damned_institute | Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

Hikaru gave Sora a wry grin. He looked pretty weirded out by Honey's real age. "His size is his selling point, you know. Girls love talking to him because it's like talking to a little kid. He's also the 'lovely item' that makes another one of our friends more approachable."

He stood and ruffled Honey's hair a bit in an awkwardly comforting gesture. "We don't know, senpai, but it's dangerous here. This isn't a normal hospital."

"Monsters. I've seen a... a big robot with laser swords twice now." Tamaki offered another faltering smile. "But I've heard about other things." He ran a hand through his hair and sat down.

"We don't know where we are or how we got here. Nobody does. And there are people here from hundreds of different worlds! Like Sora!" He beamed at his friend.

"But don't be worried. We're going to get out. We just have to make friends and work together with everyone!"

While Sora was preparing to explain more about Landel's to the group he was with, he was distracted by what Hikaru said. Selling point?

Girls?

"Wh-what do you mean?" he asked. He'd never heard anyone speak like that before and he wasn't sure what to think of it. When his own peculiarity - the fact that he was from a different world - was revealed, he simply grinned. It wasn't all that amazing, in his opinion, considering how many worlds he had been to.

That wasn't important, though. They had to be prepared and he had a lot he could tell them. "Don't underestimate this place. It isn't... normal. But it's true, the main thing you need to know is that we have to find a way out of here as soon as possible. It's just that... that's not very easy."

Honey blushed a little. "Hika-chan, Tama-chan, and I are all part of the Host Club at our school. We have guests over and entertain them. And I get to eat cake! A lot of cake!"

He smiled at the mention of cake, but then remembered what the others had said. Back to business it was, or as much business as Honey could think of.

"What do you mean, it's not very easy? A friend of ours...oh."

His face fell when he realized he didn't have his cell phone. He'd wanted to call Kyouya and ask if he could please send his private police over and pick them up.

"Did people hurt you? I...well, my family runs a martial arts school, and I was the national judo champion in junior high. I used to be in the Karate Club before I joined the Host Club. If anyone hurt you..."

Honey didn't like fighting if he didn't have to. But if someone had hurt his friends...

Surprise number one had been waking up in a new room. The fact that he couldn't remember how he got there wasn't a shock anymore. But he really hadn't expected a new room.

Surprise number two took on the form of Honey-Senpai, sitting with his legs dangling as he spoke to Tamaki, Hikaru and some other guy.

Number three was that he wasn't surprised to see Hikaru without him, surrounded by people. He only hoped that the new bed in his room didn't belong to Hikaru. Why would his twin run off without him?

He draped himself over Hikaru and looked down, making sure his brother was alright. Then it was to the business of Honey. Seeing the little guy actually filled him with some faith. The twins still weren't all that used to friendship, but he realised how nice it felt to see someone familiar. He felt a little safer. Of course, that could have something to do with Honey's skills.

"Nobody messes with Honey-Senpai. Only, he usually has Mori with him who looks a little...scarier."
He shot Honey a smile.

He hadn't looked at Tamaki yet. He felt like his face might burn off with shame if he tried. Was Hikaru talking to him now? If he wasn't then they might lose Honey too. Why would he stay with the twins when the King was around?

"'Robot with lazer swords,'" Hikaru repeated, deadpan. That kind of trumped his 'giant mutated rats' from a couple nights ago, as well as the 'patients with homicidal intent' from last night. Speaking of which, he could see them in this room--Kadaj, sitting by himself and looking like he'd just found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and Yazoo, sitting with some guy with...nekomimi? Cosplay, maybe?

Whatever.

"We all have selling points as Hosts," he said, grinning slyly at Sora. "Honey-senpai is small and cute, my Lord here is handsome and charming, and I'm..." Well, he'd just leave it at that. No need to ruin the surprise...plus, the conversation had already moved on.

And speak of the devil.

