Now that I notice it, you're always there next to me,
but do I actually hate you? Love you?
Or am I delusional?
When I take a look at my feelings clearly,
whether I'm a lady or a host,
it doesn't matter to me.
People fall in love for all sorts of different reasons, but...
I want to see you now,
to give your tender self cherry-blossom kisses,
and if your heart beats faster, let's let our love bloom.
Right now is more vital than the future.
The springtime of love's beauty
is the aesthetic of a damsel in bloom.
--Haruhi-chan! --Haruhi-chan!
--Come on out and play! --Come on out and play!
Sorry, we have the wrong door.
Huh? Hey, hey, hey!
"Father"
Don't go so patently looking like, "Oops, we just saw
the tranny without his make-up, which we weren't supposed to see."
Even I have a bit of a beard when I've just woken up.
S-Sure you do! Ha ha ha, of course you do!
Here, Ranka-san. I hope we find you in good health.
"Present"
R-Ranka-san...
My, everyone, it's been so long! How are you?
You'll have to forgive my dreadful appearance. I'm so glad you came.
Is Haru-chan here?
I'm sorry, Haruhi is out today.
Some girl friends of hers picked her up early this morning,
and she went out together with them.
She's not home, huh?
Well, I guess Haruhi does sometimes go out and have fun
with her friends from middle school, or whomever.
It's kind of hard to imagine it, though.
You see, this is why I was against a surprise visit.
Come to think of it, the girls this morning
were ones that I hadn't seen before.
But then, that's my little girl, having friends such as them.
I mean, students from the famous Lobelia Girls' Academy,
coming all the way over here for her.
What did you say?
Lo--
be--
li--
--aah!
Huh?
Lobelia
St. Lobelia Girls' Academy, high school 2nd-Year, Amakusa Benio.
"A.K.A. Benibara, Lady of the Crimson Rose"
Lobelia
"A.K.A. Suzuran, Lady of the Lily-of-the-Valley"
Also, 2nd-Year, Maihara Chizuru.
Lobelia
"A.K.A. Hinagiku, Lady of the Daisy"
Also, 1st-Year, Tsuwabuki Hinako.
Lobelia
We are St. Lobelia Academy's white lily league, but people call us...
"The Zuka Club"
The Zuka Club!
Good morning, Benibara-sama!
Good morning, my little starlings. You look lovely today.
Um, I took it upon myself to make your lunch today.
I made the octopus wieners that you like so much, Benibara-sama!
Thank you.
But, what shall I do?
You are just as red, and just as adorable, as the octopus.
Could it be that you want me to eat you?
Benibara-sama, if you're going to eat anyone, eat me!
Everyone, calm down!
Keep your places in line!
Me! Please eat me!
Hey, no passing notes without permission!
Everyone, quiet down and mind your manners!
Those in the front row, crouch down!
The rule is to let everyone have an equal view of Benibara-sama!
Benibara, your fan club executives sure do have it tough.
They always have to work so hard.
That's Benibara-sama for you.
Chizuru,
where is she?
She's in the changing room, getting dressed.
Is that size okay on you?
You're gorgeous, maiden!
I mean, Haruhi.
"Lobelia Girls' Academy Strikes Back!"
My, how lovely you look! We have a fairy here!
I think you should become a student here now even more!
Gorgeous.
It's almost as if that uniform were designed just for you.
Yes, it is most befitting an innocent girl like you,
unknowing even of the taste of your first kiss.
What shall I do?!
If, by some chance, the Zuka Club does anything scandalous to Haruhi,
Anything scandalous?
Like, what do you mean?
Say, for instance, forcing her to kiss someone!
Kiss?!
But then, Haruhi...
...as I recall, at that dance party...
No, it's nothing!
She wouldn't, by any chance,
have done anything scandalous at the Host Club?
Of course not. I wouldn't make my little girl do anything scandalous.
Come on, everyone! Let's go to Lobelia, and save Haruhi!
Maiden...
Whoa, hold on, hold on!
Just a moment, please! What is all this, anyway?
Please tell me what's going on.
I was going to the supermarket to do some shopping,
when suddenly, I was brought here.
"A little earlier (10:38)"
"The Fujiokas' front door"
I'll be back soon.
Come back safely.
--Abduction... --...complete!
Huh? What the...
My, they're from Lobelia...
All right, take her in.
Just a minute. No!
You folks are just like the people in the Host Club.
Maiden, stop that! Of all the people to compare us to, those guys?!
"Those guys"
Oh, forgive me. It's only natural that you'd be angry.
In all of our haste, we brought you here in your bedclothes.
No, those aren't bedclothes, they're what I usually wear.
They have the same level of rudeness as the guys at the Host Club.
We have but one request of you.
As we have mentioned before,
our purpose is to put on regular performances
of songs and plays that we research, every day.
The truth is, today is what we call "Pink Day,"
when we celebrate the birthday of the founder of the white lily league,
by putting on our annual, special performance.
We've been rehearsing very hard for a long time for this day...
...but of all things, the student playing the heroine was in an accident,
and is in the hospital, so we're in a real fix.
