Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies.
Warning: The story will mostly be written in first person point-of-view, and will contain mentions of depression, thoughts of suicide, and things within that category.
Many thanks to those who read, reviewed, alerted, and/or favorite-ed.
Chapter 4:
The first thing I realized when I woke up from my second nap was the voices coming from downstairs, and the second thing I realized was how hungry I am. With a tired groan, I slowly sat up from my position, yawning as I did so, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I let out another yawn as I grabbed my cell phone from my nightstand and pocketed the item.
It was weird how I felt so rejuvenated from a few hours of sleep, and oddly, I did not have these constant thoughts about suicide as I had for the past couple of days. It was strange; but I supposed it was because I have yet to adjust to the withdrawal symptoms. I really disliked how much the side effects affected me, and I could not help but be irked by how a few hours of sleep reversed that effects. It was really troubling when I was still a Cavalier, especially when I was on missions; and I do not know if I should be glad or be annoyed by the fact that I got used to these changes.
"I want ramen," I muttered under my breath as I stretched muscles.
I then headed to my closet and grabbed a black cotton short-sleeved long cardigan. I slipped on the article as I walked out of the room, yawning once again as I did so. I really detested the after-effects of the withdrawal symptoms, especially since I feel extra tired even though I feel rejuvenated for a few hours.
"Hmm… okonomiyaki sounds good too," I added as an afterthought while I descended down the stairs.
I briefly wondered where that list of food that I wanted to eat went. I had some time on the plane (12 hours in fact) since I was not able to sleep, and to pass time, I even as far as to make a list of food that I wanted to eat. However, it was weird that I cannot remember where I had stored it.
After receiving some directions from a maid (I got lost), I arrived to the dining room and noticed my brothers sitting around the dining table with five other people. I paused by the doorway, staring at them for a moment to wonder who they were, but I inwardly shook my head to snap out of my musing and walked into the room.
As soon as I stepped foot into the room, a guy with blond hair and violet-blue eyes assaulted me with a, "Ah, lovely Princess, who might you be?"
"Tono, stop flirting with our sister," my brothers immediately appeared out of nowhere, and each placed an elbow on my shoulders.
"S-sister?" the blond guy gaped with his jaw dropped on the ground, and his eyes widened in shocked.
I stood there stunned for a few seconds, surprised by their remark and action before I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. I immediately shrugged off their weights on my shoulder, and said without turning around to face them, "I don't know what you're playing at; but don't start acting like you care when you don't. You don't need to like me just because you pity me for what you saw earlier. Besides, I should know that hate doesn't dissolve in just a few hours."
I began walking towards the kitchen when someone grabbed my wrist and stopped me in my tracks. I quizzically turned around to see Kaoru-nii holding onto my right wrist as he said, "I don't want us to be at each other's throat for the rest of our lives. We want to be in your world too."
"You've change too much that we don't know you anymore," Hikaru-nii added from his spot near me.
"You never knew me in the beginning so you can't make that comparison," I responded with a dry chuckle as I snatched my hand away from my brother's grasp, and tugged away a lock of my hair behind my left ear.
"Please, Riku," my brothers said in union with hopeful gazes.
I let out a sigh when I noticed their expectant expressions, and from the corner of my eyes I saw the five guests' anxious looks. I silently could not help but notice how fast this situation was turning out to be; I mean, just yesterday, they hated me and wished that I was not born. And now… they wanted to be in my world.
'Family… You have to forgive them because they're one of a kind in this world,' my mind whispered as I shook my head inwardly. I supposed I could accept them again, and see if they truly care about me as they indirectly said they do. Finally, I muttered, "Alright fine, last chance. If you mess it up, I don't care what our parents say, I will cut you off from my life for good."