Hikaru nuzzled his face into Kaoru's chest, in full Host-mode. He knew how much their...interactions tended to creep out most of the uninitiated. The (straight) guys, anyway. They could usually bring out the yaoi fangirl in most women if they tried hard enough. "But Mori-senpai isn't here," he murmured, tracing his fingers along his brother's collarbone. "So we need to look after Honey-senpai ourselves. Kaoru, did you leave the room without me? You weren't in bed when I woke up. I'll have to...punish you for that tonight."

He looked up at Sora. This is our selling point.

And obviously, nothing Tamaki had said had gotten through to the twins. He guessed Ed was right. He couldn't convince them that this place was nothing like home, they'd just have to realize it themselves.

He opted to ignore them, rather than glare at them. They probably just wanted the same thing he did, some sense that everything was normal. Even though it wasn't, at all. He just gave Sora a somewhat sheepish look, instead.

"Don't go out alone at night," he told Honey, and smiled. "As long as you have friends with you, everything will be okay! But it's a good idea to make friends with people who have skills you don't. Like my friend Ed... he can make weapons. He made the sword I used last night."

Now Sora was starting to think that this Host Club sounded pretty cool. You got to meet a lot of new people and eat good food... What could be bad about that? He was about to ask more about it when someone who looked exactly like Hikaru walked up.

They were twins! Just like the Fairy Godmothers, except... not at all, really. The point was that it was neat.

Or so he thought, until they started falling all over each other and then things become a little uncomfortable. Sora's blush deepened and he had to avert his gaze. As Hikaru started to explain their 'selling points,' it got even worse.

Luckily, Tamaki spoke up and made him feel a little better. He would just have to change the subject. "Yeah. And... I have a weapon I can use, too, so if any of you need help, just let me know." These boys all seemed really normal, if they were questioning what happened at night to such an extent. They seemed friendly, so Sora hoped he could help them, being someone who could fight.

The twins' behavior didn't even faze Honey anymore. He was used to it. And, he was glad to see Kaoru. Plus, it was nice to have a new friend.

The thing that concerned him the most - Tama-chan had a sword? He'd carried one during the club cosplays sometimes, but it was always as a "Prince Charming will come to the princess' rescue!" item. It worried the small Host that he felt the Lord actually needed one for anything else, but what he said was right. As long as he was with friends, it would be okay.

"And if you need anything... my family has trained in martial arts for a long time. I don't like to pick fights with things, but, well. We're friends now, Sora-chan. If you need anything, it's OK."

His stomach growled at that moment, audibly. "Um. Do they feed you?"

"Hikaru... I feel so bad for Honey-senpai. I'd die here without you," he said sadly, stroking his brothers cheek. Their new 'friend' (probably from the land of Zombobyagob and has the power to engage inanimate objects in song and dance) seemed to be getting a little uncomfortable. How nice.
But he was momentarily thrown off by Hikaru's second comment. He picked himself up quick enough that nobody but Hikaru would be likely to notice. "How could you accuse me of that? I only just left my room," he pouted.

All this talk of weapons had sparked his curiosity. Weapons looked cool, but he'd never been overly interested in learning much about them. But what with those creepy brothers last night, he was starting to feel the need to learn for his brother's sake. And Tamaki had a sword, of course. Because he was Tamaki and had a way of getting what he wanted. It wasn't even through him trying particularly hard. Things fell into his lap easily sometimes, it seemed. Or maybe it was to do with him being nice to people.

"What sort of weapon? How did you get it?" he asked Sora. He was serious now, but still draped over his brother.

He looked at Honey and almost felt sad. Really heartbreakingly sad. "They claim to. But the cooks barely pass as mediocre with some of their dishes."
As for the cake...
"We'll take you to get breakfast," he smiled suddenly. He was going to win Honey over to their side, just in case Tamaki was still feeling too good for them.

Just like that, Hikaru dropped the Host act and sat up straight, still leaning against Kaoru. "What do you mean, you just left the room? I woke up this morning and there was another bed in my room and it looked like it had already been slept in." He sighed. "This place is so messed up."

