Sasaki wasn't expecting it. She seemed kind. He figured she'd do well as a president, though it'd take more than a few sentences and a once-over to fully evaluate that.

"Don't worry about it. Singing is a natural part of life, I like to believe." He stood up and bowed, "I'm Sasaki Yuuki, and I'll be your vice-president for the school year. For our first meeting we'll be getting familiar with all the hosts, for the most part, though we'll probably have enough time to start moving on to topics of plans for the school year. If you have anything else you want to cover until the other hosts get here, however, we can certainly do so as we wait."

Masahiro Hirabayashi had been waiting all day for this.

As the bell was struck, the young man with jet black hair and muted blue eyes stood up from his seat slowly. his legs lifted himself up first, his body still heavily hunched over until he finally straightened himself out. Academics were over for the day, it was now time for the host club.

It was his second year attending Ouran High School, and his second year with the club itself. Over the past few years there had been many changes to the rules of the club, the biggest one being the rule against women joining the club. Ever since a rather big incident, one of the host club's members was revealed to be a girl, and since then the club members worked to keep her there, effectively inviting other women to join as well.

It was also going to be the first year without Tamaki-sensei as the president of the club. A greenhorn without and discernible experience. It was the girl who had become a recluse the year before.

He knew the stories, he did his research. Masahiro was nothing but rich, if not studious. It would be best for him to not reference that when he met her.

In the time it took for him to think out his plans, to meet the new hosts, and to greet the new president, Masahiro reached his locker. All of his belongings were set where the needed to be, and everything that he needed to take home with him were carefully placed in his luxury backpack. He paid good money for a bag that was nearly indestructible, so it better be worth it, lest a lawsuit be placed against the company for false advertisement.

It seemed like he wasn't the first one to enter the fuchsia doors. Two others had already found themselves inside, talking to one another rather casually.

He peeked his head in first to look around, finding them there. He didn't smile or anything, but only offered a slow blink before removing his head and opening the doors fully.

His eyes set on the woman in the room. She must be the new president that Tamaki-sensei had appointed at the end of the previous year. She certainly looked quite nervous, so he did his best to fill the role of a host, and smiled rather pleasantly, bowing deep with an arm stretched outward.

"It's a pleasure to meet you... Miss president."

Oh no.

He forgot her name.

MASAHIRO HOW COULD YOU FORGET THE NAME OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE HOST CLUB?

He kept his cool. He was the epitome of cool. "My name is Masahiro Hirabayashi. As a member of the club last year, I humbly welcome you to this group, and wish you the best in all of your endeavors."

Dude how is it possible that you can't even remember if she was in the club or not last year? For a weirdo who spends a lot of time researching things and people, you seem to forget an awful lot.

She watched brown eyes stand up and bow in her direction. It caught her off guard due to the fact that she had momentarily forgotten about the Japanese custom. With her being in the United States for so long, she had become used to the familiar handshake upon most greetings. Her hand fell awkwardly to her side as she politely bowed in return.

"It is a pleasure to meet you!" Azura almost sang once he had introduced himself.
"Sasaki Yuuki... That's an interesting name. Should I call you Sasaki-sama?"

Making sure to be cautious, Zu-zu used the formal greeting in association with Japanese custom. She did not want to offend the new Vice President. She needed him. There was no way that the Host Club would survive under her leadership alone. With the way he spoke of the days itinerary, it was obvious who was more capable to lead club activities. He was smart, organized, and quite possibly as good in business as Kyoya.

"Why in the world would Tamaki put his faith in me? I am surely not qualified for this line of work... Then again, neither was he."
It took her a moment to notice that Sasaki had been waiting for a reply. Thinking that she must have seemed like a ditzy airhead, Azura's blush intensified.

"That sounds like a perfect strategy for today's events. We may also want to think about ways to advertise our club around campus. Let everyone know that the Host Club is back in business."
She spoke eloquently before taking another bite of her Pocky. This time however, she let the stick hang from her lips in a casual manner. Leaning forward, she began searching through her bag before finally presenting a list of the Host members names and information.
"Perhaps we could use this as a roster? To be perfectly honest, I have no clue what I am doing. I don't even know why Tamaki-senpai chose me to be the clubs new leader... I mean, you seem more capable of being president than I ever will be."