"Did you see it, Hikaru? Our Riku is acting all tough," Kaoru snickered behind his hand as he eyed at me with amused glints in his eyes.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his statement while I pondered why in the world I decided to let them into my world this quickly. I wondered if the reason was because I had secretly wanted them in my life all along… This was too confusing. However, what's done is done; and there is nothing I could do to change it.
'Ayame-san did mentioned that the first step to solving this issue to forgive them,' I involuntarily recalled what my psychiatrist had said in one of our sessions.
I snapped out of my musing when I heard a boyish feminine voice remarked, "Isn't that great, you two?" I turned around to see a feminine looking person, whom I assumed to be female since the person seemed to lack masculinity, with short brunette hair and brown eyes.
"We're so sorry for everything, Riku," my brothers said in union.
I tensed slightly when I saw my brothers approaching towards me for what it seemed like a hug with their arms raised. I immediately stated, "Don't touch me," and in one swift movement, I sidestepped from their incoming figures.
I silently murmured in my mind, 'I am fine. Nothing will happen to me,' like a mantra while I tried to calm my nerves. "Sorry," I apologized almost guiltily when I noticed a flash of hurtful expression flashing on their visage.
"Sorry, we'll keep in mind that you don't like it," Kaoru-nii responded with an apologetic smile.
"It's not that I don't like being hugged," I replied in a low tone, looking away from the curious gazes, and continued in a murmur, "It's just… I had a bad experience."
x0x0x0x
Hikaru looked over to his brother momentarily before he shifted his gaze back to his sister. He saw her eyes clouded over for a few seconds before that look disappeared momentarily afterwards, and was replaced a calm expression. He wanted to ask her what she was thinking to cause that kind of expression to appear and what caused her not to like being hugged; however, he knew that she would not tell him with the relationship they have now.
'I guess I'll have to wait,' he glanced over to Kaoru, who then looked over to his direction as if in silent agreement. He then opened his mouth to introduce his sister to the Host Club when a hip-hop like music interrupted him.
"I really want to be with you
I really want to, really want to be with you
Cause you're my love, you're my shine, you're my dear
So trust me, trust me, trust me, yeah."
Riku gave an awkward smile at the melody, and let out a small chuckle as she pulled out her cell phone. He supposed he bore the same surprised look as the one on Kaoru's face. Hikaru closed his slackened jaw at the unexpected ringtone, and shook his head as if to say that he would not question it.
"(I'm here) I'm right here
(Call me) I'm right beside you
(Trust me) You don't need to fear anything anymore
(My dear) We're connected by
(Trust me) An invisible thread
So feel my warmth by your side."
"Hello?" it was the first time he had heard his sister speaking in English. He probably would not admit to anyone, maybe expect to his twin, that he found her British-accented English… cute.
He watched as she pulled her cell phone away from her ear, and retorted, "Hey! Leave Kumajiro out of this!" in an offended tone even though Hikaru was positive he saw an amused glint in her eyes. He was confused as to what Riku was talking about as he looked over to his twin, who gave a slight shrug in response.
"No~ why must you be evil and hold my poor Kumajiro hostage? He's innocent, I tell you, innocent!" Riku whined to the caller as she walked over to the refrigerator, opening the door and pulled out a water bottle. She then held her cell phone in the crook of her right shoulder as she twisted open her drink, and then once again held her phone in her left hand.
Hikaru gave a slight sigh as he walked over back to the dining table, and sat down next to Mori-senpai. He plopped an elbow on the table as his twin took a seat next to him. It was the first time he had heard Riku speaking in that lax manner, and he was somewhat jealous of the other person since he knew that she would not speak to him nor Kaoru in that casual manner just yet.
"So how come we didn't know about her, you doppelgangers?" Tamaki-senpai asked as he pointed an accusing finger at him and Kaoru.
"That's because Riku's been living in England all these times," they responded in union, and before Tamaki-senpai had a chance to refute, the seriousness in his sister's tone caused him and everyone to turn over to face her.