Even he was intrigued by all this talk of weapons. He had read enough manga and played enough video games that his imagination could run pretty wild if he wanted it to, and now he was getting a mental image of himself and Kaoru, flashing brilliant swords and taking on the monsters, grabbing Haruhi, and leaving this place. Oh, and Honey was in there too, somewhere.

Tamaki really rubbed off on people that way.

"It's a lot of Western food," Hikaru told Honey, frowning. It was almost sacrilegious that he shouldn't get his cakes. "And it doesn't taste that bad, but when they tried to attempt Japanese food, it was a disaster. I haven't seen any cakes here yet...but..." He smiled, catching Kaoru's intention. "You can have all the sweet things on my plate."

"We have roommates now," Tamaki said, to answer the twin's confusion. "Sora-kun and I both woke up with roommates, too. We aren't sure why, though." He shrugged. He didn't protest when the twins seemed to want to take control and give Honey the run down on where things were and the like.

"The food isn't very bad, but it's commoner food. And it isn't the good kind. Sometimes we get sweets, though." Not often.

"I need to speak with Ed and Adel," he went on, trying to be serious. "I used Adel-kun's sword last night, but Ed-kun's going to make me my own. And I need to find Azel-kun, as well.... I haven't seen him and I'm starting to get worried...."

He looked over at the door, his mind threatening to leap off into some wild fantasy.

"I wonder what's happening in the chapel..."

Honestly, Sora had no idea why they had so much against the food. With the different sorts of food he'd tried during his travels, he found what they served here to be just fine. Better than fine, even.

The boy couldn't help frowning when Tamaki used the word 'commoner.' Though hadn't he said he was a prince in the shower? Were they all royalty, then? Royalty who invited people to their club and entertained them...

He felt rather out of place, but he wasn't the sort of person to give up just because of that. Nodding politely in response to Honey's offer to help, he wasn't sure how he would feel accepting it. Even though Honey was apparently older than him, he looked so young...

Wait. He couldn't think like that. How many people had judged him because of his age? "I'll take your help if I ever need it," he said.

Turning to one of the twins - the one who wasn't Hikaru - he shrugged. "It's... a Keyblade. It looks like a big key, but it's a weapon. I used it to fight the Heartless before, but it isn't as strong here." He sighed and put his hand to his heart. He could barely feel the presence of it during the day... It was really unnerving.

Honey listened to everything with a slight frown on his face. For the first time, he realized something was going on between Tamaki and the twins. They had never fought before, and he didn't have any idea what would make them start now. But if the Lord was right about it being dangerous, he'd do his best to make them all friends again. It would be safer that way.

"We can all go together to get food, like we did that time when we went shopping with Haru-chan." He nodded with a smile, and then turned to his new friend.

The Keyblade thing Sora mentioned sounded like it was neat. He thought he'd remembered seeing something like it in a cartoon once, but it wouldn't be nice to mention that, so he didn't. Instead, he just smiled again. "Can you show it to me sometime, Sora-chan? I know you can't right now, because all the people are around, but..."

Kaoru looked from his brother and, finally, to Tamaki.
"Roommates? But..." he cut himself off. He was hardly going to tell everyone about his conversations with the shrink. He looked at Hikaru and smiled. "We'll sort it out. They can't keep us apart."

Hmm, Honey wanted it to be a group thing? Kaoru wondered if his friend noticed the attitude between the twins and Tamaki and did this on purpose. They were going to have to tread carefully if they wanted to win this thing.
"Well. If he's not too busy," Kaoru smiled.

When Sora described his weapon, Kaoru was faced with a new challenge. Not to laugh. Tamaki hadn't made a single friend here who was normal. Not just by societies standards or commoner standards. He was judging them by the Host Clubs warped standards too and they were all weird in some way or another. Not even 'good selling point' weird.
He cleared his throat and began chewing a thumbnail. He couldn't laugh. A smile was aching to break out, but he bit harder, his free hand squeezing his brother's leg. The guy had a KEY as a weapon. At least he admitted it was weird though, right? He got points for that.

