Here's the next chapter! I apologize about the late update…I got distracted. So, I'll make it extra long. Hope you enjoy. Also, I'll refer to Ryu as 'he' until the host club finds out. Review please!
Italic bold: spoken in English
(Ryu's POV)
The next day, the pain definitely showed. I was limping, had a major headache, and had to bring a tape recorder for notes, since I wouldn't be able to right for a while.
"Ryu, you should've stayed home! Why did you insist on coming to school today?"
"Yuuki, I already told you. One, I can't afford to miss school every time I get hurt. Two, the host club will probably get even more worried and three, what would I do if mom came home early? Besides…"
Seeing how quite a few girls had gathered, I decided to put on a show.
"…what would you do without me, Nii-san?"
The girls immediately went nuts, and started shouting.
"It's just like Hikaru and Kaoru!"
Said twins turned in our direction looking angry that we stole their act, but someone unexpected had seen it as well.
"OHOHOHOHO! You are all wrong! Those two cannot compare to the Hitachiin brother's twincest!"
"Who are you and what are you talking about? They totally stole our act!"
"I am Renge Houshakuji. I just transferred here from France in order to search for my fiancé, and you are wrong! While you two focus on forbidden brotherly love, these two are completely different! It's more like a master being protected by his loyal bodyguard, who is willing to risk his very life to protect the one he loves! In a way, it is a forbidden love between a mere servant and his master, who just so happens to be his younger twin brother."
"Whatever."
"You know, Hikaru, Kaoru, she has a point. Whenever I'm in trouble, Ryu's always there to protect me. Like last night, for instance."
Yuuki smirked in my direction and the girls went wild when I blushed out of embarrassment.
"Okay class! Quiet down! It's time to begin! Yuuki? What happened to you?"
"Actually, I'm Ryu, and I fell down the stairs."
"Oh…Well sorry Ryu. Anyway class…"
I tuned her out and let my recorder do all the work.
"I can't believe she couldn't tell."
I was pissed and stared out the window through lunch, ignoring even my brother, who was speaking of his concerns to Haruhi. When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class, I reached in my bag and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. I took a few just as the twins and Haruhi came to drag us to the host club.
"Yuuki, do we really have to do this?"
"Well…how should I say this…they want us to join."
"What? There's no way I'm going to be a host!"
"Aw, but Nii-san! It'll be fun!"
"Yeah! You'll see us everyday!"
"I already see you everyday!"
"Well, maybe you can talk Kyoya into making you a waiter or something."
"Ugh, I guess I can deal with that."
"But how are you going to talk to Kyoya?"
"Yeah! You almost beat him up, remember?"
I looked at the twins, then glanced at Haruhi before I smirked evilly and chuckled.
"Oh, I have something that'll make him listen."
(Yuuki's POV)
After that, Ryu walked a bit ahead, still chuckling evilly. I laughed a bit too, before turning around when Hikaru tapped my shoulder.
"Hey, your brother…"
"…can be quite scary."
"Oh, that? That's just because of his painkillers. He gets a bit loopy."
The twins stared at each other in shock before we all looked back at Ryu, who was in a meditating position, eyes closed, hands on his knees, laughing to himself just outside of the third music room. Everyone but me sweat dropped at the sight, before I helped Ryu up and reached for the doorknob to the Ouran High School Host Club.
When we walked in, everyone was dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos and the twins immediately walked off to get our outfits. I turned towards Ryu, only to find that he wasn't next to me. He had walked straight over to Kyoya with a maniacal look on his face. When he reached him, everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, knowing that something was up.
"Do you need something Mr. Takamura?"
Ryu smiled and leaned towards him, whispering something in his ear that none of us could hear. Kyoya had shock written all over his face for a minute before quickly composing himself.
"I see. You may be a waiter or butler instead of a host, if you wish."
"I'm glad you agree with me. Come on Yuuki, let's get changed."
Ryu dragged me off to the changing room while the rest of the hosts bombarded Kyoya trying to find out what Ryu told him. Once we got there, I helped Ryu change since it's kinda hard to do that one handed. Eventually, though, my curiosity became overbearing.
"Hey Ryu, what did you whisper to Kyoya?"
"Hm? Oh, that. I just told him I knew about Haruhi being a girl and…a few other things I learned about him through a little bit of research."
"Like what?"
"I can't tell you."
"But Nii-san!"
Ryu merely laughed as we walked out of the changing room in our kimonos. Mine was a dark forest green color with gold foxes chasing each other at the bottom, while Ryu had a dark blue kimono with a red embroidered dragon trailing up the back. Both of us had the top of the kimono open a bit to expose my chest and some of Ryu's bandages (can't have her secret getting out XD). We continued to argue even when we were in our positions to open the host club.
"Welcome!"
