Hey guys this was a requested story! Yes I am now taking some requests! Tell me what you think! Thanks! Title and the stories are based off the songs "Tangled Up In Me" and "Sharada" by Sky Sweetnam and so each chapter will have lyrics from both songs as the title! The idea was from Wasabi-san! Thank you Wasabi-san YOU ROCK!
Chapter One:
...Once Upon A Time There Was A Girl…
The upbeat guitar and bass drummed through Lilly's head as the first words blasted through her ears. Ah, Japanese pop music. There was this cheeriness that her grandmother had made foreign to her.
Lilly looked around the room. It was huge with the furniture spaced out to make it look even bigger. The floor length drapes probably didn't help. Swiftly she shifted her position in her window seat. 'I can't believe we will be leaving soon,' she thought restlessly to herself.
The few last words from "Himawari" by Hearts Grow faded into her mind until the guitar stopped. Now it was "Asterisk" by Orange Range. Lilly began to mouth, 'Miagata yozora no hoshitachi no hikari' which translated into 'Rays of light from the stars in the night sky above.' Lilly's heart skipped a beat. She missed Japan so much. They had been away since she was twelve. Only a few more days. Would she still remember me…?
Frustrated with her misguided thoughts she looked down at her lap. The circular puffs encircling the pair made a spectacular accessory for the drawing. Next she added frosted evergreen trees in the background. And then just for the fun of it she sketched in a snowman on the right of the page. Lilly smiled in triumph. It may not have been like her normal clothing design sketches but it was fun.
In her drawing the girl was wearing a purple dress with white fur lining the bottom, sleeves, and neck. Thinking something was missing she added a fur lined hood and increased the booth lengths. Then she scanned the guy. Why were they so hard to design for? Squinting, she erased the holes from the jeans and added her own twist to the hiking boots. He wore a long red sleeved shirt and an orange scarf wrapped around his neck. His jacket was puffy from down feathers. Sighing she gave up.
'Kiss Kiss Fall In Love!' sung through her lovely headphones. These were the good kind too, not the ones that just blast out your ear drums but actually cover your entire ears. She was thankful that she immediately recognized "Sakura Kiss" by Kawabe Chieco.
A pang filled Lilly's neck. Ugh, looking down too much again. That and wrist pains were the consequences for drawing in most of her free time.
"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" cried a young voice as the drawing room's doors burst open. Lilly looked over to see Luke, her younger brother, his messy blonde hair bouncing up and down. His bright blue eyes shined lovingly upon her. "Look look! I know Japanese one-tan!"
Lilly giggled at his adorableness. She had forgotten that they had moved to France only weeks after their new edition entered their family. 'Kawaii,' she thought to herself.
Luke pulled down her drawing then grinned from ear to ear. "I wanna draw just like Lilly-onee-chan and umm…" he chewed on his bottom lip a few times then brightened and exclaimed, "Odosa!" Lilly laughed. "Hai. Hai. I'll teach you how to draw like me and Odosa." He jumped up and hugged his older sister hard, "Luke diaske Lilly!" She just laughed and hugged him back.
xxxxx
Packing. One of the things she disliked. The only things she wanted to pack were her sketch pad, pencils, music, and gymnastics leotard. Everything else was just a blur of items. Well, unless they were the clothes she made herself of course.
Glancing towards the door she moved toward the mirror. Her brown curls were as bouncy as ever, they must know they are going back home too. The bright green eyes of hers were outlined by her long eyelashes. Once again she was grateful for their natural lengthiness. Every time Lilly looked in the mirror she recalled everyone telling her of her beauty and how lucky for the life she had. All but one that is. Her memory caught a glimpse of long straight hair. Lilly felt another pang in her chest. Would her best friend remember her? They hadn't written since Lilly had to travel to Spain three years ago for a modeling shoot. The messages became lost through the mail and they both had agreed that it would be easier to not write anymore.
Sighing she turned away from her empty reflection. She saw something on her desk and walked over to it. The letter was about the movie deal that her grandmother 'encouraged' her to do daily. The brunette thanked the trip as an excuse to not do the movie. The move was the only thing that calmed her grandmother's mind on that issue.
Once again Lilly looked around her room and spotted her purple clips. Rushing back to the mirror she put the two in, which raised her hair up to her lower back. After staring at the purple clips she looked at her rosy pink walls and felt another longing for Japan. Her walls were purple there, she remembered well. Only a few more hours and they would all leave for the airport. 'Please, please don't make the flight late from the snow! It would only make things more difficult with Oba-sama!' she hoped to herself. With a throbbing headache coming on she flopped down on her plush bed and curled up into a ball like usual. Within seconds Lilly was fast asleep.
xxxxx
The brown haired teen awoke to a push and shove feeling. Groggily Lilly opened her eyes. Little Luke was trying to wake her up saying, "Onee-chan its time to go! Onee-chan!" Lilly bolted upright and looked at her alarm clock. It was 10:59pm If she was late by even a second Oba-sama would kill her.
