The Look of Love - Challenge

“The Look of Love”
Fandom: Ouran High School Host Club
By: Wicked Writer

“I cannot love you” He spoke in a gruff yet distant voice. “I am destined to always be alone” He turned and walked away a single tear slid down his cheek as the girl called out to him begging for him to return.

Renge was in tears at this passage. This scene was from her newest manga ‘The Depths of Love’  a friend of hers, one of the few she actually had, from France sent it to her insisting she read it right away. The story was something she thought was a past fad and no girls like anymore but she turned out to be quite wrong. The story was about a boy with a dark past who wouldn’t get close to anyone and only wore darkness to conceal his past. This romance manga was an emotional roller coster and she was along for the ride.

“Its so beautiful!” The overly hyper girl shouted making the rest of the host club to look in her direction. “The angst, the love, the mystery” She jumped up and twirled about with her book clutched firmly in hand.

“Renge-chan what are you talking about?” Haruhi was the bravest to approach this girl, she was in one of her zones where she wouldn’t listen to anyone.

“This!” She shoved the manga into the cross dressers hands, “I thought darkness was out, no girl wanted that but I was wrong. If you are a dark person you have a dark past.” She slammed her fist into her other hand with a look of determination in her eye. Haruhi sighed as she could sense something coming up. “Its just so beautiful, no one understands him. The main character wears a cloak to cover his shameful face.” A dreamy look appeared on her face.

“Renge-chan, this sounds a bit farfetched even for a manga.” Haruhi stated bluntly. “No one like this could be real.” The brunette girl incognito examined the cover of said manga. The main character had a certain resemblance to someone but she was unable to recall who. This character had shoulder length blonde hair, a long black cloak with the hood down and cold eyes.

“Haruhi-kun, what are you talking about?” Renge called out dramatically. “He is, and he’s waiting to find someone that understands him.” She exclaimed and ran of of the room nearly in tears about how Haruhi’s bluntness could be so cruel.

As she ran down the halls she stopped paying attention to her surroundings, after a while she  realized no one was chasing after her as she thought one of them would. She stopped and looked around, she didn’t recognize a single thing. She continued to walk around but the more she walked the more the lights grew dim. Finally she ended at a doorway, the double doors had huge carvings and sculptures on them, something inside Renge told to to just turn and leave, it must have been her common scene but since she she always ignored it she reached out to open the heavy doors.

She saw a huge vanity set with flowers and candles burning bright in the darkened out room. A single figure was on his knees, he slowly stood up making the black pool of fabric lift to reveal he was wearing a cloak. He turned around and looked straight into Renge’s eyes, she noticed that his own lavender eyes were moist as if he was just crying. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve before bowing respectfully at the girl.

“Welcome to the Black Magic Club.” The boy said with an empty smile. “Renge? What are you doing here?” This boy was none other then Nekozawa Umehito.

“Nekozawa-senpai?” Renge had a starry eyed vision of this boy. Why didn’t she see it before?Nekozawa was like the main character in the manga, he just had to be or else he would look and act just like him. All of a sudden Renge could feel her heart try and reach out for his, he was in a lot of pain but no one ever knew it. She could be the one to make him feel welcome, to make him feel wanted, to make him feel loved.

“Please, tell me about the Black Magic Club.”

XXXXX

The third music room was bustling with activity, all the customers were having a great time chatting with the Hosts and vice versa. Everything was going perfect for the club, a little too perfect.

“Has anyone noticed that our Manager, Renge-chan, had not appeared in the last few days?” A certain glasses wearing shadow king said for all to hear. Tamaki, who had been having a great time entertaining some ladies, looked up at Kyoya from his position on the couch.

“Come to think of it...” It was Hikaru who spoke this.

“We haven’t seen her since the day she ran out.” Karou finished the though of his identical brother.

“Haru-chan, you hurt Renge-chan feelings!” Hunny came a bounding up to the rest of the group with Mori in tow.

Haruhi was passing out some tea when she heard the older kid speak. “I didn’t think my words would hurt her, I was just saying the truth.” The cross-dresser responded.

