Why?
Why hadn't he defended me? Hikaru-san…all those times…were they just…was he just…? What did I do to deserve this?
All those times we spent together, I really thought that he was fully content. Maybe I did something wrong in the paper work. Maybe I made his coffee a tad bit too strong for his liking. Maybe…I was a bit reluctant with him.
But…
Something else tells me that it wasn't my job. It wasn't my work…
…was it me?
Well. It doesn't matter now.
Hikaru-san was really playing with me. All those rumors…they were true about him. Hikaru-san's truly…a bastard, and I didn't believe it. I thought the people said wrong, but they all said the same thing.
Deep down…Hikaru-san was really a cold-hearted rich bastard. I shouldn't have accepted his 'date' in the first place. Because right now…
I feel stupid.
Stupid that I was idiotic and naïve enough to actually believe him and trust in him. Because like always…he torn it up in shreds and sprinkled it onto the ground with that arrogant smirk on his face. I can't look at him anymore, he'll just hurt me more than I can handle.
If I did.
I'd break.
But really…
I really trusted him…
The brunette sat in her seat looking through the files that she was given. No doubt this work was far too easy from Hikaru's secretary work. She leafed through the papers and placed the manila folder back onto the desk.
Haruhi toyed with the earphones that were cushioning her ears, and she blew heavily into the microphone piece that was connected to the earphones and to her computer. The woman ignored most of the small 'pop's that the computer made whenever a pop-up would come up.
Her mind was heavy; something was eating at her. She didn't understand why…just suddenly why Hikaru would do that to her. She did nothing wrong…and Haruhi SAVED him from food poisoning!
Renge…Renge that…
Bitch.
"Oh, are you Fujioka-san?" a womanly voice interrupted. Haruhi blinked, coming back into reality. She slowly looked up to see an older woman leaning over the top of her stall staring down at her with a beaming face.
"Yes…?" she muttered hesitantly.
"Oh, perfect! I was looking all over you-!"
"For what?"
The woman produced a notepad from her handbag and jotted several notes down. While flipping the pages, she asked very professionally, "Fujioka-san, how did you feel when you lost your job?"
Haruhi's eyes sprung open, and she stuttered. "W-What?"
"We had gotten news that you have lost your job. Why is that? Was it quarrel? Rumor has it that you were the only secretary who had stayed in the job for a month! What happened that made everything fall apart?" she inquired with a serious face on. Haruhi's mouth was open slightly and she was staring at her with a surprised face on.
"That's rude!" Haruhi exclaimed, giving her an appalled look. "Why are you asking such personal questions?"
And that was when Haruhi noticed that the woman wasn't the only nosy questionnaire person there.
"Fujioka-san, has something happened between you and Hikaru-sama?" a man asked, shoving a tape recorder in her face. Haruhi slowly edged away from him. Another person appeared behind her.
"Is it true that you two were in love?"
Another appeared underneath her desk compartment, and she nearly screamed when she popped up her head from underneath the desk. She cried, "Could it be that Hoshakuji and Hitachiin are together?"
"Do you feel heartbreak or anything of that sort?"
"Has Hikaru-san been toying with you all this while like all the others?" a man asked, while shoving away the other people. Haruhi could hear a lot of people mumbling and shouting questions that got lost within the crowd.
She heard a crack above her head and looked up.
"Tell us what you two have been doing in his office!" The man that flung from the ceiling screamed.
She couldn't retort, for something beeped in her ear. Haruhi's jaw dropped when her eyes turned to the computer screen.
/Are you two secretly in a relationship?/
Haruhi's face turned red from frustration. She had it with them; they were asking too much personal questions and questions that didn't make sense at all!
What relationship were they talking about? Hikaru and she weren't in a relationship. Why the sudden suggestion? Was this the newspaper press? Why then were they there?
"Hey! Who gave you a permission to pick on Haruhi?" a voice interrupted. Everyone exploded into small whispers as they parted to allow a certain Hitachiin through. Haruhi was so glad that he came. At least he wasn't back-stabbing like his brother was.