She tilted her head to the side and grinned, letting a nervous laugh escape her lips before she finally walked over and sat on the opposite side of the coffee table.

As she sat down, another male entered the double doorway and approached them. He bowed with one arm outstretched before greeting her.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Azura grinned now more excited then nervous.
"My name is Azura. But you can call me whatever, I don't mind. It usually varies between Zura, Zu-Zu, or Star."

In the middle of her rambling, a realization had dawned on her.
"Wait, you were in the Host Club last year???" She asked excitedly.
"That's perfect! Maybe you could help us plan Club events for this semester since you have already had previous experience."

She patted the empty cushion next to her on the couch and gave a friendly smile. The new arrival definitely seemed to come from a wealthy background. Normal for most Ouran Academy students.
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Karma

In the student parking lot Karma had just arrived as the final bell for academic classes rang. He had decided to skip classes for the day since the first day of school was always such a bore for him. Cutting the engine to his vintage and newly refurbished 1950's Hammarhead motorcycle, (which had cost him a small fortune) Karma gracefully swung his leg over the seat and stepped away from the bike. He ran his fingers through his tousled silver hair and looked up at the bell tower that overshadowed the entire campus.

"Another year... my last year." He thought glumly as he plucked a cigarette from the pack he carried in his front pocket.
Even though he hated the classes he attended, it was still a much better environment then being at home in Russia. Not to mention, he would miss the friends he had come to know and love at Ouran. Still, Karma understood the duty he had to the citizens of St. Petersburg. He had to save them from his fathers tyrannous rule.

Lighting the fragile cigarette quickly, he inhaled the smoke and instantly felt calmer. Exhaling, he walked towards one of the high school buildings, finishing the cancer stick as he arrived at the buildings entrance.

"Hey!" One of the security guards growled in his direction.
"No smoking on campus!"

Karma rolled his eyes and extinguished the cigarette against the doorway. He then entered the building but not before giving the officer the finger.

Normally, when Karma skipped school he would have skipped the entire day. However, he had a promise to keep. A promise he made to his best friend Azura.

Earlier that day

"You skipped school today?!" Azura's voice shouted, sounding annoyed.

Karma held the cell phone away from his ear and grimaced. Looking over at his alarm clock, he noticed that it was about lunch time. He had slept in due to a hangover he had from drinking the night before... or was it this morning? Reguardless, he was not in class.

"It's the first day Star... Give me a break." He growled placing a pillow over his face.

"But you promised me you would be there! You know how nervous I am! I need you Karma. Come on, get your lazy ass out of bed already. You better be here by the time the first meeting starts or I swear you will regret it."

Present

As Karma walked down the hall, he couldn't help but notice the stares he was getting. With the new year beginning, freshman students were starting their new life as high school students. Meaning, they had never seen Karma before. Some of the new girls gawked at him, taking in his handsome yet forbidden features.
Today he wore a black button up shirt, the sleeves were rolled casually to his elbows while the top two buttons were undone exposing the usual necklaces he wore. They consisted of a few silver chains with meaningful pendants hanging off them.
Many bracelets adorned his wrists and his white skinny jeans had more than a few rips in them. Definitely against the school dress code. The outfit was paired with combat boots which seemed to make him look edgier.

One of the cuter freshman blushed when he made eye contact and smirked at her. He made his way over to her figuring he would have enough time before the club meeting started. He placed his hand against the wall over her head and leaned towards her intimately. She was trapped between him and the locker behind her but he was sure to give her an exit by letting his left hand hand on his back pocket.
Not that she needed an exit. They never did.

"Hello angel." He purred enjoying the effect he had on the girl.
"How was your first day of high school?"

"I, uh, suppose that's fine, yes." It was a little weird being referred to as sama, but he supposed she must think it justifiable. It occurred to him that she might understand that sama is a bit formal, but by the time he realized that the moment had gone by too quickly for correcting her not to seem weird, and he certainly didn't want to seem rude by correcting her, especially if he was wrong, so instead he just let it go and sat down, ready to get to business.