Hikaru frowned, absently carding his fingers through Kaoru's hair. They had been given roommates, but they weren't together. He had to talk to someone about that. Brothers NEEDED to be in the same room!

For such a small person, Honey sure was perceptive. He had instantly noticed the trouble between his friends and had rushed in to fix it. "Sounds like fun."

A...key. Sora fought with a key. Hikaru was as hard-pressed NOT to laugh as his brother, and let out a snort before covering it with a cough. Where did Tamaki find these people? He winced when Kaoru's fingers dug into his leg, but the pain was a good distraction from his mirth.

Oh, man.

"I promised Ed-kun I'd meet him for brunch, but we could all eat together, if you'd like? Or if you two would prefer to eat with just Honey, I understand." Tamaki's expression was oddly blank when he looked to the twins.

He glanced down at Honey, smiling warmly. "You'll have to meet Ed and Adel-kun, and Azel, too. They're very nice."

He could tell Hikaru and Kaoru didn't believe Sora. Why were they so blind? At least Honey was accepting things, somewhat.

Slowly, Sora was starting to tune in to there being a certain undertone of something... negative among the group. He glanced around at the four other boys, trying to work it out. But he was an outsider, and definitely didn't know enough to piece out their issues. Which was unfortunate, because he would have been happy to help.

He had been about to respond to Honey's request when a small sound from the general direction of the twins caught his attention. He examined them closely, and it wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on. Hadn't Riku used to wear that expression? Even if it was a long time ago, Sora remembered. It was the look someone got when they were trying to stop themselves from laughing. With Riku, it had always been in good fun, but with these two, he wasn't so sure.

It would be best not to say anything, so he returned his attention to Honey instead. "Sure, I'll show you. I don't think I can even call it during the day, anyway, so it'll have to be at night sometime." He wasn't going to mention that they would probably have to be in danger before Honey got to see the Keyblade. There was no point in making depressing comments like that.

"Don't mind Hika-chan and Kao-chan. That's just...how they are. They don't mean anything by it, DO you?"

Honey frowned at the twins. Hadn't a word of Tamaki's sunk in? Why couldn't everyone be friends here, like they always were at school?

What Tamaki had said was slowly sinking in. But the part of him that wasn't cheerfully trying to cheer everyone up was going back to all the training over the years. "I'll protect everyone if I have to," he thought. He could do that, even if he really didn't like fighting.

It wouldn't do to worry too much about why he'd gotten here or where everyone else was, or even how he'd gotten here. It was fun talking to everyone else, and it was a chance to make friends. Honey was determined to do that, as much as he was determined to keep the old friends he had safe from...whatever it was Tamaki had said was out there.

A shrug was the only response he could find for Tamaki. He didn't want to be blatant in his current dislike of his Lordship. Hikaru's fingers were doing a good job of distracting him right now, anyway.

Kaoru looked at Honey for a moment and then smiled, a small laugh escaping in the process. "No," he said, shaking his head, "we don't mean anything bad. It's just.... Tamaki's friends tend to....stray from the norm?"
He looked to his brother for back up.

Other than the key thing, Sora seemed alright, really. And he didn't get why Tamaki was so eager to be serious. It wasn't as if Kaoru was blissfully unaware of the danger they were in. He knew it was there and it scared the life out of him. That was why he acted this way. He wanted to pretend things were fine.

All this talk of protecting people reminded him of last night. He and Hikaru had failed, really. The President guy was alive, but not because of them, and now they'd caught the attention of two creeps. Maybe later he could ask Honey to teach him a few moves.

'Stray from the norm' was a bit of an understatement, but Hikaru didn't want to get into yet ANOTHER fight with Tamaki, not when the first one hadn't even officially been resolved. They were talking again and avoiding the subject of yesterdays' tiff like the plague, yeah, but...