"Ayame-sensei did say that a change of scenery would be good," she stated solemnly while she leaned against an island, not bothering to leave the room to continue with her conversation. "Besides, I had a feeling that my Dad's transfer letter would not be accepted, and I was right. Don't worry, I'll do something about it soon," she continued in the same seriousness before she pulled her phone from her ear to say, "You better let go off my poor Kumataro and ship him here along with the rest of them!"
"Kumataro? I thought it was Kumajiro," Haruhi murmured under her breath.
"Well then, you should have brought them with you! There is no way I'm going to spend that much money to ship your 100 plus stuffed animals!" a voice screamed out from Riku's cell phone.
Silence echoed in the dining room as Hikaru looked at his twin, and then at his sister with a sweat drop. He was awed that Riku, at age 16, still like stuffed animals.
Riku cleared her throat as she let out a tight smile towards them, and said in a somber tone, "So what's the reason for your call? I highly doubt you would spend money for an international call for mere pleasantries."
"She seems so different from earlier, isn't she?" Kaoru spoke in a low tone.
He nodded in agreement as he eyed at his sister, inwardly realizing how distant he felt with her. It was the same feeling he got when his twin was not with him. "The gap is huge," he commented, referring to her personality change and how little they knew about her.
"One step at a time, Hikaru," Kaoru responded with a small smile.
Riku took a sharp intake and let out a deep sigh in relief, making Hikaru and the rest of the Host Club to look over to her direction again. "That took long enough," she stated with a dry chuckle as she threw her head back, looking at the ceiling, and continued, "They should have done this in the first place instead. In any case, thanks for the great news, Jeanne. Yeah, I'll be okay."
"I wonder if it relates to what happened in Seaford," Hikaru could not help but wondered out loud, earning him confused expressions from the rest of the Host Club.
"What happened in Seaford?" Tamaki-senpai inquired with a tilt of his head to indicate his curiosity.
"We don't know," he and Kaoru responded in union with a shrug.
Kaoru shifted his gaze over to Riku for a moment, and added, "I think whatever happened there traumatized her, and we don't want to push her to tell us, especially when she's not ready yet."
"That's sweet of you, Kao-chan, Hika-chan," Honey-senpai chimed in with a smile.
"Actually, I know what happened," Kyoya-senpai began as he pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and let out a knowing smirk. "There was an incident in Seaford, England three years ago; reportedly, a Cavalier was tortured to death, and later, left to die in Irish Sea."
"That's horrible!" Tamaki-senpai cried out with a horrified look on his expression.
Honey-senpai clenched tightly onto his Usa-chan as his bangs covered his eyes. Hikaru bit the inside of his cheeks as he held onto his twin's hand, not knowing what to say, and he felt some assurance when Kaoru squeezed his hand in response.
"The name of that Cavalier is Ren," Kyoya-senpai continued as if he had not been interrupted.
Riku approached to the table as she pocketed her cell phone, and took a seat directly across from Kyoya-senpai. There was an unreadable expression in her eyes that Hikaru could not decipher; however, that look disappeared before he could ponder on the matter. She gave an inexpressive smile, and said, "You're mistaken; nothing happened in Seaford."
Hikaru let out a gulp when he noticed a strange glint in Kyoya-senpai's eyes, and immediately turned to warn his sister when the Shadow King spoke, "Oh? Are you saying that my resources were wrong?" with a cold smile.
"Riku," Kaoru interjected to try and save their sister before she ended up making an enemy with an Ootori heir.
"Yes," she responded as if she had not heard his twin, who merely face palmed at the remark. Once again, Hikaru noticed a distant look in Riku's eyes, which disappeared a moment later as she said, "You don't know what happened on that day. No one does… and no one would ever will."
"What do you mean?" Tamaki-senpai cut in as he furrowed his eyebrows.
Kyoya-senpai raised an eyebrow at her statement, and quietly cleared his throat before he spoke again, "Are you then insinuating that you do know what happened?"
