This is another story I've written for my one-shot challenge that I'm putting back up as its own story. I'm sorry, but I don't remember who originally challenged me to write this story, nor do I recall the items for the challenge. I only remember Kuma-chan and okonomiyaki were supposed to be in it, and they are. Enjoy :)
"Oh, I can't wait until we arrive!" Orihime squealed, looking out the bus window. Their entire class was headed to a resort, along with several other schools, for some event or other. Suddenly she gasped, pointing at something through the trees. "Look, there it is!" she exclaimed. Several bodies rushed towards the window to glimpse what she'd seen. Right now they could only catch glimpses of the beachside building.
Soon the bus pulled up to the hotel, one among many just like it. The group exited to chaos with a multitude of other classes arriving at the same time. Somehow they managed to make it inside to find their rooms. "Okay, let's meet back in the lobby in 10 minutes so we can head to the beach early," Ichigo instructed. They all nodded before separating, Rukia, Orihime, and Tatsuki all in one room with Ichigo, Chad, and Ūryū in another.
~ 10 minutes later ~
They were all in the lobby and ready to go, so they set off to the beach. Ichigo and Chad planed on surfing while the waves were still high, and Rukia really wanted to build a sandcastle in Chappy's honor so Tatsuki decided to help her. Orihime and Ūryū left to wander around and go searching for pretty shells.
~ the Host Club ~
"C'mon Haruhi, let's go swimming," Honey begged, pulling on her sleeve. Then Hikaru and Kaoru joined in, pulling on her other sleeve and pushing her out the door, begging her to go swimming as well. Having no other choice, the five of them set out for the beach without waiting for Tamaki or Kyoya, who were both taking forever. However, once Honey got outside he ran off, not bothering to wait for the rest of them.
"Honey, wait up," Haruhi called out, rushing after him. She caught up with him when he stopped by two girls building a sandcastle for a deformed bunny statue nearby.
"Hey kid," Tatsuki called, spotting the kid watching them. "Want to help?" He nodded happily and sat down, grabbing a pail and filling it with sand.
Haruhi watched him for a moment before the twins grabbed her arms and pulled her to the water. Mori headed to the water with them, intending to surf. "C'mon Haruhi, swim with us," Hikaru said, splashing water on her.
"Ack, stop it," she said, shying away from the water.
"Haruhi, play with us!" Kaoru exclaimed, splashing more water. It eventually turned into a game: who could splash more water on Haruhi. Poor Haruhi was running around in the water, trying to avoid the two while they constantly tried to throw their buckets of water on her.
Pretty soon, though, their game ended as a hysteric Tamaki rushed out of the hotel, followed by an annoyed Kyoya. They walked out of the water to meet him, surprised to see tears in his eyes. "What happened?" Haruhi asked, concerned.
"S-s-someone took m-my K-kuma-chan?" Tamaki said, sniffling.
Haruhi looked confused for a moment, not knowing what a 'Kuma-chan' was. "His bear," Kyoya filled in for her, to which she nodded in understanding.
"Well, where did you last see it?" she inquired.
Tamaki shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know; I just remember packing him up. I didn't see him after that," he said dejectedly.
Haruhi put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find him eventually," she said, offering a small smile. The group then split up into groups to look for Kuma-chan.
~ Orihime & Ūryū ~
They were both still searching for shells, even though they were both carrying full buckets. Orihime was no wading through a shallow pool, searching for interesting rocks. When she found a new one, she'd stick it in the bucket, pick out a rather plain one, and chuck that one back into the pool. It was a cycle. But after wading through one of the pools, she found something interesting. It was a bear. "Hey Ūryū, what do you think this is?" she said, holding it out to him.
He took it from her and examined the stuffed animal. "It's probably from one of the guests. My guess is it fell from their luggage," he reasoned.
Orihime gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "That means some little kid out there is missing their beloved stuffed animal! But not to worry, we shall return the poor distressed animal. Come on, Ūryū!" she exclaimed, grabbing the bear in one hand and pulling him along with her other.
They made it back to the beach and walked up to Rukia and Tatsuki, who were finishing up their sandcastle. "What's up, Orihime? And where'd you get that bear?" Tatsuki asked, noticing their approach.
"I found this when we were looking for shells. Some kid has lost their stuffed bear! We need to help them, Tatsuki, or they'll be sad forever," Orihime cried dramatically.
"Okay, okay, we'll help. But you do realize how many kids there are here? It might not even be from one of them," Tatsuki said.
Just then there was an angry shout as another student stomped up to Orihime, looking at the bear. "Hey, what are you doing with Kuma-chan!?" he demanded from Orihime, who was looking a little lost. "That's mine," he said, holding out his hand for the bear.
Orihime looked between him and the bear. "You mean this is yours? I thought it belonged to some kid," she mused as she handed it over.
Tamaki clutched the bear to his chest, holding on to it tightly as if he never intended to let it go again. Another girl walked over to the group, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry about him; he gets really worked up over his bear sometimes. I apologize –" she began, but was cut off by the guy, who held up a hand to stop her.
"No, it is I who is sorry," he said, his entire mood changing. "I apologize, my beautiful maiden, for yelling like that. It was ungentlemanly, and I am forever in your debt for finding my dear Kuma-chan. How may I ever repay you?" he said, bowing to Orihime, who looked a little startled with the sudden mood change.
Tatsuki, however, was slightly annoyed with the guy. "Hey, what do you think you're doing, mister?" she said through gritted teeth. This guy reminded her of Chizuru, only as a male. She had the feeling he was trying to get close to Orihime, and not in a good way.