"Arigato Luke!" Lilly cried. First she grabbed her suitcase then grabbed Luke's hand. The two practically flew down the stairs. When they reached the bottom their grandfather clock began to go off.
"Shimata!" The girl cursed under her breath. Luke being curious with the language asked her what it meant but Lilly just told him that she didn't say anything. Unsatisfied the adorable boy began to drag his feet. Frustrated with herself she picked him up and said that it meant a bad word. The blonde was satisfied.
Within seconds they made it to the limousine. The driver opened the door and they flung themselves in. As Lilly got situated she saw her father wearing his normally stylishly sleek outfit. Her mother for once wore jeans and a casual top. Surprised she looked over to her grandmother who wore a yukata and was looking harshly at Lilly.
"Komenesai Oba-sama," Lilly said looking down at her feet. A few barks caught her attention. Nova and Truffles walked into the car and pounded over to Lilly. Nova is her collie and Trufffles is her Huskie. Truffles bounced over to her and sat on her lap. His paws were black and he also had a black patch on his right eye. He begun to lick Lilly's face. Lilly giggled but made him lay down. Well, at least that got her out of talking to her grandmother.
The car ride and airplane were typical. Nothing special or unusual. In fact she actually fell asleep on the plane, something she never did. An hour before they were going to land her father told her more about Yoschie Designs, pronounced Yo-She-Key. It was her father's business even though Oba-sama had more influence throughout the cooperation. Odosa says I will surpass him someday. She always felt bubbly when he said that.
"Ritsuki." Oba-sama said.
"Hai?" Father replied.
Then she shushed him. The two quieted down once again. Lilly looked out the window. The clouds were fluffy. She saw a bunny, a baby, and a crocodile in the forms.
"Lilly." Oba-sama said once again. What now she wondered.
"Hai?"
"When we land in Japan you have a hair appointment. You are to dye your hair blonde to match your father and brother." Just as Lilly thought, Oba-sama didn't like Okasa. Lilly shared her mother's brown curly hair and was proud of it.
Okasa is a culinary and pastry master chef. She runs her own restaurant in France, something Oba-sama didn't agree with completely. Okasa taught me everything she knew so I am an exceptional chef. Sometimes I would even help in the kitchen if they needed an extra hand. But everyone in the family knew that there were no arguments allowed with grandmother.
"Hai Oba-sama," Lilly said looking at her grandmother. Her hair was grey with age and her eyes looked black even though Lilly knew they were green like hers. Her wrinkles were largely etched into her skin, it seemed like her wrinkles had wrinkles! Ugh, whenever it came to Oba-sama she got a headache. And then the plane landed.
xxxxx
Lilly looked in the mirror. She saw her purple walls and Nova playing with Truffles. She also saw a stranger. It was too weird to see herself without her prided brunette hair. She did look like a bishojo now. She didn't mind that though because she needed it for work however she also wanted her brown hair back. She didn't want to be what the Japanese stereotyped for French aristocrats. She was like others that went to school and hung out with friends and…
Oh who was she kidding? Instead of going to school, something she often dreamed of, she went to modeling shoots, drew designs for her father's business, places 1st in most of her gymnastics competitions, and worked on her singing and dancing. She learned from her one hour tutor session each day. It was so frustrating! How could she be a 17 year old and have such a life?
A knock came from her door. Lilly turned and called, "Hai?" Oba-sama entered and scanned Lilly's new appearance. She smiled happily.
"You look just like your father. A true French bishojo," Lilly's stomach turned uneasily, "Now. Let's see what did I come here for? Oh yes! It's time to go; you will be on a very popular radio station. There will also be television crews so you will give a performance of one of your songs. Do you remember your steps?"
"Hai!" Lilly said enthusiastically. She loved to sing and dance, sometimes she would even perform randomly on the streets. Lilly got up and quickly changed. It was still snowing so she wore one of her father's winter outfits.
They departed sometime within the hour. The ride was long and the miles of traffic probably didn't help anything.
When they finally arrived Lilly was in amazement. The place was huge! Everyone all wore clothes that were new and emphasized their beauty. The newly made blonde took notes mentally for thousands of outfit designs wafted through her mind with every step she took.
The place could only be described as Paradise. Though, Lilly was sad that she didn't know the name of the company. She wanted to apply and work here. Sadly, though, that would not happen since Oba-sama enjoyed her Paris employer too much.