All the girls were screaming when they saw the position Ryu and I had ended up in. Apparently, while we were arguing, we had gotten close and Ryu somehow had pulled part of my kimono down and had his hand on my chest. We soon went to our designated tables, while I continued to pester Ryu about what he told Kyoya. Too soon, he had to go serve tea to all the tables; being a butler and not a host.
I bowed my head and began to pout until my customers got my attention.
"Is there something wrong, Yuuki?"
"Yeah! And why isn't your brother hosting?"
"Well, he convinced Kyoya to let him be a butler instead of a host…but he's injured and he's keeping secrets from me."
I shed a fake tear and turned my head to watch as Ryu finished serving a group of girls at Tamaki's table (said host was crying at how cute his new son was). Ryu got up and headed towards the next table…my table.
(Ryu's POV)
I had just finished serving all the tables except Yuuki's. I was carrying the tray of drinks in my good hand, being careful as I stood up so I wouldn't hurt myself more. When I turned towards his table, I saw him quickly turn back around while the customers tried to comfort him.
Oh great. Now he's going to pout because I didn't tell him about the things I learned about Kyoya when I hacked-I mean, researched him.
I sighed and adjusted my hold on the tray before I bowed deeply at the waist.
"May I serve you ladies your drinks now?"
"W-Why yes…Thank you Takamura-san."
"Please, call me Ryu."
I smiled politely and the girls blushed as I prepared and served the tea and commoner's coffee.
"What would you like, Nii-sama?"
I looked up at him and saw that he was ignoring me, still pouting.
"I see…you don't want me here. In that case, I will leave."
I grabbed the tray and stood to leave until I felt a tug on my kimono.
"Yes, Nii-sama?"
"Why are you keeping secrets? I…I thought we were brothers…"
He looked down and I couldn't help but smile at the act he was putting on. I knelt down in front of him (the tray now on the table) and put his hand to my lips.
"I'm only keeping secrets because I don't want anything to happen to you."
The girls got all excited, but the twins weren't very happy and decided to turn our act into theirs. They popped up next to me and Hikaru pulled my face towards his.
"What about us?"
"Do we not need your protection?"
"Are we not good enough for you?"
I slowly released my brother's hand before turning to them.
"I am willing to risk my life for my brother. To me, the host club is like family and I…"
I bowed my head, still on one knee, and took a deep breath before I continued.
"I am more than willing to sacrifice myself for any of you."
Before they could even get a word out, the girl we saw earlier burst into the room.
"No! You're all too tepid! Except you, Kyoya."
"Why thank you Miss…"
Tamaki ran up to the glasses jerk bawling about Renge calling him phony. Finally, Haruhi spoke up.
"Kyoya-senpai, who's that?"
"I'm his fiancé!"
Everyone sweat dropped as she started going on and on about everyone's flaws.
"And you two! I like the idea of a bodyguard-master relationship, but it's not dynamic enough. Yuuki, you are now going to be the abusive master while Ryu will be willing to do whatever it takes to protect you, but will also be secretly planning your demise!"
The moment she said 'abusive' the tray I had fell from my hands, pouring hot tea and coffee all over my injured arm. I didn't flinch, scream, or even move until Haruhi and Yuuki snapped me out of it.
"Nii-san! Are you okay?"
"Ryu-san! Come into the kitchen. We need to cool that off."
I was dragged to the kitchen, still numb to the pain and everything around me; hearing a slurred voice yelling at me while my brother hid in the background.
(Normal POV)
Thwack!
The sound echoed throughout the kitchen. Ryu's head was turned to the left, his right cheek slowly turning red, while Yuuki still held his hand in the air.
"Yuuki! What are you doing?"
"Haruhi, could you leave for a minute?"
She stood there for a minute before finally turning to leave, realizing that they needed to talk alone. There was complete silence for a few minutes until Yuuki spoke, in nothing more than a whisper.
"Are you okay, Onee-san?"
"Yeah, thank you…I just…got distracted…"
"I know it's more than that…You thought about her didn't you?"
"Yeah, but it's okay now. I've gotten stronger now. I stopped crying about it a long time ago. I shouldn't have overreacted like that. We don't need the host club worrying."
"As long as you're okay. I'm sorry about hitting you. You just looked so…"
He didn't even finish his sentence. He just stood there with his thumb gently brushing his sister's red cheek.
"I know. Thank you, Yuuki. Let's head back before Tamaki freaks out."
They both walked out, hands intertwined, ready to face whatever Renge throws at them.
(Ryu's POV)
"Wait, we're doing what?"
After we had left the kitchen, we were rather forcefully dragged outside and told what we were going to be doing.
"We're making a movie. Now do you remember your parts?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Good! Then get in there! It's almost your turn!"
Our part was simple. After Haruhi was going to be bullied, Yuuki merely had to walk in front of her while Honey was in mid-swing. Then I would be hit instead and Yuuki would slap me for not being there fast enough. Haruhi would try to stop him and I would preach about how I would do anything to protect him and that I deserved to be punished. After that, the narrator would speak my true thoughts as I glared at Yuuki behind his back.