Riku pursed her lips as a thoughtful expression crossed her face before she blinked, making the distant look in her eyes disappeared. After a couple of seconds of silence, she at last said, "I am not insinuating anything. I am merely stating that there are no records of what happened in Seaford."
"Uh, why don't we introduce our friends to you, Riku," Kaoru interrupted before neither Kyoya-senpai nor his sister had a chance to say anything.
Once their introductions were out of the way, I stated, "Nice to meet you; as you have already figured out by now, I am Hikaru-nii and Kaoru-nii's younger sister, Riku," with a small smile and a slight bow. I was not going to say anything about my brothers in the Host Club or bother to find out what that club was all about. If I wanted to know the details, I could simply research it; but that just seemed bothersome, and time consuming.
After exchanging some pleasantries with the group, I saw Ootori-san flipped open his notebook to a certain page, and readjusted his glasses before he said, "Ah, yes. Riku Lucille. You are the twins' sister, but you have taken your father's last name instead of your mother's, Hitachiin. According to your profile, you are one of the top five students of Imperial Cavalier Academy, and have held the position of the Queen for four consecutive years. Impressive, I must say."
I merely let out a small smirk at his information – I did not want to know where he got that information from –, but I did not bother to say anything. In the eyes of the public, Imperial Cavalier Academy is just like any other private school wherein the students studied regular curriculum learned in normal school; however, the last hour is dedicated to specialized training based on the student's rank. In short, this Academy is akin to a military school since all students, at the very least, are trained to be able to utilize weapons.
The position Ootori-san spoke of was simply a façade that the Student Council (or Imperial Guardians as we called it at the Academy) established for the public. There are five positions: the King, the Queen, the Rook, the Bishop, and the Knight. Yes, these names resemble the chess pieces; and it was because at the time the Headmaster was deciding names, he was addicted to chess. Weird, right?
In any case, the Imperial Guardians are the S-Ranked Cavalier, and each bore an alias to use during missions. That way, our civilian life and our Cavalier life do not interconnect. Besides, the fun part of bearing an alias is altering our appearance so that we do not look like our civilian selves. This, of course, also meant the public (mostly the police departments around the world) know or have heard about us, and by 'us', I meant our alias self.
"Imperial Cavalier Academy…?" Fujioka-san questioned as she tilted her head in a curious manner. "What kind of school is that?"
"A regular private school in London," I answered with a smile, amused by their surprised expressions when they heard that I held my position for four years straight. I highly doubted that they knew the real duties of my position entailed since they were not written anywhere on the school's website aside from the Student Council duties façade.
"But you're going to attend Ouran with us starting Monday, ne Riku," Hikaru-nii stated with a mischievous glint in his eyes that I probably should be wary of. "Did you have to wear a uniform at Imperial Cavalier Academy?"
I looked over to his direction and raised a puzzled eyebrow in response before I verbally answered, "Of course. Why are you asking this?"
Indeed, the students at Imperial Cavalier Academy are required to adorn uniforms; for girls, a standard white blouse, a black necktie, a black skort, and a pair of knee-high stiletto boots whereas for guys, a standard white shirt, a black necktie, a pair of black slacks, and a pair of black shoes. However, what differentiated our uniform from other schools was that they are bulletproof.
"What do you think of the color yellow?" Kaoru-nii asked with a nervous smile.
"Depends on the shade," I answered, still not knowing where the conversation was heading.
Hikaru-nii pulled out something from the bag, and held it out for me to see. I stared at a yellow puffy long-sleeved dress, looking at the monstrosity for a few seconds longer before I said, and "…Don't tell that's the uniform."
"I'm afraid it is," Fujioka-san sighed as she eyed at the uniform with a hint of disgust in her expression.
Before I could comment on a maid walked into the room, holding a tray with a steaming bowl, and announced, "Young Mistress, here's your food."
