Once they were outside her door Haruka leaned up, placing a kiss on Otoya's cheek. "Thank you for coming with me tonight. It was lots of fun." She smiled with the thanks. It really had been fun going out to see the Nutcracker ballet with him, Haruka had worried that he would be a little bored with it. Neither of them had ever been before though, which is probably why they did have so much fun.
Reluctant as always she stepped back from the red head, turning to her door and opening it so that she could enter her room. Pausing she looked back over her shoulder her smile still there for him, "Goodnight Otoya." Only when he replied with his own good night did she slip into her room, closing the door behind her softly before preparing for bed.
-《 trust my dream 》-
The young woman woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, and not quite sure why. She just seemed to be, quite simply, awake. Rather than staying in bed though she pushed off the covers and sat up, putting her feet onto the floor where she then put on slippers before standing.
Which was funny because she didn't have slippers, usually going about her room in her socks, and her nightclothes changed from her usual pajama to a white nightgown with a pink ribbon around the collar that she didn't own either.
Not that these unusual thing stopped her, Haruka soon going to her door, and slipping out of her room. Down the halls she went, stopping occasionally to make sure there was no one who would scold her for being awake at such a late hour, heading for the commons. One might have thought that she was going there so that she could play piano for awhile until she was ready to sleep again.
That wasn't the case though, not tonight. Haruka has this feeling that something was going to happen. Something that she shouldn't miss, couldn't miss.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs Haruka paused, blinking at the large decorated tree in the room before smiling and running over to it. It was lovely and grand, decorated in red and gold with hints of sparkling silver, making the composer's face light with wonder having never seen anything quite like it before.
Beneath the tree was no different as the floor around it was covered in more presents than she could count. There was one in particular that caught her eye, a long white box with a red ribbon that had a tag with her name written in pretty cursive.
Surely… It wouldn't hurt to take a peek.
Haruka hurried closer, though still checking to make sure no one was around to scold her, to the tree hoping to see what was in that box for her. Reaching the tree Haruka smiled as she picked up the box, and carefully lifted the lid of the box to reveal what was inside. It was a beautiful doll the looked just like Otoya. From the upwards curve of its lips, the sun kissed skin color, messy red hair, and when she tipped the box so that it was more upright she could see as its eyes opened they too matched what she knew so well. It was dressed in a familiar outfit, red pants offset by black boots, with a black military-esque jacket trimmed and decorated in gold.
Just as she was about to take the doll out to admire more the loud sound of a grandfather clock's bell rang out through the room startling her, and causing the box and doll to fall from her hands to the floor.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Her hands clutching over her heart Haruka took a few deep breaths trying to calm down, she had forgotten it was even in the room really. It had frightened her! Wasn't it too loud though? Even for how quiet the room was…
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Looking around Haruka tried to find the object that had startled her, not that finding it would allow her to stop it or turn it off. However it would ease her mind to at least know where it was.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG-
As the bell continued to ring with strikes nine, ten, and eleven Haruka noticed that everything was getting so much larger around her! Or perhaps she was getting smaller? It was hard for the young woman to tell.
Haruka found the clock finally, looking up and up only to see that the president was there stopping it. Clearly the old clock should have stuck it's bell once more with it's hands just barely over the midnight hour. Curiously she took a step towards him, lips parting to ask why he was there holding the clock still.
She didn't get a chance to ask though because the silence that filled the room with the stopping of the clock was broken the tiny scratching sounds and the sound of many many feet. Quickly Haruka turned around to see who was the cause of that noise. It wasn't hard to find as there were suddenly mice everywhere! Coming out from under the furniture, under the door, through the fireplace. Though the more she looked she came to realize that they weren't simply mice but people in mouse costumes.
Her breath caught in her throat as Haruka backed up trying to get further and further away, only run into the pile of presents that was now like a mountain to her. The mice people didn't seem to notice her yet, and so Haruka stood very still as she watched them scurry about the room as if they were looking for something…
"Oh!" Only when several of the mice people surrounded the doll box that had fallen from her hands did Haruka remember the doll which had been inside. It was lying on it's side, and Haruka had thought the doll would have been lying on the floor but as far as she could see it was nowhere.