All in all, I thought it was a good script. At least it would've been, if we had a chance to do it. Honey apparently can't be mean for too long and broke down before our turn. Renge called a break, so Yuuki and I went to talk to some old friends of ours that she called in from Hollywood.
"Hey Micheal! Haven't seen you in a while. How's it working out now that you're behind the camera?"
He was a younger guy with short, spiked blond hair and bright, excited blue eyes. He'd been working with us for quite a few years when we were in Germany, and we managed to get him a great job behind the camera in America. Let's just say we bonded quite well.
"Yuuki! Ryu! I haven't seen you guys in so long! I miss the twin daredevils!"
He walked over quickly and hugged us both, choking us in the process. I reached my hand up, got a hold of his ear, and pulled. Thus ending the hug as well as giving him a good look at my injury on my wrist and the way I was dressed.
"Ryu! What'd you do? Not only are you cross-dressing again, but did your mo-"
"Yes, but keep it down. You know I don't like talking about it, and I'm fine, by the way, so stop worrying."
"Okay, but I must say, it's great to know that you're opening up a bit more. You're both showing more emotion than you used to. Plus, it's good that you're keeping up the acting, Ryu."
He looked at me for a bit, before his boss called him.
"Well, I gotta go. Nice to see you guys again! Call me up sometime! I'll be in Japan for a couple of months!"
"Sure thing!"
Since we still had time, Yuuki and I decided to walk around for a bit. When we rolled the corner though, we saw a couple of guys push Renge and Haruhi towards some construction equipment. Yuuki went towards the punks and I had managed to get behind Haruhi before she hit the equipment. Yuuki managed to hit one guy, but they ran off when they saw Tamaki round the corner. I, on the other hand, did not turn out so well.
When I hit the supplies, my head hit some pipes, thus reigniting my headache as well as knocking out one of my teal contacts. Then my back hit and my wrist was pinned painfully between me and Haruhi. All in all, I was in immense pain wishing I had my painkillers.
"Hey Ryu, you okay?"
Haruhi rubbed her eyes, tears falling freely. Tamaki, being the idiot he is, thought she was hurt and actually appeared manly as he wipped her tears away. Yuuki ran over and, instead of helping me up, hit me on the head before lecturing me. Mid lecture, he stopped and just stared , mouth open.
"What're you staring at?"
"You're contact…and you're bleeding."
I put my hand up to my head and felt the blood that had begun running down my face. The rest of the host club showed up as Yuuki finally helped me up.
"Did you get that? Aside from the contact falling out, that was perfect!"
Yuuki held me back as I tried to knock her out. Luckily, the glasses jerk, although he broke a really expensive camera lens, set her straight before I got a chance.
"Hey Ryu-chan! Why's your eye red now?"
Everyone turned when they heard what Honey said and stared at my red eye.
"I'll explain later. Right now, I need some painkillers."
As I turned around, things started to spin and I knew I was falling. I waited for the impact, but it never came. I guess the twins had been close by and Kaoru caught me around the waist.
"Sorry Kaoru. I guess I'm worse off than I thought."
"It's okay. Here, just lean on me until we get back to the club room."
"Thanks…"
(Kaoru's POV)
At first, I was shocked when I heard what Honey said. I mean, come on! He hid his eye color from us! What else could he be hiding? There's no way I believe his falling down the stairs lie. It's obvious that's not what happened and even if it was, he still should've stayed home or something.
"I'll explain later. Right now I need some painkillers."
He is a bit pale. I thought as he turned around, he began to fall and my body moved on its own to catch him. I managed to catch him, even though I wasn't exactly near by, and noticed for the first time how fail he felt. Not that I was feeling him up! I was just saying…
"Sorry Kaoru. I guess I'm worse off than I thought."
Really I didn't notice *note sarcasm*
"It's okay. Here, just lean on me until we get back to the club room."
I put his left arm across my shoulders and my hand around his waist to support him.
"Thanks…"
After the first set of stairs, Ryu was already sweating and breathing hard. He must've been really hurt seeing how I was also practically dragging him up to the club room.
"Hey Ryu!…Can you…get any heavier?"
I wasn't being rude. I was only trying to see if he was okay. If you still have a sense of humor, then you're fine as far as I'm concerned. He didn't answer though, so I became really worried. I looked over at him and his face showed how hard he was trying to hide the pain.
"Idiot. You don't have to hide it you know. You can cry or scream, whatever. It doesn't make you any less of a man."
I looked away, embarrassed about what I just said. When I looked back though, he smiled despite the immense amount of pain he was in. It was the first true smile he's shown me, and I must be turning gay, because it was the cutest smile I've ever seen.
"Thank you, Kaoru."
"N-No problem…"