He gave some people a glare, and said, "Haruhi, I apologize for this. If I hadn't been busy with other things…"
"That's fine," was all she said, as Kaoru shooed away everyone away. He gave her a sympathetic look and patted her back. "Haruhi, don't feel that bad. Hikaru's…well…he's…"
"What's he doing?"
Kaoru looked away slightly and frowned.
"I don't know, but you have to know that even I'm not close to him as much…Well all I know, the press has been hot on his trail for some while."
The younger twin rolled his eyes at the people who were filing out of the room. "I had to shoo them out before they even get to Hikaru. Unfortunately…there are so many rumors floating around about my bro. Lately, Hikaru's been the reason why we've been succeeding, and these companies…" He shook his head. "They want to affect him by finding his weak point."
Haruhi blinked as Kaoru continued to ramble about rival companies planning to get his weak point and-
"Oh yeah, speaking of my brother…" Kaoru said, as he jutted his finger to the elevator. "He wants to chat-"
"Forget it," Haruhi said, turning back to her computer. "Hikaru-san…can talk to Renge."
Kaoru went silent, his face was now blank.
"No seriously, he wants to talk."
"Too bad, if he's bored let him talk to his secretary not his ex-secretary!"
"…That's why he needs to talk to you."
Haruhi became silent, and she stared at him. Finally after the silence, she asked, "What DOES he want?"
The younger twin shrugged as he glanced away. He muttered nonchalantly, "I'm not sure, but I guess you can help him in a way."
The brunette frowned and just stood up from her office desk. She confidently strode towards the elevators with Kaoru watching her leave. He snorted to himself and lazily hung over the compartment wall. "I think it's just pushing too far…"
"What is it?" Haruhi asked coldly once she entered his office. And of course, Hikaru was not alone. Renge was practically hanging herself over the twenty-four year old man. The dark brown haired woman's stare turned even icier. "Hikaru-san?"
"Ah, Haruhi," he replied. "Renge requested an assistant. I believe that you qualify for it."
"Is that all?" she said through clenched teeth. Hikaru dismissed her tone and only nodded. His golden eyes swept towards Renge.
"She knows what to do, so now…why don't you two go to the office?" Hikaru said, shrugging his shoulders as if to get rid of the woman on it. Renge lazily got off and strode over to the door with an arrogant smirk on her face.
"Sure, Hika-kun."
Haruhi sighed inwardly and gave a glance at Hikaru before turning away to follow Renge.
- …hours…later…
"Ahem," the Hoshakuji said after their long period of work. The fired secretary would have been happier off if Renge had stayed quiet. No doubt she's trying to rub stuff in my face, Haruhi concluded.
"What is it, Renge?"
"Just to tell you something amazing-!"
Haruhi frowned and brushed past the other brunette. "Spare me the talk," she retorted while moving papers to another cabinet. "You can talk about Hikaru-san to Hikaru-san for all I care."
Renge fell onto the reclining chair and put her elbows on the glass desk. "Oh really? Jealous are we?" The smug woman smirked, as her head was propped up by her hand. "I see where you're coming from. By the way…have you met the press? Quite annoying, aren't they?"
Haruhi's dark chocolate eyes narrowed at the woman in front of her. "Why would I be jealous of Hikaru-san? He's just a rich bastard, that's all."
A glint shone in Renge's eyes, and she sneered at Haruhi. "Yes…why would you be jealous of Hika-kun? He has everything he wants after all…and he's quite happy…"
Haruhi had to force down a growl that was threatening to rumble out. Oh how much she disliked Renge…
The new secretary leaned back against her chair and became interested in her painted nails. "You know, Haruhi…" Said person glanced over at her with a blank expression on. "Hika-kun told me…"
Haruhi's eyes hardened and she frowned at the pompous girl sitting in her seat. "I don't need you to tell me. It's fine. Keep your relationship with him to yourself." The brunette turned to leave, and glanced at Renge. "You don't need to flaunt that in my face."
