A Drizzle of Honey Chapter 2
Author's Note:
Welcome back! I've decided to update this story at least twice a week, but maybe more often, if I feel like it. I'd like to thank my first reviewer. Carley-Carley-Carley you rock-rock-rock. As always I look forward to your critiques. MOLD ME LIKE CLAY! Oh and I also don't own Ouran Host Club.
Edie slammed the heel of her hand against the center of Honey's forehead, causing his brain to rock in his skull, leaving the boy dazed and slightly concussed. Using his momentary confusion to her advantage, Edie crawled behind Honey and crooked her arm around his throat squeezing the carotid artery until he passed out from a lack of oxygen reaching his brain.
Edie smiled to herself. Of course she didn't really do any of those things. She was still riding in the back of the car with Honey, swinging her legs and riding in silence. It was merely a thought exercise she liked to entertain. What would she do if she were attacked right then and there? Being the smallest member of a mixed martial arts empire, she learned that it was not size that won a fight; it was strategy. So, whenever she had the luxury of silence, she ran mental simulations of how she would ward off any attack.
The practice had made Edie a master of strategy, able to out-think even the most seasoned of fighters. Her cutesy persona she adopted was another form of strategic defense. From a very young age, Edie learned that her small size and large eyes made people underestimate her. At first she was annoyed by the stereotype, but then she saw the inherent opportunity that being underestimated afforded. She upped the ante and dressed and behaved like a naïve little girl. It disarmed the people she met, allowing her to assess their threat level and have the upper hand if they tested her. She might be the smallest Hale, but she was just as dangerous as any of her four older brothers.
Edie looked at Honey and caught him sneaking a peek at her. She waved her fingers at him, but he bashfully looked down at his lap, unable to meet her gaze. Honey seemed to behave a lot like Edie, but she wasn't sure if he was really that cute or if it was all a calculated act like hers. It wasn't that Edie wasn't cute and girly, she just wasn't one-dimensionally so. She loved every frill and sweet. She adored stuffed animals and even occasionally enjoyed the baby talk, but she also was obsessed with mixed martial arts and insects. Playing up her more feminine side just gave her the advantage in and out of the ring.
The car finally slowed to a stop and Edie's jaw dropped. She had never seen a home this large or this beautiful. Although the Haninozuka family and the Hale family were equal in worth, the Hales had decided to forgo the mansion in order to live modestly in a five-bedroom, four-bath house. All their wealth went to their gyms and traveling with the family. For this reason, Edie was entirely unprepared for the expansive traditional Japanese mansion sprawling before her. There were several buildings on the land surrounding the large central manor that served as the main house where the Haninozukas lived.
Edie was up and out of the car before Tanaka even had the chance to open her door. Tanaka instead opened Honey's door and Honey bounced to stand beside the giddy foreigner.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
Edie whipped her head towards Honey, causing a few strands of her jet-black hair to swing across her cheek. "It's so pretty, Honey-senpai. Can I explore, pleeeeaaaase?" Edie begged.
She was rather excited to see the in-house dojo her father had told her about. Maybe Honey would teach her the signature style of Haninozuka martial arts.
Honey nearly choked on his own saliva. It was the first time Edie had ever used his name, causing his heart to perform rapid palpitations. Honey managed to reply, "We can explore this whole place together, but first Usa-chan and cake."
It was then that Honey took a calm step forward, just as a tan, human-shaped blur whizzed right through the space that Honey had just occupied. Tanaka shook his head as if he had seen this all before, and Honey's bright smile didn't budge an inch. Edie on the other hand was floored, "Did a boy just try to sneak attack you with a flying knee?" she squeaked.
The assailant picked himself off of the ground, wiping dust off of his black karate uniform and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The boy then started shooting rapid fire punches at Honey's head which Honey dodged with ease, not even bothering to remove his hands from the pockets of his dress slacks. Edie was impressed and began to think that she oversimplified her incapacitation techniques for Honey in the car. In between the attacker's swift jabs Honey explained, "This is Chika-chan, my baby brother."
