OK, this time it's Bic Runga's Sway. Anyone who's reading this should download this song. It's really really good :). I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. I had writer's block...anyway hope you like this chapter! I'll update very soon, I promise!
The Bees and Butterflies: Sway
Despite what she had said yesterday, she couldn't make it to the host club's event the following day. Not being able to relive that fantasy of talking to Kaoru even for a few seconds made her wonder if true love was ever possible.
This was her eighth trip to the Hitachiin house in the last two months. Yuzuha has been extremely critical on herself making sure that things were exact for her spring collection. Everyone around her at the house was going on super diets that involved a ball of cabbage and diet soda for all of their meals.
While Yuzuha Hitachiin was going through her clothes, throwing things around, ordering maids and models to do whatever tasks she ordered, Arisu had her Russian literature book open taking notes. Some of them listened to music to calm themselves down, one was chewing on massive chunks of gum, two of them studied with her, and one of the models had fallen asleep.
Before she realized it, Yuzuha demanded that Arisu be fitted into one of the 'avant gardé' outfits. Arisu felt ridiculous and looked like a gigantic mushroom walking in high heels. Yuzuha quelled her fears as she called Arisu an 'elegant, graceful mushroom'. Arisu only laughed and tried to jump around in it, which only upset Yuzuha quickly that the 'shroom' portion of the outfit threatened to collapse at any moment.
"I can't have you doing that to my outfits, Arisu—I hire my models to wear things, not destroy it. The material for that cost me nearly a thousand dollars," Yuzuha frowned. Arisu had never seen Yuzuha frown at her before but making her frown can only mean one thing: she really screwed up.
"Sorry," she looked away. She wondered if Yuzuha was going to somehow bring that up over dinner with her sons that she was an incompetent model for jumping around in a mushroom-looking outfit. Just when Arisu thought it couldn't get any worse, she heard voices arguing in the halls. And before Arisu could pull her composure together, she saw Hikaru and Kaoru walk gracefully into the room.
"Hi, boys! You're home early!" Yuzuha's demeanor suddenly became brighter. "Well, girls, these are my sons. They've grown a lot, haven't they?"
"Too short," the one chewing the massive loads of gum said bluntly.
"It's not like I'm asking you to court them," Yuzuha laughed. Hikaru and Kaoru were quick to show that they didn't like her remark.
"If we don't like you..."
"...we can get you fired." The Hitachiin twins grinned.
"Where would your modeling career be without this?"
The model chewing gum stopped chewing and looked away with a defeated silence. The twins laughed alongside each other while Arisu hoped to death that none of them recognized her.
"What an ugly mushroom, Mom," one of them said. "Did you smoke weed again?"
"So that's where you were," Kaoru—Arisu believed—grinned. "You missed out on the greatest love act of twincest!" Arisu grinned in return, again feeling self-conscious about her grin. As Yuzuha was helping another girl get fitted into another design, Hikaru and Kaoru both whispered to Arisu. "When this is all over, come up to our room so we can show you."
"No thanks," Arisu giggled and attempted to walk over to where their mother was, trying to keep as much composure as possible with the gigantic ornament she had on her back and shoulders. Kaoru and Hikaru kept her from going.
"Wait a second..."
"...mushroom girl."
"You get to see this..."
"...for free." For some reason, Arisu never had been so clear on which twin was Kaoru. One of them for some reason seemed more instantly appealing than the other. Maybe it was the way that he said it. And that person was definitely Kaoru. True love rang loud and clear.
She never thought she was the Machiavellian type that as long as she got to see, hear, and experience Kaoru's presence, it didn't matter what the cost would be.
"Sure," she said without thinking. "When I'm done with this." She looked away without seeing the evil grins on the twins' faces. She found it odd to be standing a bit taller than them. She couldn't wait to get rid of the heels so that she wouldn't feel truly like a monstrous mushroom ready to consume young boys and girls.
This put her in a good mood for the rest of the fitting. The next outfit was also colossal but she took it on with as much grace and poise as she could incase Kaoru was secretly watching her and if he was secretly watching her, she hoped he would be admiring how wonderful she looked.
And without her knowledge, Hikaru and Kaoru were watching from the balcony where they knew she wouldn't see them. As far as they knew, she seemed as calm and sure of herself despite what Kyoya had observed of her. She walked confidently especially with the taller model by her side, looking fashionably dangerous like she was about to kill someone with those high heels.
"Hikaru, I don't see what Kyoya sees," Kaoru droned.
"Apparently, Kyoya discovered that she has a crush on you," Hikaru grinned. "That's funny. She doesn't even know the difference between us."
"It's been so long since we put a girl to the test."
"Do you think she'll pass?"
"No," Kaoru laughed. "But we can't push her too much. Mom wouldn't like that."
"Who cares what mom thinks. She doesn't know," Hikaru looked at his brother for a moment. "I'll start."