She seems to be the wistful type, as it took her a few moments to respond to him, but that didn't bother him so much. He grabbed the paper on the coffee table and began making notes as they talked, first adding a note next to his note about the flowers that the discussion of budget in general should be had (though with the school's wealth it's less a topic of need and more a topic of "What are we gonna spend all this on?").

"Advertising is a good idea. I doubt we'll get anything worth posting out by tomorrow, but certainly by the end of the week. We could probably get an announcement out to the school somehow- I'm sure there's some way for clubs to do that. I'll get on that once we close up the meeting." He added that in his notes, looking up once he saw that Azura had produced a piece of paper. He listened to her explain the contents, he nodded and gave a quiet "Ah, thank you", knowing that it'd be helpful. He started to read the list before he heard Azura start to express her own doubts.

It wasn't something Sasaki was exactly prepared for, but it wasn't something he wanted to leave awkwardly out in the air, so he said, "I wouldn't sell yourself short so quickly, Azura-sempai. After all, you've been the president for all of five minutes. Give yourself time to find comfort in your place. And just because I'm quick to get ready to organize doesn't make me more suitable to be a president. You were picked to be president for a reason, after all."

He went to look over all the names, and found he recognized none of them. It wasn't particularly surprising, since he was new to the school, but he figured it didn't matter, as he'd get familiar with them soon enough. As he looked it over, the sound of the door opening alerted him to the presence of a new host.

As Azura and the man introduced themselves to one another, Sasaki got a good look at him. He seemed pretty serious, from what he could tell, but not cold, exactly. And it seemed he carried a superfluously expensive bag. Not that half the things in this school weren't superfluously expensive, of course, but it stood to be noted.

Once Azura was done talking, Sasaki stood and bowed once more, "I'm Sasaki Yuuki, and I'll be the vice-president this year. Pleasure to meet you." As he sat back down, he took a note about discussing club events, since Azura mentioned it.

The bell sounded, and Noriko snapped out of her disoriented gaze, sitting outside around the back of the school. She threw the last blueberry from her container into her mouth and it burst onto her tongue as she bit into it. The breeze whisked through her sapphire hair and she stood, pushing her self up from the grass. The short girl winced slightly as the blades of grass grazed her injured when she stood up. Noriko dabbed the blood on her knee with a handkerchief, and it stung. She wondered whether her afternooons spent roughhousing with D-class students behind the school would be left behind once she joined the host club. Noriko's eyes suddenly widened as she realised that she was meant to meet with the rest of the host club today, at the bell. Grabbing her satchel and swinging it over her shoulder, she began to hurry back inside the school building, running through the regally decorated halls and past pompous-looking students from all different grades.

On her way through the labyrinth-like hallways that she hadn't yet gotten used to, Noriko felt through her pockets and bag for her map, but it was clear that she'd left it behind before heading outside. She passed the locker room, thankfully, and approached the rows of lockers. She dug her hand into her skirt pocket, pulling out her locker key, but paused as she looked down the row to see a peculiar boy with silver hair seemingly coming onto a freshman. Upon noticing he was a senior, she scoffed under her breath. "Gross," she said, a little louder than she realised, and ran her hand through the fringe of her hair as she resumed opening her locker.

"With all honesty, Azura-senpai. I wasn't the one making the plans for the host club. While I did have sway and say in matters due to me funding most projects, most of the specifics weren't handled by me." After getting her name, he stood near the couches, relaxing on one hip. He always preferred standing over sitting. "However, I'll do what I can to help you get your bearings." He'd have to step up some as well, being around two greenhorns to the club. The difficulty would vary, but as long as they did everything properly, and consulted the patented Host Cub Guide to Hosting that clearly didn't exist.

Oh boy, it was going to be an interesting year.

He looked around, wondering where the others were. "I know that the Host club is somewhat exclusive, but shouldn't there be more than just us three?"