"Hm. How the press? Wonderful?"
"Terrible," she fired back.
The woman smiled, as she tapped the glass surface of the desk with her finger. "Yes, now that the two major companies are coming to evaluate the Hitachiin Co. the newspapers are all trying to find something to publish. Especially what is Hika-kun's breaking point…"
Haruhi turned to Renge and looked at her with an raised eyebrow. She then said, "What is it? I've heard of this...'breaking' point from Kaoru-san. What's it about anyways?"
"Haven't you heard?" she sniggered. "Hika-kun's a genius. The Hitachiin Co. flourished because of his imaginative designs. Not only focused on designs, the Hitachiins own quite a lot of other businesses and are doing very well in them. Ohtori and Suoh…those are two of the families who are at the top of the economy. Very competitive."
"Well that's just peachy," she said, turning around on her heels. "Papers are done, Renge. I'm leaving."
Renge's smile dropped a bit, and she laid her head on her hand. Absently, she said. "It's very sad...seeing how you have to suffer this ordeal."
Haruhi stopped, and her finger rest on the doorknob.
She smiled at Haruhi's back, and said in a sweet voice, "I'm just hoping you'll pull through."
As she opened the door and left, her lips silently formed the words into a whisper.
"How sick…"
"You idiot," Kaoru muttered, his back to the door. A small smile was on his face, and he looked at his twin brother who was gazing out the office windows. "Aren't you being a little…harsh?"
"No."
"You're so easy to read," the younger twin commented as he walked closer to his brother. "Like pages of a book. And I'm the only one holding the power to read you correctly, am I right?"
Hikaru blinked and turned to look at Kaoru.
"What do you want?"
The sly grin on his face widened, and Hikaru's eyes narrowed. "Now, I'm not here for something," Kaoru said, leaning against Hikaru's desk. His golden eyes glinted mischievously and his smile turned lax. "You're so harsh."
"No, I wasn't."
The younger brother frowned at his attempt to avoid the question. Kaoru pinched one of Hikaru's cheeks roughly and pulled his brother towards him. "Hikaru. Don't play dumb," he muttered into Hikaru's ear. "You know very well that it was."
"It hurts, idiot."
"Anyways…" Kaoru released his grip on his elder's cheek and sighed, "The press. They want to find your weak point, Hikaru. You have to be careful. I can't help but feel that they're going to resort to much more drastic actions."
Hikaru rolled his eyes, and rubbed his painful cheek with his hand. He put his elbows on the desk and stared up at his twin.
"This is stupid. I bet the other companies had hired them to scrounge for a 'weakness' when there isn't one," he muttered, while playing around with the cup on his table. "Anways. Why me? Why not you?"
"Am I a genius designer with the name 'Hikaru' stapled all over me?" Kaoru said with a small laugh. He looked down at his twin and patted Hikaru on the head a few times. "Also, you're such a handsome man, that rival companies may have sent some girls to hook up with you."
"Kaoru…you're not thinking about yourself," Hikaru sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're as smart as me, and you look exactly like me. Why the hell aren't they chasing after you?"
"Tch, your seriousness adds to your charm, brother," Kaoru mumbled thoughtfully. "I really do fret over your life now." He sighed, and rubbed his cheek dramatically. "Just having my elder brethren be chased by many corrupted women, oh woe. I'm terribly afraid for how you'll turn out. Imagine having my own blood and flesh lose his virginity to one of our rival companies' whore. The shame!"
Hikaru stared, with grim lines on his head. He looked away and muttered. "You're starting to freak me out."
"Hikaru!" he said seriously, putting a hand on the glass surface of the table. "What's with Renge? She's a B-I-T-C-H. And you know what? I have a feeling that I already hate her. She's so…ugh…pompous."
Hikaru sighed. "Yes, yes. Whatever you say."
"You're not going to scream at me for bad mouthing her?" Kaoru asked, raising an eyebrow. Hikaru shrugged in response and moved the coffee mug around in circles boringly.
"She's not worth screaming for," he replied indifferently.