But we can't allow today's performance to be cancelled, for any reason.
Which is why...
We want you, maiden, to play our heroine for us!
I can't.
I must decline.
I'm sorry.
Fortunately, this play's heroine only has a few scenes.
In most scenes, she just stands there, symbolically.
All you'd have to do is stand there, pretty as a picture.
What's more, you have very few lines.
It will be all right. With your smarts, you can learn them right away.
Okay then, I'll excuse myself.
I'm sorry... I cannot be as you were...
Please forgive me, Mother...
--Benio... --Benibara-sama...
Your mother?
Benio's mother was a graduate of Lobelia, too.
She was a senior member of the white lily league,
and is regaled even now as a beauty in men's clothing.
Especially today, on Pink Day, she left us with many legends
of her magnificent performances in the songs
and plays that she put on.
Benibara-sama has dreamed for so long
that she could be like her mother.
If today's performance is cancelled, that dream will be crushed.
Your mother, you say?
Now that I've heard that Haruhi was taken away by the Zuka Club,
I can't just sit by and do nothing. Listen to me, the Zuka Club
is like a fiendish flower's nectar that once you're caught up in,
you want to get out of, even if it bankrupts you.
How do you know so much about it?
I doubt that Haruhi is the type of girl to get caught up in anything.
You're right. Kotoko was a cool woman, too, and not upset by anything.
Kotoko?
Her late mother. Haruhi seems to have more richly inherited
her mother's blood, in many ways.
Being like her mother is also something that Haruhi aspires to.
For a short time after we were married, I was so elated, I didn't notice it.
Kotoko, what are we having for dinner today?
"Ranka and Kotoko, when they were newlyweds"
"Haruhi inside"
Miso soup, with mezashi and rice.
"Ranka and Kotoko, when they were newlyweds"
Yay! Calcium is good for you!
What's mezashi?
They're dried, salted sardines.
Don't interrupt my story!
But then, one day, while I was cleaning, I found it.
"Zu"
What's this?
Kotoko's vast Zuka Club collection!
W-What do we do, sir?!
Haruhi more richly inherited her mother's blood, in many ways, right?
Is Haru-chan going to go bankrupt?
She didn't have much of a fortune to begin with.
I-It's all right. Haruhi has her own fortune of "cute."
I'm as flat as a board,
"Fantasizing"
but if you will have me...
That's so much worse!
Kyoya, order us some Lobelia uniforms immediately!
We have to disguise ourselves, and sneak our way in!
Overruled!
Men who dress up like women
without pursuing that way of life are just sickening.
Are you making fun of a professional? Huh?
"Professional"
Listen up.
If you're going to sneak into Lobelia, then listen to what I have to say.
I have a secret plan.
M-My standing...
"Rehearsal Room #1"
"Rehearsals for 'The Senorita in Reminiscence'"
Ah, Marianne, how many thousands of nights have I prayed,
that I might see you?
How greatly I despised being told that we were from different social classes,
and the thousands of other obstacles in the way of our love!
Frederick-sama.
Sure enough, the gunshot wound I just suffered has it in for me...
Is this where my fate ends?
Frederick-sama.
Marianne, when you hold me like this, I feel no pain at all.
I feel so very peaceful right now...
You are an angel. You are the figure of my mother...
Your warm gaze envelops me...
It's enough to make me forget even the pain of my gunshot wound...
He sure is talking a lot, for someone who was shot, and is dying.
--Ah, and yet... and yet...
He's actually hanging on, isn't he?
Isn't there any way to take him to a hospital while he's doing this?
"Calm"
Frederick-sama.
Say, is Haru-chan in there?
Yeah, and it looks like she's playing the heroine in some tragedy.
But...
Frederick-sama.
She is completely monotonous,
and an incredible daikon radish!
[daikon: radish, or a wooden actress]
She may be my daughter, but I can't say anything to dress it up.
Why doesn't anyone tell her?
Apparently, that is the only line she has been given.
Oh, but it looks like Haruhi is going to sing.
No way! Her grades in music have always been absolutely awful!
I'm sure that the way things are going,
nothing, no nothing would be lost.
Without you here, under the same sky as me,
give me a reason to go on living--
Huh?
I'm sorry, my foot got tangled in the cord.
Be careful, okay?
Lip-syncing, huh?
She's lip-syncing, huh?
Hey, newbies!
You said you wanted to join the Benibara fan club,
so you will do what the rest of the group is doing!
Jumping ahead of the others is not allowed!
As a fan of Benibara-sama, your words and conduct
must be becoming at all times!
Now, all together, let's practice our greetings!
"Benibara-sama, hang in there today!"
--"Benibara-sama, hang in there today!" --"Benibara-sama, hang in there today!"
"Benibara-sama, you are extremely beautiful today!"
--"Benibara-sama, hang in there today!" --"Benibara-sama, hang in there today!"
Ranka-san, was this your plan to sneak into here?
If you want to get close to the Zuka Club,
you first get on the same side as the fan club. A woman's world
can actually be far more competitive than you would imagine.
Okay, let's take a short break.
Say, what do you think?