A tug on her arm caused a yelp to pass her lips as Haruka turned only to see a mouse person, with a rather suspicious resemblance to one Mikado Nagi, being the one pulling.
"Let go!" She freed her arm from the other's grasp, but the shout only drew the attention of more, and five other mouse people came to try and carry her away with them. Trying her best to fight back Haruka grabbed the nearest thing she could reach, a candy cane from the top of a present, and swung it blindly in their direction. She felt it hit one mouse person, and when Haruka looked she saw a mouse person on the ground that looked suspiciously similar to Kira which made her cringe and silently apologize for hurting him.
The blast of a horn made everyone stop, and look at what was going on. From the other side of the room a toy castle opened, and out stepped all of STARISH, save for Otoya, as well as Reiji and Ai all dressed like toy soldiers that marched out and into the room and began to fight against the mouse people.
She barely realized when one of them made it to where she. The fighting of her friends and the mouse people began, and Haruka herself was trying to keep the mouse people from pulling her away to goodness only knew where. Still it was a relief to see Ren there, even if he did look a little silly…
"Up you go Lady!" Ren lifted Haruka up by her waist upwards onto the first level of presents, and Haruka pulled herself up the rest of the way sighing in relief. Up here they wouldn't be able to reach as easily, or so she assumed since Ren had lifted her up there.
"Haruka!" The voice that called her name came from above, and so Haruka looked up to see Otoya up on top of the next present dressed exactly like the doll had been. "Come on!"Getting down he reached out his hands for her to take. Which she did of course, without hesitation, letting him pull her up a little higher to where he was.
Once she was up there with him Haruka didn't let him go yet, her hands gripping into his arms tightly. "Otoya, what is going on?! All of a sudden everything got huge, you all are dressed strangely, and some of those mice look like the HEAVENS group, and I think I took out Sumeragi-san with a candy cane!" She spoke quickly, rushing to get all the information out for him.
Otoya blinked in surprise, before freeing one of his arms so that he could pat her head a few times to try and calm her, "It's alright Haruka. Just wait here for a bit, alright?" Haruka frowned at that as she shook her head in reply to his question as she grabbed the arm he had freed from her grasp a moment ago. Stay here? Absolutely not!
"I want to help." Haruka glanced down at where the others were already fighting back the mice, before looking back at the red head and opening her mouth to insist on doing something. Those were her friends down there, and if they were in trouble she should be with them to help.
Otoya placed a finger against her lips before she could speak those thoughts tough, "I know, but right now I want Haruka to trust me." Giving a grin he asked, "Can you believe in me and wait here?"
When Otoya put it like that Haruka could hardly say no to be honest, her gaze drifting down from his face as she nodded her head. Haruka would believe.
"You can stop flirting now, Otoya!" She heard Tokiya call sounding mildly annoyed.
"Yes~ Coming~" Otoya replied with a cheeky grin, but he didn't leave without giving Haruka a kiss on the cheek before turning and looking down at how the others were doing. After a moment Otoya nodded, and jumped down from the boxes and into the fray below with a joking complaint, "Tokiyaaaa, that wasn't part of the script!"
"You were taking too long!" Tokiya continued to complain as he was being driven back by a mouse person until Otoya joined him.
"Do you two really have to do this now?!" Came the indignant shout from Syo who was across the floor in his own fight against several of the mouse people.
Haruka really couldn't help but giggle at the guys for a moment, that they would fight even in this sort of situation was really something else. They seemed to be winning though, striking down mouse person after mouse person. Though she saw at one point Reiji and Ai get taken away by the mouse people despite the other's best efforts, much to her horror.
There was a sound like thunder, or maybe it was things falling over? She wasn't sure but it caused Haruka to jump her hands clutching together over her heart. What was it now? The remaining mice people retreated from their fights, all heading to the center of the room where there was a much, much larger mouse dressed finely in a jeweled vest with a red cape and crown.
"Good! Goooooooooooooood!" Throwing his hands in the air, the Mouse King sounded an awful lot like Eiichi to Haruka as he spoke, "Come my brothers! We will win this once and for all!"