"Human ice block," Kaoru muttered, sticking out his tongue at his brother. Hikaru rolled his eyes, and leaned back against the chair. "But you know…you can be very kind hearted. Still…you manage to make girls run home in tears. I can't believe you, Hikaru…"
"They're not my problem."
"How about Haruhi?"
There was a long silence, as Hikaru's eyes slid down to meet the glass table. "She…different…"
Kaoru laughed and he slid off the table, and patted his brother's head. He said comfortingly, "Don't worry, I think she can survive."
"Kaoru?"
"Yeah?" he asked, blinking at his brother. Hikaru sighed and fiddled with the pens on his desk.
"Well…you know…" he muttered quietly. "About what you said about Renge…"
The playful exterior on Kaoru's face melted away and he stared at him fearfully. Slowly picking his words, Kaoru drawled, "Yeah…and what about her?"
Hikaru's face glanced down at the table and a small tint of pink came on his face, something that Kaoru had found quite noticeable. He became quite alerted when Hikaru started to scratch the back of his hand, a sign that he was nervous.
"Well?" Kaoru said a bit louder.
"W-Well…never mind, it's too awkward to tell you. I'll tell you later…"
"Suoh and Ohtori are coming to visit," Kaoru said, abruptly switching the topic. He looked down at Hikaru; the mention of the two seemed to have snapped a switch in him. "Well? What shall we do? Our company will be hosting their visit, and they'll be looking over it for any weakness."
"Weakness?" Hikaru snorted, his eyes becoming slits. "There aren't any here, now are there?"
The younger twin leaned back and smiled lazily. "No."
"Precisely, we need to be able to pass their little…test or else they'll use our flaw and turn it against us," Hikaru said informatively, as he stood up from the table. He smirked, as he pocketed a hand into his pants. "Besides. Two brains are better than one."
Kaoru gave a wink, as his grin widened. "Exactly. And it's even better when we look the same."
Haruhi collapsed on her bed and stared at the stacks of textbooks in front of her. They had been left there neglected since a long time ago, and hadn't been touched. She swallowed thickly and tiredly reached out for a book.
With so much going on, she didn't think that she could study well for her next test in Law school. Haruhi shook her head and buried her face into a nearby pillow. Work wasn't supposed to become an obstacle in school.
All she did was apply for a job to being a secretary…
Haruhi wasn't supposed to get close to her boss at all. She wasn't supposed to heavily rely on Hikaru like a friend. He was just her boss.
'Hikaru-san likes Renge…' the thought floated in randomly. Haruhi rolled off the pillow and lay on her back looking up at the ceiling. 'Why am I caring about them now?'
'Hikaru-san and Renge. Yeah…they make a good couple.'
Haruhi blinked and covered her eyes with her forearm. 'Why am I even thinking of them? Test is more important then Hikaru-san. I have a test tomorrow and I must study for it.'
The twenty-five year old sighed and sat up on her bed and looked at the mirror that was in her line of sight. She stared at herself and finally understood; Haruhi was a woman who didn't put any effort into her appearance.
Her hair wasn't in the best of shape, and was an icky color of dark brown. Her eyes were large and deep chocolate but the eye bags underneath her eyes weren't complimenting her orbs. Also…Haruhi looked very much like a feminine man.
Her look was just…screaming 'Commoner' when put next to Renge. She fingered her hair and frowned at how /ugly/ she was. Haruhi closed her eyes and shook the thought of Renge out from her head.
However, the light-brown haired woman kept coming back to her thoughts. And then she could picture Hikaru next to her, with a small pout on while Renge fix his lopsided tie. Haruhi blinked, and shook her head.
'No…I'm not jealous. Not of her.'
However, Haruhi couldn't tell whether she was jealous of Renge or if it was something else that was bothering her. Something else with that picture…
'I have to study…' she thought firmly, flipping open the book in front of her.
-Weeks later…
She couldn't believe it. Why did she fail? Haruhi was staring at her last test that she had studied so hard for. Haruhi studied for weeks on end! She was doing so well…what made her crash? What happened?
