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This is Chapter 17 of the Ouran High School Host Club manga series.

Synopsis[]

Chapter Summary[]

After Haruhi Fujioka places third on the midterm results for 1st-years, she's at risk for expulsion from Ouran Academy since she must remain first in her class to keep her scholarship. Ayame Jounouchi is the top 2nd-year female student, so Kyoya Ootori asks her to tutor Haruhi. She makes the attempt, but is soon bothered by the noise in the Ouran Host Club salon. She explains her feeling in a long-winded way, explaining that she doesn't like loud places and that Haruhi doesn't seem to care about her grades, as she puts herself in such a noisy place. The Host Club notes her ability to speak for long stretches without breathing and make up theories as to how she can do so. They nickname her "Miss Morse Code" because her speech sounds like Morse code. Haruhi apologizes for the others and Ayame tells her not to worry about it. Tamaki Suoh makes several peace offerings which Ayame refuses. As she starts another speech on why she refuses the melon bread, Tamaki holds his breath to see if he can hold his breath as long as Ayame. It doesn't work out well and he passes out. Noting Ayame's coldness towards Tamaki, Haruhi asks her if she holds a grudge against the blond. In another long-winded response, Ayame says that although he is popular and intelligent, she is repulsed by him.


The next day, in class with Tamaki and Kyoya, Ayame comments to Tamaki that he didn't make a proper entry when he was in charge of class the day before. He apologizes, but she tells him that she's already fixed it for him, adding that she's pointing it out because she doesn't want him to repeat the error, then goes on to correct other things about his writing and the rain. He apologizes again, but a group of girls compliment him, telling him not to get discouraged, then swoon over him with one girl saying how happy she is that she got to listen to him start the class. Tamaki tells her that he'll whisper to her every day if it makes her happy and the girl blushes. Ayame is not impressed and asks him not to do that as it is distracting and will only cause more noise. Later, she wonders to herself how such an idiot can have higher grades than herself, revealing that she has a grade complex.


The complex developed two years prior, during her last year of junior high school, in Spring. When she first meets Tamaki, he compliments her straight hair. She takes the compliment to heart, blushing and trembling at the attention. She soon realizes, though, that he compliments many other girls in the same way. This annoys her and makes her think that maybe he doesn't know any other Japanese phrases or that he's stupid. Soon after, Tamaki gets second place on their midterm exam, pushing her to third. She initially thinks that it's a fluke, but Tamaki's grades are consistent, making her ever more frustrated and causing her to despise Tamaki.


Haruhi and Ayame

Ayame's disapproving gaze.

The next day, Haruhi and Ayame discuss test problems while Tamaki spies on them. The rest of the Club wonder what he's doing and he tells them to give the girls tea and to subtly check on Haruhi. Both girls have already heard them and Ayame glares at Tamaki, then pours her own tea which she brought from home. Ayame asks Haruhi if she wants to go somewhere else, but Haruhi says she doesn't really mind. Ayame tells Haruhi that she must be quite stressed, having to get first place and worrying about others' opinions. Haruhi smiles and says that she doesn't care about her ranking, just that she has a goal that she wants to carry out and that what other people think is irrelevant. Ayame is suprised and thinks back to when she got ranked the highest. She tells Haruhi that she just wants to study in quiet and that's why she resents people who disrupt her. She also says she hates when people put their expectations on her.


She begins to speak again but Hikaru Hitachiin and Kaoru Hitachiin, now standing behind her, exclaim that they have found a natural curl. They say that her hair must be very wavy and start to give her beauty tips until she yells at them to stop. She also chastises Tamaki, telling him to leave her alone because it shouldn't matter if her hair is straight, yet he took it for granted. She continues, saying that he makes her uncomfortable because he doesn't truly care and to stop twisting her feelings around. After all this, she runs off in tears while Haruhi calls her name. After she's gone, the twins say that it's probably because of her grades complex, but Mitsukuni "Honey" Haninozuka tells Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka that she probably just likes Tamaki.


Ayame runs to the girls' locker room where she has Kuma-chan stowed in her locker from when she'd found him on the floor. She throws the teddy bear on the ground and starts hitting it, angry with herself for admitting how she feels. She then picks it up, hugging it while blushing, saying that he doesn't even remember what he said to her. Tamaki is revealed to be standing behind her and says what he said when they first met while getting down to her level and grabbing a lock of her hair, causing her to blush. She apologizes because she can't meet his expectations since "both hair and heart are twisted," but he makes her blush once again by saying, "The rain is a necessary prelude to beautiful weather. So even if your heart is in a downpour right now...it only means that it will become exceptionally beautiful in time."


Inspired by Ayame, Tamaki decides to have a June event, since nothing usually happens in June. Ayame attends. She has allowed her hair to become curly and the other girls comment on how nice it looks. In the aftermath, she corrects Tamaki's statement about rain and beauty in her long-winded way. She also becomes a regular at the Host Club.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

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