The building was packed with people. A song played overhead. Why was it so familiar? "Mawaru Mawaru sekai wa mawaru," then sung out and Lilly gasped! Miyavi works here? No way! That's so cool! She looked around for the people's reactions. They seemed to be calm which surprised her.
When the song finished there was shuffling on the intercom and then a Lady was talking to Miyavi. Wait! They played their broadcasts in the building? This was a joke right?
"Oba-sama," Lilly said feeling queasy.
"Hush child." The wrinkled lady told her and so faintly the girl did as she was told. Within seconds the teenage girl began fiddling with her newly blonde hair. They went towards the stairs and started walking up the multitude of steps.
Several flights and 30 minutes later they arrived. Miyavi's broadcast had finished and she didn't even get to catch a glimpse of the amazing singer.
A lady, probably the same who talked to Miyavi, greeted them. Lilly could feel the mass of butterflies in her stomach lurching from side to side. Her cheeks were probably flushed as well.
The three went inside the room. It wasn't small but it wasn't large either. The sound systems took up most of the space and Oba-sama was right. There were television crews, photographers, and reporters; but only one person working on the actual radio. Lilly was to blurry minded to take in anything except the questions. For once she was glad Oba-sama had drilled her to answer questions through any form of pressure.
Then it was time for her to perform her song. The young girl's legs felt like Jell-o as she walked toward the sound proof room. All the cameras pointed to her. There were so many faces and she only recognized one stern face.
Lilly took a deep breath and performed her song. She moved to the beat moving as she had practiced often. Not once did her voice crack and she even began to feel confident. Lilly even started to smile wide. The adrenalin had entered her finally. That was what the young girl had been waiting for since she felt the nerves kick in. It was almost time for the last word! She held it for a miraculous length. When the blonde girl finished she was breathing hard and smiled wide with joy. Did she even catch the glint of a smile from Oba-sama?
Lilly looked around her. The entire studio was silent. Not sure what to do she bowed, blushing more than before. Quickly she left the recording room and sat in the chair. The lady who had talked to Miyavi was silent and her eyes wide.
Then out of nowhere the reporters ambushed Lilly with questions. Even silly ones like her name and favorite color and favorite food. The radio lady then regained her composure and took control of the interview once again.
When the interview had ended Oba-sama and her left the recording studio. But right before they reached the car another group of reporters flocked in.
"Are you Lilly Yoschke?"
"Will you take over your father's business?"
"What school do you go to?"
"What's your favorite store?"
"How old are you?"
"Is it true that you are a model?"
"Did you really turn down a movie opportunity?"
"Who is the man in your life?"
"What's the perfect date?"
"How long have you been singing and dancing?"
Lilly started to feel claustrophobic. They just kept crowding her. Lilly just wanted to cry. Why were they doing this? It was insane. And before she knew it she saw Oba-sama driving away without her. Her stomach dropped.
Lilly felt her legs move beneath her and before she realized it she was running away from the mob of cameras. Swiftly the teenage girl tried to think of something happy. Now her memory glimpsed giant brown eyes. That, though, only made her want to cry more though. Unconsciously she ran faster and faster.
It took awhile for her legs to slow down but they finally did. However when she realized that she had no idea where she was, she wished she had continued running.
Soon enough she came across a colossal building. There was even a clock tower! The enormous gates were open and she read the sign 'Ouran High School Festival". Lilly looked around and decided to go in. What could it hurt? Maybe she would be allowed to draw part of the building.
Instantly she became lost. It looked like a maze! Lilly wandered around a lot. The drawings and paintings were fantastic. She looked there for awhile, gaining inspiration.
When she left the art department her feet dragged her randomly around the campus until she saw a sign for the Host Club. 'What's this,' she thought entering the building.
And then she froze. There she was. She still had her large brown eyes but she had cut her hair. Mind blowingly amazing looking men surrounded her, even a little boy. But why wasn't she wearing a girl's uniform? She was dressed just as the boys.. 'weird' Lilly thought.
Non of that mattered thought. Instantly she ran over in her best friend's direction. The crowds slowed her down but she would make it she just knew she would.
"Haruhi!" Lilly cried, flinging herself around her childhood friend. Now conscious of those around her, the blonde heard squeals from any girl around.
Confused Lilly looked around, still holding Haruhi. There was a blonde boy with purple eyes looking at her in shock. Orange haired twins that looked disgruntled and confused. And a cool black haired boy whose eyes were wider than probably normal stood near her too. A small child, probably Luke's age, that just stared wide eyed and mouth slightly agape clinging toward the black haired boy. There was a second black haired boy as well, however his eyes were hidden behind the shine in his glasses.
Shocked, Haruhi pulled Lilly away, took a long look at her, and then asked, "Lilly! What are you doing here?"