"Don't call me that," Yasuchika grunted with effort as he spun a roundhouse kick at his older brother's head.
Honey seized the foot just before it struck his face with one hand and palm-struck Yasuchicka's ribs with the other. Yasuchika clutched his side and fell to the ground wheezing. Finally, Edie was able to get a good look at the younger male. He was taller than Honey and his hair was brown rather than blonde, but the resemblance was unmistakable. Yasuchika's glasses were comically askew after the squabble, but his face bore such a serious expression, that Edie could not bring herself to laugh. The younger brother was glaring up at Honey, not even noticing Edie's presence.
Honey leaned forward and balanced on his heels as he sang, "Chika-chan! Did you miss me?"
Yasuchika gritted his teeth and pushed himself into a wobbly upright position, "I'm going to defeat you one day Mitskuni, and when I do, everyone will see how ridiculous it is to have a fool for an heir with cake for brains."
Honey's face fell while his brother turned on his heel and stalked towards the manor, but Tanaka could not allow the younger boy to leave without greeting their guest. "Excuse me sir, but our foreign exchange student has arrived and is waiting to make your acquaintance."
After witnessing how disrespectful the boy was to his older brother, Edie wasn't all that sure she wanted to meet him at all, but she sucked it up turned to face Yasuchika. Yasuchika regarded her for the very first time and his primary impression was not at all favorable. He disdained the heinous pink dress and distrusted the wide blue eyes peeping from her round face. She looked as frivolous as his brother's stuffed rabbit and he suspected that she would end up being just another lovely item to distract his brother from his responsibility as heir. Even so, he bowed from the waist as duty commanded. "Forgive me for not attending to you sooner, I am Yasuchika Haninozuka, Mitskuni's younger brother."
Edie returned the bow and plastered on her most adorable expression to cover her desire to smack the kid upside the head. "That's right," she began sweetly, "Honey-senpai called you Chika-chan. I am Edie Hale."
Yasuchika grimaced at the childish nickname, but the girl's last name prevented him from correcting her. "If you will excuse me, I need to return to my training. I'm sure Mitskuni and Tanaka will show you around the estate," he said stiffly.
He turned once more and disappeared into one of the many side buildings. Edie marveled at how two siblings could be so different in essentials. She peeked at Honey's face and found a frown there with a trembling bottom lip. The effect made him look like a whipped puppy and fueled her desire to slam Chika to the mat until he apologized. Instead she reached out with both hands and grasped the corner Honey's sport coat. "Are you okay Honey-senpai?"
Honey gave her a half-hearted smile that never quite met his caramel eyes. "Yeah, Edie-chan. We fight all the time. Haninozukas challenge each other to battles every time we meet to hone our skills."
The Hales had a similar policy, but none of the skirmishes ended as bitterly as the one she had just witnessed. Edie wondered how to clear the depressing gloom gathering around her host's head when an idea struck. "Honey-senpai, we should have sweets together to cement our friendship. I believe you mentioned cake."
Just like that flowers seemed to bloom behind her friend's head and sunspots rocketed off of his corn-yellow hair.
"Okay!" he bubbled and pirouetted from joy, but then paused pensively, "Okay, but I'm going to invite Usa-chan too so he can be your friend as well."
Edie giggled and allowed herself to be dragged towards the main structure, leaving Tanaka to carry her bags to the accessory building where she would be staying. Honey and Edie weaved through corridors until he stopped abruptly before a set of double doors. Honey gave Edie a mischievous wink before sliding open both doors with panache. The bright light emitted from the room momentarily stunned Edie, but after her eyes adjusted she saw what must be Nirvana. Piles of cakes, pies, and pastries crowded the table in the center of the traditional Japanese room. Honey had already bounced past the threshold, so Edie hurried to join him. Pulling out a powder blue chair with a gallant flourish, Honey invited, "You sit here, okay Edie-chan?"
