Rescuing A Damsel In Distress
Summary:
A knight is not always clad in shining armor.
Hiroki drew his knees and rested his chin onto them. He rubbed his legs up and down in an attempt to keep them warm. It almost reached twilight and the air had become colder. Sadly, as much as he wanted to stay warm, his hopes had been crushed the moment he groped his pocket for key and found none. And right now, the young boy felt hungry and cold. Yet, he could do nothing since he had no key to enter his house and there was no snack inside his bag. With the money left in his pocket, he could only afford some candies. Without doubt, they wouldn't be able to satisfy his growling stomach.
Oh! The brunette wanted to shout and cry. He was dying for food and thick clothes.
The smart boy had checked every door and window, perhaps there was one which was forgettably unlocked. Unfortunately, it had been a futile endeavor.
Xxx
Haruhiko aimlessly sauntered around his palace-like house. It was always refreshing to enjoy the sunset out. It gave him great serenity and peace. Just when he past the huge garden, his eyes caught a small boy sitting pitifully in the veranda.
The bespectacled man frowned. /Isn't that the kid who is friends with Akihiko?/
Haruhiko knew his brother's friend. The brunette boy often came for visits. He had met him for several occasions. They never talked more than it necessarily should. Usually Hiroki would bow at him and formally greet the older boy.
Somehow seeing Hiroki in his state now make him frown. It's obvious Hiroki didn't want to be outside. The question was, why didn't he just come into his house?
Without him realizing, Haruhiko crossed his gigantic yard and strode towards one particular house in front of his.
Hiroki automatically lifted up his eyes when set of steps stopped before him and a shadow fell upon him. He nearly jolted noting the guy looking down with his impassive face was none other than his best friend's brother.
"Usami-san?" he exclaimed in surprise. Even though Haruhiko lived in his complex and was practically his neighbor, Hiroki had never expected that he by any chance would pay him a visit. His smart brain couldn't even make up any reasons behind the boy's appearance in his veranda.
"Why are you out?" Haruhiko squarely asked. His tone was cold but not unfriendly.
"I forgot to bring my key," Hiroki couldn't help feeling a little bit embarrassed at his carelessness.
"Then where are your parents?" the older boy simply continued.
"They're attending a wedding party. Mother told me she would help the bride's family with the ceremony, so she and father would be home late," Hiroki explained in a low voice.
Hiroki didn't want to sound desperate but his trembling voice treacherously betrayed his intention. If there was one thing he hated the most was others saw him in his weak state. He'd rather be swallowed by a black hole and vanished from the Milky Way than accepting some pity from them.
Realizing it, he looked up and challenged the other boy. If Haruhiko dared to mock him because of this, impulsively he would bark. Screw the fact he would be rude to an older guy, or worse, his best friend's brother.
Meanwhile, Haruhiko was internally amused. He could sense Hiroki's inner conflict. Being the same gender, he shared the same sentiment towards the feeling. He too, as a guy, never wanted to appear weak or hopeless in front of others, come what may!
Somehow seeing the blazing eyes' attempt to scorch him put him in huge restraint not to laugh. People might consider him as a stoic emotionless person, but he was not heartless. He was still a human, after all. He could feel anger, joy, and sadness. He laughed too sometimes, only in the presence of some very close friends of his.
"You must be out for some time now. I can see you quivering," Haruhiko took a step closer.
There was no use denying the statement. Hiroki was visibly feeling cold.
"Kamijou, you can wait for your parents in my house," the taller boy offered. "Akihiko is going somewhere, but I think it will sit well with you being there without his presence."
"No, thank you," Hiroki shook his head slowly.
The older Usami had known Hiroki would decline his offer. The only reason Hiroki visiting his spacious house was his brother. Other than that, Hiroki never set foot there. Being an older guy who had lived longer and had more experiences, Haruhiko could tell the discomfort lingered inside his brother's friend had he stayed in his house without Akihiko.
Hiroki regretfully opted to turn down Haruhiko's secretly kindness. Sure staying inside the Usami's household would keep him warm and the butlers would serve him delicious cakes and hot tea. He wouldn't feel cold and hungry. But the idea of being there without his friend was not the best choice. Staying there might sound as the best solution for his problem, but he decided to take the alternative one, which put him at disadvantage charge of staying out in cold and hunger.
Haruhiko took a look around. Once twilight was over and evening came, the air became colder. He looked back down. "How long will your parents come home?"
"Around two hours or more."
"No spare key?"
"If there were any, I would already be in."
He let out a heavy sigh. At one fleeting glance to Hiroki, he could already tell from the hard line of his face and those audacious eyes that the younger boy was very stubborn. Once he had set his minds, nothing had the power to change him.
"Have you confirmed this with your parents?"
"How?"
"Call them."
"I don't have mobile phone."
He should have known that. Not all kids owned the telecommunication device.
"Besides, if I call them, it will only give disturbance for them."
Without any words, Haruhiko walked around the house, observing the doors and windows, pushing them. When one didn't open, he moved to another.
"I've checked them," Hiroki spoke, his tone quivered slightly. "All of them are locked."
Haruhiko stopped right before the boy. "I can't let you be," he mumbled incoherently. Just like his abrupt presence, he vanished into his manor. When Hiroki was pretty sure Haruhiko left him alone, unexpectedly he walked back with a hammer in his hand.
Hiroki was startled. "What are you going to do?" he began to panic. "You won't break the glass, will you?"
The taller boy gave him a look. "I'm not that stupid," ignoring the young Kamijou, Haruhiko stepped to a particular window in the side of the house. His yukata swished elegantly.