Her friends also regrouped, the seven of them remaining coming together around Otoya. She couldn't make out what they were saying really. Though she could only assume Tokiya said something vaguely rude since he got a light shove, and some head shakes. Then they must have come to a decision because she saw them clasp Otoya on the shoulder and everyone nodding.
Haruka's lips pursed as she moved closer to the edge of the box she was on to watch. Her heart was racing, uncomfortably, and she had to remind herself to breathe. It was so frustrating, just sitting there and only being able to watch and worry. She believed in them! She really, really did, but… But she didn't want anyone to get hurt, least of all them.
"Let's go guys!" Otoya's shout was given as he lifted his sword in the air, and the seven of her friends met the six mouse people and the Mouse King for another battle.
Waiting and believing was all well and good, but in the end he should have known better then to expect her to sit still for too long. So she slid herself down over the edge of the one box, and then the next so that she was back on the floor.
It was hard for Haruka to tell where to look with the flurry of movement everywhere, nor could she tell who was winning just by looking. If she had to guess it was a mostly even match, but the longer she watched the more it looked like the last six mice people were getting an advantage on her friends.
"Otoya!" He was having the hardest time against the Mouse King it seemed, and the others were too busy with their own fights to do anything even though some of them saw. Haruka was far away to help much, unless…
With her heart racing the young woman pulled off one of her slippers, holding it for a moment only to make sure of her aim before letting it fly. Watching as it hit the Mouse King on the head, stunning him long enough for Otoya to push him away. The king landed on the floor a good foot or two away and for a moment everyone stopped, and Haruka could hear her heartbeat in her ears.
Then suddenly the mouse people gathered around the king, and took him away. Haruka sighed in relief before running over to the red head who was picking up the slipper she had thrown.
"Are you alright? No, you got hurt. Let me see." Haruka was fussing over him before he even turned around to see her. Her breath coming in small huffs every so often like she too had gotten a workout, and her eyes stinging a little with tears that she wasn't going to let fall. She looked to see if there was anything that she could tie around the cut to help it stop bleeding, the only real thing there being the ribbon on her nightgown.
So off it came with a quick tug as Otoya chuckled, "I'm fine, really. It's just a scratch."Still he let her tie the ribbon around his upper arm.
Haruka made a face at him, obviously not pleased with that statement, "It's not a scratch."
Once she was done he nodded, and held out her slipper, "You know… These things seems a little dangerous." Haruka blushed at the teasing, she wasn't sorry she had thrown it though. "Can I?"
It took Haruka a moment to realize what he was asking, but when she did she smiled through her blush, "Mmhm, thank you." Haruka picked up her foot so that he could get the slipper on easily, one hand on his shoulder to help keep her balance while Otoya knelt down for a moment to put the slipper on.
When he had it on her Otoya looked up, and gave a boyish grin that had Haruka's heart picking up speed for a different reason than before. "A perfect fit. Should we catch up with the others now?"
"Catch up…?" It was only then that Haruka realized it was only the two of them in the common room. When she looked around sure enough none of the others were there anymore. That much was concerning enough for her to start to wander away from Otoya. "But where did they go?"
He caught her hand before she got too far, "Tokiya probably took them ahead, come on I'll show you!" Tugging her back in his direction, Haruka followed with a smile and a nod as they went to catch up with the others.
Author's Note: Obviously this is rather out of season to be posting in June since the Nutcracker is a CHristmas ballet but ah well~ This set was originally written and posted on Tumblr January 1st 2017 as a rather late Christmas present for my two dear friends and OtoHaru shipmates. ( they own my soul with this ship I'm not gonna lie )
I had decided to watch the Nutcracker Ballet in December and got the idea of doing this for them. So two weeks of watching 5 different versions of the Nutcracker ( four ballets each from a different country & the animated movie from the early 90's ) I came up with this. It's probably one of the most challenging things I've written in recent years, because I found it really really hard to translate the very visual and auditory wonder of this ballet into words. I feel like I hardly did it the justice it deserves, but at the same time it's a project I'm very proud of.
I hope you all enjoy reading this project as much as I enjoyed working on it, and feel free to leave your thoughts and comments in a review as well!