What do you like most about Benibara-sama?
Oh, you know, the sprightly way that she carries herself,
her singing voice, the shape of her head,
and when she wears that coat with the tails!
--Ha ha, yeah, I know! --That's a professional for you.
"Professional"
He can mix in with the girls' conversation without seeming out of place.
You know, I'm so looking forward to today's play.
This one is supposed to be a tragedy, right?
"The Senorita in Reminiscence."
Frederick, the son of nobles, in order to take revenge on his father,
shoots his father's lover, Marianne, right in front of him,
with a pistol that he says has blanks,
but is actually loaded with live rounds.
My, how sad.
But, I'm not too sure about the understudy for Marianne.
If, for any reason, she does anything to ruin Benibara-sama's play,
then we can rely on the assembly of maidens from behind the gym!
"Benibara Fan Club, Combat Wing"
What do we do? If Haruhi puts on that ultra-wooden performance
in front of those girls...
Will Haru-chan be beaten to a pulp?
No! Haruhi!
Whatever it takes,
we have to rescue Haruhi from this place.
"Tamaki"
"White Lily Theatre"
Or so...
...I thought...
...as curtain time drew near...
"Tamaki"
Sure enough, you've burrowed your way in here,
you low-class, good-for-nothing Host Club bunch.
Well, almost time to curtain.
We'll make this a great play.
Girls, think of today's play as our audition for Kurenai Tennyo!
Huh?
Huh? Incidentally, where is Kyoya-kun?
Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him in a little while.
Ah, there's Kyo-chan!
It's an honor to have one of the Otori boys come visit here.
That bastard...
He sure knows how to make his move.
You're fully equipped, huh?
That's where the orchestra goes, right?
Yes. Also, we have the latest in digital equipment.
If there are any photos or other images, we can put them up as-is
on that digital screen, and use it as the backdrop for the stage.
Oh?
At this point, we'll just have to take Haruhi out of here during the show.
It's Haruhi.
Ah, the sun rises, lighting up the sky...
Your makeup is too heavy, Haruhi...
"Heavy"
It's so painful, huh?
Damn it, I'm getting you out of here, now!
Hold on. Look at Haruhi's face.
Doesn't it look more lit-up somehow now, than it did during rehearsal?
Now that you mention it, her cheeks are rosier.
Isn't that due to the makeup?
And she's glistening so much.
Isn't that due to the lights?
You're right. If Haruhi is trying as hard as she can, of her own will,
then we have no right to interfere.
For now, I guess we'll just let the show go on.
Frederick-sama.
Sure enough, the gunshot wound I just suffered has it in for me...
Is this where my fate ends?
Frederick-sama.
Marianne, when you hold me like this, I feel no pain at all.
Ah, the kiss scene is coming up!
But the kiss scene stops just short, right?
Of course. Benibara-sama wouldn't actually kiss her.
Kiss scene?
Frederick, the son of nobles, in order to take revenge on his father,
shoots his father's lover, Marianne, right in front of him,
with a pistol that he says has blanks,
but is actually loaded with live rounds.
Kiss scene?
Revenge?
Ah, and yet,
my love for you, and my vengeance toward him,
are things that can never be blotted out...
Senpai? Dad?!
I will steal your first kiss, right before his eyes.
Huh?
That will be my revenge.
No, Benibara-sama!
Don't tell us you're really going to kiss her!
No! Absolutely no way will Daddy allow anything so despicable!
Bana-na?!
I win.
Right now, I will steal this maiden's lips, in front of you!
Haruhi!
Maiden...
This is crazy...
Yes, please send that photo immediately.
Just a minute! Please stop!
What?!
Aah! That was...
...from the dance party?
Yes. Haruhi...
...has already had her first kiss.
Haruhi!
What kind of trampy behavior is that with another girl?!
Having her tranny papa say so...
...is not at all persuasive.
See here, Haruhi! Explain yourself! What is the meaning of this photo?!
How shocking!
Maiden, you mean...
Haruhi!
Come on!
Maiden!
Haruhi!
I'm sorry, Senpai.
"Saw that one coming"
What's the meaning of this, Haruhi?!
--You're not getting away. --You're not getting away.
Gentlemen, protect Haruhi--
Suzuran! Hinagiku! Gather the Zuka Club's full force, and catch her!
At this point, I don't care if it's the second kiss or third kiss!
I'm still going to steal it!
Aah, I just want to study quietly at home.
I can run for 5000 miles, until I'm out of breath.
100 liters of adrenaline keeps the body working at full strength.
Having come this far, is it enough? How far until it's okay?
The trees that imbue the streets of this town
keep repeatedly changing their appearance.
In completely washed-out pallor, and unchanging frailty,
I want to believe in myself, as I am here and now.
With my right hand, and my left hand, held over my head,
I tear through the darkness and go!
There is no deceit!
I've made my resolve!
From the moment I make my start, the world expands.
Why did Hikaru and Kaoru join the Host Club?
Because I, the great Host King, scouted them out, of course.
Don't go talking so big.
Next time, "The Door the Twins Opened! "
Ouran High School Host Club will be waiting for you, next week!