How could she…have ended up as the twelfth highest in her class? She normally ranked higher than that. Haruhi would have scored second or third highest! Why…twelve? Haruhi stared at her progress report that she had requested to be printed out for her.
Her bar was rising until a certain point and then it came crashing down. Haruhi swallowed as she examined her report again to find any fault with it. It was the same.
'I don't get it…how could I just have failed like that? My grades were average…until now. What happened?'
Haruhi was now sitting in a park, in front of a sandy playground. She stared dully at the floor and tried to calculate why she had became twelfth place. Her job was the last thing on her mind, while she thought about her law school.
Haruhi's fingers dragged along the sand, creating small strokes in it.
'When…when did all this happen?'
Work doesn't interfere with her studies; Haruhi had told her father when he warned her about Office Drama. Haruhi didn't believe that someone that is very intelligent could be affected by something minor, like losing a job, that had happened.
Now…it was happening to her.
And why?
It was because of Renge. Renge stole her job; Renge framed Haruhi for something stupid; the worst thing that ever happened to her was that Hikaru believed in Renge's lie and not the truth.
A shadow crept over her and blocked her from the mellow rays of the sun. Haruhi's brown eyes slowly traveled to the person who was standing in front of her.
A hand patted her head and the person said, "Ah. Haruhi, isn't it? What are you doing here looking all dejected and lonely?"
Haruhi shrugged and stood up from the ledge that she was sitting on. She frowned and brushed her pants of the sand, while muttering. "I'm fine, not dejected and lonely. Leave me alone."
"Hey," the man said, blocking her from walking away. "Is this how you treat your ex-boyfriend?"
Haruhi blinked and casually placed the progress report in her bag and turned to look at the man in the eye. "I apologize, if I'm treating you wrong. But right now, I'm feeling quite discouraged so if you mind, leave me alone." She then walked away.
"What's up, eh?"
"Tamaki," she grumbled, as the blonde fell into step with her. "Please leave me alone. I know you're looking for another relationship, but I'm in school and I don't want to get bothered with a love life."
The blue-eyed man looked down at her and frowned sympathetically. "Love life, you say…I think you need to sort out your job life before getting into school."
"H-How'd you know?"
"All over the newspaper, Haruhi," he said gently, shoving his hands into his pocket. Tamaki glanced over at Haruhi and chuckled. "Don't be so glum. That Hitachiin always did that, I, myself can't bear to reject such a girl! Haruhi, you are too wonderful to have your job lost."
"I'm afraid it's already in the toilet."
"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "There must be a reason why Hitachiin took away your job! You just have to know why!"
Haruhi gave him a stern look, and then stopped. She said stubbornly, "There is no reason, Tamaki. I'm fine, really." She nodded at him, before briskly walking away.
"H-Hey, wait!" he cried, grabbing the nearest thing which was her bag, causing her things to fall on the floor. Haruhi was frowning; she didn't want to deal with Tamaki, not now…at this stressful time. "I'll help you with that," he stated, bending down to pick up the scattered sheets.
Haruhi didn't care whether he was helping her or not. All she cared about was to get that progress report, and not have Tamaki see it or else-
"Haruhi …" came his voice. She looked at him sharply, and was preparing to snap at him. However the paper that he was reading and his slight shocked look gave her a reason to force the voice down her throat. "You…failed?"
Haruhi snatched away the paper and hastily gathered her other belongings. "Yes, I failed. What does that mean to you?"
"Oh…Haruhi …this is really affecting you, isn't it?"
Haruhi began to sweat, as she gulped. His ocean blue orbs seem to see through her, and he seemed to be frowning at her with a benevolent expression on. She sat on the floor, frowning in defeat.
Tamaki had her, he always did.
"This…and the job," he mumbled, rubbing his head with thought. "Haruhi…what's wrong?
Haruhi sighed and placed a hand over her forehead.
"I don't know anything anymore…"
'I'm practically lost.'