After they were finished going through endless racks of outfits, the models were invited to stay for dinner. All of them accepted the invitation and were allowed to gorge on as much non-dressing salad as they desired. Some of the models had grouchy looks on their faces but Arisu was shoving lettuce down her throat in turmoil.
Was Kaoru thinking of her as much as she was thinking of him?
She had a difficult time looking down the table where the two twins sat chatting away with their father. She tried to have a good time trying to talk to the other models who bragged about the shows that they booked for the spring. It wasn't long until she noticed one of the twins staring at her. She looked back unsure of what her face looked like.
"She's not blushing, Kaoru," Hikaru whispered. Kaoru leaned and glanced over his brother's shoulder. "You know, it's totally possible that Kyoya makes mistakes."
"Oh man, if Kyoya heard you say that..." Kaoru laughed. Arisu quickly looked away feeling her face grow warm. She quickly sipped a spoonful of hot soup and felt her eyes began to water. One of the models, Minaki, gaped at her.
"What are you doing, Arisu?" she glared.
"I like this soup, it tastes great!" Arisu grinned feebly. "What's in this?"
"Shark fin. Do you like it?" Yuzuha asked from the end of the table. Arisu smiled and nodded but it didn't stop from her face become any warmer from embarrassment and that Kaoru was watching.
"I'm allergic to seafood," Arisu quickly said, wanting to make a fast retreat to the bathroom.
"No, you're not—" Minaki retorted as Arisu stomped on her foot. Minaki covered her mouth whispering swear words as she took off.
"Oh my goodness, Arisu, do you need medications? Can you breathe?" Yuzuha asked nervously. Arisu shook her head.
"It gives me indigestion." She lied as she glanced back at Minaki whose free hand flipped her off where no one but Arisu could see a model's lack of professional behavior. "Excuse me." By the time she made it to the restroom, she sat on the covered toilet seat and stared at her reflection. She looked as if she had the Asian glow from one too many drinks.
"What am I thinking?" she mouthed silently. She pulled out her clutch and took out a bottle of perfume, and set it on the counter aside her. Arisu cringed and felt her eyes began to water not from any hot soup or from the embarrassment. She remembered watching her closest friends having their hearts broken by Kaoru Hitachiin but she was sure herself that she liked him more than anyone in the world.
Before she could begin to swallow her tears, she heard his voice and several light taps on the bathroom door.
"Arisu, are you alright?"
She quickly stood up and lifted the toilet seat. She flushed the toilet while spraying it over several times with the perfume she had set aside and stuffed it away in her giant clutch. After playing with the sink's water and rubbing off her eye makeup, she opened the door to see one of the Hitachiin brothers staring back at her with concern.
"My mom wanted to make sure you weren't dying."
"Oh, thanks," Arisu grinned rubbing her eyes as gracefully as she could. There was no doubt that Hikaru found her to be prettier without her makeup but that wasn't what bothered him. "I'm sorry I worried all of you like that. You can use the bathroom if you want." She left him there without another word. Hikaru watched her leave, and was left with a deep sense of bewilderment. Maybe Kyoya was wrong, he thought, but then he remembered that Arisu was never allergic to seafood. Her favorite thing on the school's menu was shrimp.
Maybe she was lovesick, Hikaru thought, as he wandered further into the bathroom to see if she did suffer from indigestion. The moment he lifted the toilet seat slightly, he felt nearly compelled to vomit his entire dinner.
"Shit..." he swore and stormed out of the bathroom.
Minaki was the only one that noticed when Hikaru came back to his seat and didn't touch the rest of his food.
"What did you do?" she whispered to Arisu who was determined on finishing her salad. It was as Arisu feared as she swallowed another round of cabbages.
"Stink perfume," she muttered. It was inevitable that Kaoru would soon find out about her secret love for him, and they were starting to catch on. Would they tell their mother? Would they sabotage her career because to them she was just another pathetic girl who was helplessly in love with them?
She ignored the rest of the conversation and found fruits to be her next best friend. When the dinner was over, the models' limos were waiting outside for them. Yuzuha and her husband escorted them out, while the twins followed not far behind.
"Arisu," one of them called. She turned around and smiled feebly at them pretending that nothing could phase her.
"See you tomorrow," the other one said. Unable to even speak, Arisu smiled a little more poise. The model, whom Yuzuha called, with the strongest stature became the fragile as a large fish in a shallow pond. She never realized love had the capacity to humble her this greatly. When she got into the car, she couldn't look at the twins, afraid that they finally might discover her secret.
"She's going to be a tough one to crack," Hikaru grinned.
Kaoru didn't smile. There hasn't been a girl since Haruhi in which he had such difficulty in understanding. If she really was in love with him, she was sure doing a very good job in acting like that wasn't the case.
But he'll find out tomorrow. He and Hikaru made eye contact with each other and both knew what the other was thinking.
"I've got an idea," Hikaru's eyes were lit with excitement. The two headed back into the house quickly to get ready for the coming morning.
YAY Now that my writer's block has been overcome. I'll definitely update soon. Check back on this story in a few days...oh, and review please :D I want to know how you feel about this story!