Azura

Since the meeting had begun (sort of), Zura felt her anxiety slowly evaporate. Brainstorming on the best way to advertise the Clubs return was a great distraction to the demons that haunted her. She listened to Sasaki speak. His words calmed her... showing that there must be a reason that she was appointed leader. Nodding along politely, pleased that everything was already coming together. The other boy, Masahiro stepped closer. However, instead of sitting next to her, he leaned against the back of the couch. Stylishly posing as he spoke of his past influence on the club the previous year. Instead of helping plan and organize events, it seemed that he was in charge of funding most of the clubs activities. Unorthodox yes, but nonetheless it would be extremely useful. Especially when budgeting is concerned.

"Rest assured Masahiro-san. There are still other members who have yet to arrive. We are a little early after all... Azura spoke articulating her words with bites of Pocky.

Regardless, I guess we should wait for the other members to arrive before continuing with necessary plans... Besides, I know of one other Host who will definitely be attending todays meeting." She smiled, but shortly after her plesant tone she muttered under her breath, her voice more menacing.
"At least he better be..."

Shortly after she spoke, the second bell rang, signaling to all students that the next period was about to begin.
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Karma

Asami, the freshman that Karma had been speaking to, was busy blushing and giggling at some meaningless comment the bad boy had said. He smiled slightly, not showing any teeth. He never fully smiled though, not unless there was a good reason behind it. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a fair maiden with long, ocean blue hair. A quick assessment of the female student told him that she was definitely not like most girls. The cuts and bruises on her arms clearly indicated a recent brawl. While the scowl she held stated to others that "Don't fuck with me" was clearly plastered across her forehead.

He turned his attention back to Asami and leaned closer, softly grazing his fingertips against her cheek. This made the poor girls blush deepen, if that were even possible.

"Gross." The blue sourpuss scoffed as she turned her attention back to her locker.

Karma's eyebrows rose as an amused grin made its way onto his lips. His mischievous nature set in, and he couldn't help but tease someone who was obviously so bothered by his antics. After excusing himself from the little freshman politely, he slung his bag over his shoulder and sauntered over to where Noriko stood.

"May I help you?" He asked as he leaned against the locker beside her and folded his arms.
"I couldnt help but notice that you disapprove of my relationship with..."
His face twisted with confusion for a moment. It seemed that he had already forgotten the girls name. Normal for him though, since he never wanted to get too close to anyone. So with a shrug of his shoulders he dismissed it and turned his gaze once more to blue hair.

"Could it be that I have made you jealous?" He chuckled and flipped his hair arrogantly.
"Understandable though, a lot of women have fallen for my charm. Can't say I blame them though."
He took a moment and poked her arm with his index finger. His hope was to annoy the girl further in order to receive a reaction.

As he waited for her reply, the second bell sounded signaling that he was late for the Club meeting.
"Shit..." He muttered to himself.
"Azura's going to kill me. I will never hear the end of this one."

As the bell finally rang, Mikiena quickly gathered er things and put them in her bag. As she went to stand up they fell out causing her to scramble to get them back in her bag and snip it up. She checked to make sue both her phone and laptop were alright before continuing on. "At this rate I'm going to be late..." she muttered to herself as she checked the tie. Luckily the halls weren't too crowded on the way to the club.

It was going to be her first time in a club and her very first in a host club at that. It was nerve racking but somewhat exciting. Mikiena sped her way down the halls right to the door. Taking a deep breath and willing herself, she opened the door and walked in. The room was gorgeous, more decorated than any rooms she's seen outside of the school. One of the best looking places she had seen in the school by far.

"Um... Hi. I'm sorry I'm late. I dropped my bag." She shyly said to the people standing in the room. She had hopped she didn't miss anything too important. She took another breath and walked over to the other people. "I'm Mikiena. Mikiena Takaharu. I'm not too late am I?" her cheeks were red and even with a small group it seemed like she might be an oddball. Especially showing up after everything had started on the first day.

Way to go Kiena... First impressions are everything and you blew it. Maybe you should just write death by social interactions on your tombstone. It's quite fitting.