Kyoya continued to write but mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, ‘you never do’.  The king’s eyes got wide in a sudden realization. “Maybe something has happened to Renge-chan?” The blonde exclaimed in an overly panicked voice. “We need to find her!”

The shadow king was just about to try and talk him out of it when the music room doors burst open to reveal a panting, scared looking, president of the Black Magic Club. Tamaki let out a shriek of horror as Nekozawa ran up to the Host Club.

“Please help me!” He pleaded with the members.

“Senpai?” Haruhi asked, “What’s going on?”

“Neko-chan!” A singsong voice echoed through the corridor making Nekozawa go even more paler and his eyes widen in terror.

“Hide me!” With that the cloaked boy ran to one of the tall windows and slipped behind the curtain to hide himself from view.

Before anyone could ask what was going on a woman appeared in the doorway and looked over the place. The host club turned around to see a girl standing there with a cloak on and a black hair with skull bows in it. She had on way too thick black eye makeup and black lipstick. Tamaki let out an even louder yell of complete terror and ran to the opposite side of this girl. It was Haruhi who figured out who this person was. “Renge-chan?”

She looked at the Host club who stared back at her with a blank expression. She was a bit taken back, she hadn’t realized she followed the president of the Black Magic Club all the way back to the third music room. It was obvious why Nekozawa came here, the Host Club knew what to do with Renge.

“Why are you wearing those clothes?” Haruhi asked confused about what was going on.

“I’m trying to let Neko-chan know I understand his pain! Now where is he I saw him run in here.” Renge said, Haruhi figured out what she was talking about. It was that manga she read, the main character looked exactly like Nekozawa-senpai.

The young girl searched all over until she saw a pair of shoes sticking out from the curtain. “AH HA!” She exclaimed as she torn away the fabric from the wall revealing a scared black magic user standing there. His face looked panicked as he nearly screamed for his life. “Neko-chan!” Renge nearly collapsed in his arms. “I was afraid I lost you.” She said passionately, tears streaming down her face. Nekozawa froze in fear as the crazed woman clutched onto him.

“Renge-chan...” Haruhi spoke annoyed, “You do know that Senpai is not like the character in that manga.” Everyone looked at the cross-dresser incredulously. Kyoya just smirked, surely he wasn’t the only one that noticed.

“Haruhi-kun, what are you talking about? Neko-chan is the same man. They are alike.” Renge pulled out the manga in question and showed the picture. “See they are two tormented people, I have to show him that he is not alone.” She shouted as she clung deeper into the folds of Nekozawa’s cloak. Before Haruhi could speak a low voice from above the manager’s head spoke.

“Renge, I am not like that.” Nekozawa said calmly in a dark soothing voice. She looked up at the older boy.

“W-what?”

“I don’t feel lonely nor am I alone.”

“But why... why were you crying when we first met? You had all those flowers around and you were crying.”

“Those were for a spell.” He said calmly as Renge backed away, “I also am allergic to pollen so before you entered, I was sneezing.” He laughed in embarrassment as his puppet rubbed the back of its head.”

Renge’s eyes filled up with tears as she looked around to all eyes on her. She ran out of the room, this time she hoped that no one would follow. Her wish was not granted. Nekozawa ran after her, he didn’t want to be the reason she cried. He caught up to her just outside the school, the black magic club president made sure he was completely covered before he ventured out to the tree she was sitting under.

“Renge.” He as he sat next to the young girl who had her back turned. “I’m sorry”

“I am an idiot.” Renge said at length, this was the second time she did this. She felt stupid for doing basically the same thing twice. A sighed escaped her lips.

“No, it happens. We are still friends right?” Nekozawa tried to comfort her but he didn’t know what to do. “You’re still welcome to the Black Magic Club.”

Renge heard his question, obviously if he still wanted to be her friend then she shouldn’t have anything to worry about. “Yeah!” She nearly screamed in excitement. “I have plans for the club” She stood up with a fist pumped in the air. “How do you feel about revamping the club to bring more people in.”

Nekozawa looked in fear as he stared at the girl. A gleam appeared in her eyes that nearly blinded the dark king. He ran off in fear as she chased after trying to weasel her way to become the manager of the Black Magic Club.