She nodded fervently and flounced into the seat. Her feet couldn't even reach the floor from her perch, but then, neither could Honey's when he sat on those chairs. Honey then scurried to the other side of the room, causing Edie to lose sight of him behind the mountain of desserts. When he reemerged, he held a pink furry thing behind his back. Edie cocked her head curiously.
"This iiiiiiiiiis… Usa-chan!" Honey proclaimed grandly, whipping an adorable pink, stuffed bunny out from behind his back.
Edie squeaked once with joy, but forced her face to form the silliest serious expression she could muster. She grasped one of Usa-chan's front paws delicately with her fore finger and thumb and nodded her head in a formal greeting. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."
Unable to bear the silliness of it all, the two broke into a fit of giggles. Edie snatched Usa-chan to her chest and snuggled the bunny under her chin.
"Oh, Honey-senpai, he's so cute. Thank you, thank you, thank you for introducing us," she cheered, rocking the stuffed animal.
"Let's have some cake, alright?" Honey offered to cover up his blush.
She bobbed her head, enthusiastically accepting the lemon square that Honey handed her. He then selected a slice of chocolate cake with Italian meringue buttercream frosting before taking the seat to her right. Edie carefully sat Usa-chan in the chair to her left and both teens partook of the sweets with gusto.
Typically girls at the host club would eat one small slice of cake and then watch as Honey finished whatever was left on the table, but looking up from the final bite of his third sweet he saw that Edie had three empty plates before her and was about to start her fourth, a sumptuous chocolate mousse with raspberries dotting the top. Whether Edie knew it or not, from that moment on, this became an eating competition to Honey and the prize would be the strawberry shortcake in the center of the table.
As it turned out, Edie did know that she was now eating for victory. She could sense the competitive energy emanating from Honey's body almost instantly. The Hales didn't earn their empire by losing and she was not about to start now. The duo picked up their speed, polishing off four more plates each until only the prize strawberry shortcake remained, the red fruit on top glistening invitingly. They met eyes and gave each other a playful wink in unison before reaching for the final plate together. Honey closed his fingers triumphantly but was surprised to find he had caught nothing, but air. He looked at Edie, puzzled to spot her smiling archly at him with a plate of strawberry heaven sitting before her.
Not only was Edie cuter than Honey, but she was faster than him too? It just wasn't fair.
Before Honey's face could fall into a full puppy-dog pout she slid the treat towards him. "We'll share."
It took all of Honey's strength to hold back his tears of gratitude. Strawberries were his favorite after all. He sank his fork into the pillowy layers of cream and cake. Edie had only one bite before she laid down her utensil. She wanted to poke into Honey's relationship with Chika and figured that cake could soften the blow.
"If you want, you could share the rest with Usa-chan, or maybe you want to invite Chika-chan to eat it with you?" she inquired hesitantly.
"Chika-chan doesn't like cake. He thinks it weakens a fighter's discipline and makes them fat and slow," Honey said softly. The way he said it made it sound like Chika didn't like him.
Once again Edie wanted to kick Chika for being so mean, but all she could do now was perk up her newest friend. She'd deal with Chika later. She grabbed Usa-chan off his chair and placed him on her lap. Then, Edie played with the floppy ears as she said, "You know, you're the very first person I've met who's just like me. My whole family is tall and tough, " Edie could also be tough when she needed to, but she left that part out. "When I first saw you at the airport I was happy that we could have so much in common. I know we just met, but I'd be really sad if you stopped eating desserts or loving Usa-chan. That makes up a part of who you are. The senpai I met today is way too precious to change who he is just to be what everyone else expects of him."
Edie refused to look at Honey during her speech, but now that she said her piece, she peeked up at him from underneath her long, dark mass of lashes. Honey had his mouth ajar and a face as red as the strawberry dangling from the end of his fork. A bit of cream clung stubbornly to his bottom lip. Edie had to giggle at the embarrassed boy as she passed him a lace handkerchief to wipe away the cream. Honey accepted the piece of cloth and hurried to wipe his mouth. For the first time since meeting Edie, he wanted Takashi to be there with them. He wanted to ask him if he also saw the dazzling corona of light shining behind the pixie-sized girl.