Not wanting any damage happened, Hiroki hastily got up from his sitting position and followed him. He couldn't decipher what kind of punishment his parents would give him should he let anyone break the house.
"I will pull out the nails in the hinges so the window can be removed," Haruhiko explained his plans.
"It won't damage the window, right?" Hiroki conveyed his worry.
Haruhiko's expression softened seeing Hiroki's mortified face. "Once it's done, I will put it back. Now get me a chair."
Honestly Hiroki didn't know Haruhiko's whole plans but he complied. He rummaged his mental note: Akihiko was damn smart, so should his bespectacled brother be. The glasses and the serious looking feature of the brother convinced him enough of it.
Haruhiko stood on the plastic chair Hiroki got from the veranda. He started to hit the hammer onto one of the hinges. Its sound terrified the younger boy.
Hiroki crossed his fingers, a belief he got from his friend, in a hope everything would be fine. He could do nothing, so he watched Haruhiko, who looked way taller with his standing position on the chair, work on the window.
Hiroki didn't want to admit it but at the moment he thought Haruhiko was hell cool. He didn't know whether it was due to the seriousness marred his face, or his sturdy figure or even because of the clothes he was wearing. Sometimes during his visits in Akihiko's manor, Hiroki found the older brother was clad in yukata, instead of the casual clothes normally teenagers his age wearing.
He could never understand the Usami brothers. He had a thought they shared some traits and similarities although their brotherhood was like the closeness of a cat and a dog.
Traces of the sun rays illuminated the contour of Haruhiko's face. His dark gray yukata perfectly clad his figure. In a short word, he was pretty 'good looking'.
Perhaps it was the traditional clothes that impressed Hiroki the most. And maybe it was the determination shone behind those glass-shielded orbs that made him look cool. Hiroki couldn't exactly tell. Haruhiko was only three or four years older than him, but he looked very mature.
"Don't get lost in twilight-dream, Kamijou," Haruhiko peeked down.
Hiroki was embarrassed. He just wished the guy didn't catch his stare. "No, I just contemplated."
"About what?" without averting his eyes, Haruhiko kept hammering the hinge.
"How can you do that? I mean, when there is broken window or door, you don't need to fix it. You have others who will."
"Once Tanaka fixed one at home. I had nothing to do so I watched him. I got the knowledge from him," was the nonchalant answer.
"Oh," the statement crumbled Hiroki's opinions about the dark-haired guy. Hiroki always thought that he was just a snobbish rich kid who would never learn such thing.
"Besides, I'm a man," the guy continued. "I should learn how to fix things on my own. It will be a shame if I can't manage this kind of problem."
Hiroki nodded in silence.
"How is it like to be in junior high?" Haruhiko asked.
"More fun than in elementary," the brunette shrugged. "Is senior high fun too?" he asked in return.
"Yeah, more or less."
Haruhiko extended his hand and placed the hammer onto Hiroki's palm.
"Finished?" Hiroki was astonished. It was beyond his expectation that Haruhiko could deal with the window that fast.
"Not yet," the guy reached his sash. Knowing Hiroki staring at him with curious eyes, he idly remarked, "I just want to tighten the sash. I won't risk the chance of it falling down. I wear almost nothing underneath."
Hiroki gawked.
Calmly Haruhiko took the hammer once he had finished with the sash. Finally the nails in each hinge were completely taken. Hiroki helped him by pulling down the window. It still felt like in a dream even after it was put on the ground and the smaller boy could see the inside.
"I'll go in. I won't be long" Hiroki quickly leaped into the house, unlocking the front door and turning on every lamp. As he dashed past the fridge, a thought popped in his head. He strode towards it and took out a canned tea.
The door next to the pulled-down window was open when he was back.
"Here," he gave the can to his savior.
"Thanks," Haruhiko murmured before opened it and drank the cold tea. Then he got up from the chair he had previously stepped on. "Time to put the window back."
"Okay," Hiroki helped him holding the square object while Haruhiko inserted the nails back to the hinges.
"Done," Haruhiko jumped down and took his hammer. Once again he tightened his sash before turning his heels. "I'll be back home."
"Eh?" Hiroki hastily ran to catch up the guy. "Usami-san, thank you," he bowed politely.
He was greeted by a small smile the moment he lifted his head. He was caught off guard noting the smile was sincere.
"Next time don't be that careless."
"I won't" he partially pouted a little, and was partially grateful that because of Haruhiko, he no longer suffered from the cold.
Akihiko was his best friend, that's already out of question. So far, Hiroki considered his feeling toward the boy from England was just a simple crush. As young as he was, he simply kept his crush' interests at heart. He knew how much Akihiko dismayed his half brother, how he hated him so much. More or less, it had affected the brunette's point of view toward the older brother.
However, the event turned his opinions upside down. He started to see him as somebody new. Gradually but steadily, Hiroki grew to admire and respect the bespectacled guy.
Indeed that night he didn't tell his parents about him forgetting his key or Haruhiko hammering the window. He valued his life enough not to get scolded or worse, scorched by them.
The image of Haruhiko walking with his yukata swished following his movement was deeply burned in Hiroki's memory forever. Incredulously, his weird imagination put him as the damsel in distress rescued by a knight, not a samurai.
The difference was, the knight was elegantly clad in dark yukata instead of shining armor.
A/N: This is the side-story from The One chapter 5, in which Haruhiko mentioned he had helped a young boy (Hiroki) who could not get into his house. And even if you don't read The One, you can still read this story separately. As I've mentioned in The One chapter 5, I couldn't come up with decent title, so please bear with the recent title I picked up. Hopefully you guys like it.