The guy ignored her, instead looking at Orihime. "How about I treat you and your friends to dinner? I know a wonderful place here that serves some of the best okonomiyaki," he offered.
"Sure, that would be great. See Tatsuki, this man is nice," Orihime gushed.
Suddenly Tamaki grabbed her hand, bending to place a gentle kiss on it. "I shall see you at six, my lady," he said before turning and walking off to join a group of boys standing not too far away, the other girl following.
Orihime was blushing slightly, and Ichigo's sudden appearance behind her made her jump into the air. "What was up with that guy?" he asked, having not been there to hear the conversation.
"Nothing," Rukia replied. "Just a gentleman who offered to take Orihime and all of us to dinner."
Ichigo looked confused, and Chad did too a little. "Why would he do that? He doesn't even know you," Ichigo pointed out.
"That doesn't matter; we're getting free food. Oh, we need to go get ready before we leave soon," Rukia exclaimed, grabbing Orihime and Tatsuki and dragging them back to the hotel. The guys just watched them go, wondering what the heck just happened because all of them were lost. They followed the girls anyways, deciding to get changed as well.
~ just before six ~
The girls were waiting outside the hotel later that evening, waiting for Tamaki to show up. At exactly six a fancy car pulled up in front of them, the car door opening to reveal Tamaki and the others in his group. He got out and addressed Orihime. "Oh, my lovely princess, you look absolutely beautiful in that dress of yours. And so do your friends," he said, turning on the charm. "Shall we go now?" he asked, holding out his hand to help Orihime enter, and then Rukia and Tatsuki afterwards. Once they all settled the driver took off to the restaurant Tamaki had chosen.
After the brief introductions for everyone, the car ride was a little uncomfortable for the girls, who were cramped into the backseat. Tamaki would glance at Orihime occasionally and flash his smile, then look away again. The twins were beginning to unnerve Tatsuki for some reason; their devilish looks gave her a weird feeling. The only one not remotely bothered was Rukia, who was talking to the little kid from yesterday. He had a stuffed bunny on his lap, so that was probably why.
Finally they arrived at the restaurant and were led inside to a private room for their use. Immediately a server took their order, and they all settled on a regular beef okonomiyaki. The server disappeared for a moment to get the ingredients, and soon returned with a bowl, ready to make the okonomiyaki right in front of them. Suddenly Orihime spoke up, stopping the server before he'd had a chance to begin. "Oh, that's fine; you really don't have to do that. I can cook it myself for us," she said, smiling.
The waiter nodded and prepared to leave, but Tamaki stopped him. "That's not necessary; that's why he's here. You don't have to do that," he said.
"But I want to. I love to cook, right Tatsuki?" she asked, turning to her friend.
Tatsuki grimaced for a second but nodded anyways. "Still Orihime, I think you should let him cook itm" she said, Rukia nodding in agreement. They both knew about Orihime's cooking and didn't want the boys to…suffer. But Orihime wouldn't listen; she had already shooed the server out and was preparing to mix the ingredients together when she stopped, a thoughtful look on her face. Suddenly she reached for her bag, digging around inside.
"Aha, I knew it was right to bring these with me," she said, pulling out several things that shouldn't have been able to fit into her tiny bag, including an avocado, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, some milk chocolate curls, and bacon bits. The boys were looking at her in confusion, while Tatsuki had her hands covering her eyes and Rukia looked like she wanted to bang her head on the table.
Orihime started cutting up the avocado, which she then placed in the bowl with the batter and beef, dumping a bit of Tabasco sauce in for good measure. She mixed that around and then placed it on the hot griddle. After she cooked both sides, the group watched in horror as she applied more Tabasco sauce to both sides, then the mayonnaise, and then the chocolate curls that began to melt in with the mayonnaise, making the top look…gross. Finally she topped it off with the bacon bits before declaring the dish ready.
Everyone just glanced around at each other, though no one made an attempt to eat it. Orihime looked a little said and began to tear up. "Y-you won't try it?" she asked in a small voice.
Tamaki, immediately feeling bad, bravely offered to try some. "Of course we'll try it, Orihime! It looks absolutely amazing," he said, grabbing a portion for himself and then making sure his entire group had some as well. Tatsuki and Rukia reluctantly picked up their portions as well, not wanting to insult their friend. They all regarded their food apprehensively.
"Well –" Kaoru began, looking at it, "- bottoms up," Hikaru finished, sticking a bit in his mouth at the same time his brother did. The others in the Host Club immediately followed suit, sticking pieces in their mouth. Tamaki ended up almost choking on it, coughing frantically, so the twins were both hitting him on his back to try and help, despite the tears running down their faces. Honey actually swallowed his, though he immediately grabbed his throat and fell back in his seat, in a daze while Mori frantically tried to revive him. Tatsuki, having become used to her friend's strange dishes, also managed to swallow it, though she did also down several glasses of water afterwards. Kyoya was the only one to outright spit it out.
"So, what do you think?" Orihime asked eagerly after everyone had calmed down a bit.
Rukia smiled weakly. "It was great, Orihime, but I think I've had enough," she said, to which everyone began nodding.
Orihime looked a little sad, but soon brightened up again. "Oh, that's okay. We can just take the rest back to the hotel for Ichigo and Chad and Uryu," she said, gathering what was left of the okonomiyaki to put in a to-go box. The group then left, although Mori had to carry Honey and the Hitachiin twins were supporting each other to keep from falling over.
Back in the car, Orihime spoke up. "Well, that was fun, don't you think?" she said brightly to the group, many of whom were looking a little green.