Instead, he just shrugged at Sora and snickered a little. "We really don't mean anything by it...but you don't exactly see people going around whacking things with keys back home, you know." He snuggled against Kaoru, eying what seemed to be the President from the night before (he was a LOT cleaner than he had been, and without the characteristic smell, it was hard to tell for certain), sporting a shiny new burn on his cheek. Nudging his brother with an elbow, he pointed him out.

"Hey," the host murmured in a voice that only his twin could hear, "look who showed up." Kadaj and Yazoo were also in the room, and he hoped that the three wouldn't come to blows.

"Senpai," Hikaru said suddenly. "Do you think you could teach us a little judo? Might come in handy."

"There's very little here that's 'normal' as we know it," Tamaki pointed out, brightly. "So of course any friends we make here will be different than what we're used to! Ed-kun has a metal arm that works just like a real one. And Adel-kun can... well, he shot fireballs out of his hands last night!" No, Tamaki's friends weren't normal at all. But he liked it that way.

"And I think it's a very good idea for Honey-senpai to teach you some things!" The lord was practically beaming now, assuming that the twins were starting to accept how things were here. He was casting a very pleased and eager look at the twins now, seeming to have forgotten they were fighting.

"How was last night for you?"

"I guess where you come from is really different from where I come from, then." That wasn't entirely true. Sora originally came from Destiny Islands, which was as mundane and boring as it could get. For a long while, that had been enough. In fact, home had been perfect.

It still was, he reminded himself. He'd wanted to go back there so badly... Though not necessarily for the clear water and soft sand. It was the people who were there, the friends he cherished, who made home home.

Now some of his friends were here, but... it wasn't the same. This place could never be home. No, he wouldn't allow himself to get used to the routine. They had to get out, and get back to paopu fruit and sunshine.

Listening to what Tamaki said about his other friends, he shrugged. "That doesn't sound so weird to me." Oh, the stories he could tell... Those twins would probably be in tears with laughter if he started going into a lot of detail about his role as Keyblade Master.

"I think it's a good idea that everyone learns how to fight," he said, looking to all four of the other boys seriously. "Though you probably already know how important that is." They would if they'd been through a nightshift, anyway.

He smiled wistfully and glanced away. "Even if you start by using wooden swords..."

Honey nodded. It might actually be fun, a little, to show everyone what he could do, but he remembered the warning he'd been given, not to let the world see what he was really capable of. It would be too dangerous. After a moment, he smiled his usual cheerful smile. "I'd be glad to teach you! I know we're having our Host Club meeting later, but maybe after that?"

The intercom announcement interrupted the conversation abruptly. Honey listened to the part about the speech, but it sounded a bit boring, and he had the bad habit of falling asleep on Takashi when they had to listen to speeches back at school. He supposed he really should start listening to them one of these days.

The food part? Now that sounded okay, even if it was commoner food. Honey didn't mind that - there were strawberries. AND strawberry cake. Two of his favorite things.

He didn't protest as a nurse came over and began to move him towards the cafeteria - after all, his stomach had been grumbling, and the thought of cake was too tempting to resist. As he was being led away, he called out, "Bye, Sora-chan! Bye, Tama-chan! Bye, Hika-chan and Kao-chan! I'll see you all later."

Kaoru looked up, towards the President. "He looks... better."
Had they made any difference at all? Tamaki would have. Somehow.

And suddenly Tamaki was happy again. What had done it? Why had he changed suddenly, from thinking they were emotionally retarded bullies to thinking they were all just back to normal?

There was a new surprise for him when he realised he didn't care much about what had changed Tamaki's opinion. But it still went against his pride to have the insult just washed away like that.
He looked at Hikaru.

"I'm pretty good with a torch," he muttered, smiling a little.

He was almost pleased the Nurse came to break up the party. Tamaki had left him confused and all this talk of fighting... he was almost taking it seriously.

Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

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