"Ah, thanks," I responded to her, and turned out to face her direction, just in time to come face-to-face with a bowl of hot soup.
"Riku!" my brothers shouted in alarm as they stood up from their seats, and then turned to glare at the maid, who was stammering out apologies. They then left the room, hopefully to get some ice for me, because my face was burning from the burn.
"Wearing ramen is not on my agenda," I muttered darkly under my breath while I pulled out a strand of noodle from my hair. I stared at it for a few seconds, exhaling slowly to calm my nerves, and momentarily ignored the burning sensation on the left side of my face. It was, after all, the place where I received the blunt force from the hot soup.
"I am so sorry, Young Mistress. Please excuse my clumsiness," the maid apologized for the umpteenth time as she bowed repeatedly. She then took out a handkerchief from her pocket, and approached to me as she said, "Please, allow me to help you, and make up for my mistake."
I did not comment to her remark, and quietly let her wipe away the remains of the soup from my face. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Fujioka-san and Suoh-san were trying to clean up the mess, while Haninozuka-san, Morinozuka-san, and Ootori-san were sitting there, watching the scene in silent shock. The latter, of course, was jotting down something in his notebook.
Just as I turned my attention back to the maid, I saw her slowly taking out a knife from the depth of her outfit. Since her right side was obscured from the Host Club's view, they did not see the weapon; and I certainly would have missed it if I was not a Cavalier.
'Should I let her stab me or should I dodge?' I wondered as the knife unraveled into my view.
My mind quickly concluded with a, 'Dodge it; after all, getting stabbed hurts.'
Before I could comprehend what I was doing , I had the maid underneath me in one quick movement while my left hand tightly held onto her hand holding the knife, and my right hand holding her left hand in place. I clenched onto her hand until I heard a satisfied 'clang' to indicate that the knife had been dropped on the floor.
'Sometimes I really dislike my instinct,' I sighed inwardly when I noticed what I had just done.
"Were you planning to kill me too?" I inquired coldly, going into what I liked to call 'mission mode', and disregarded what the Host Club was doing and focused my attention on the woman below me. When she did not say anything, I narrowed my eyes at her figure, and let out a smirk when she flinched at my stare. "Answer me, why did you want to kill me?" I prodded in a deadly calm tone.
No one spoke anything for a while until I heard a loud 'thud' of something dropping on the floor, and almost immediately, I heard, "Riku, are you alright? Just what did this woman do to you? And why is there a knife on the floor?" from my brothers.
"She was planning to assault your sister," Fujioka-san provided in a deadpanned tone as she shook her head.
"That's because!" the maid cried out from her position, and continued when I looked at her direction, "That's because it's weird how the Young Masters let you into their world that quickly. They never had done that with anybody, not even with other staffs who have been here for a long time. You must've tricked them!"
I nearly jumped in startled when I heard my brothers' voices from above my head, "That's because Riku is our sister. How is that weird? And by the way, you're fired."
"But—" she continued, but instantly stopped talking when I leaned down near her ear.
"Don't mess with me, woman. I'm not afraid to make you disappear as if you never existed," I hissed to the woman in a low tone. My lips then curled into a smirk when her face paled, and her figure began trembling. This was one of the perks of being a Cavalier since I learned useful methods as this (that is, scaring people with simple words and looks). With a satisfied smirk, I got off her and pulled out my own handkerchief from my pocket, and grabbed the fallen knife so that my fingerprints were not on the weapon.
I then pulled out a clear bag from one of the drawers and placed the knife inside, all the while without tearing my gaze away from the maid. "Now, get out of this house before I changed my mind and charge you with assault," I stated in an eerily calm tone. I made a mental note to scan the fingerprints on the knife so that I can look up that maid's profile and background.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that the maid still had not moved from her spot, and before anyone had a chance to say anything, I narrowed my eyes at her direction. "What are you still doing here?" I asked in a deathly calm done as I casually ran a hand through my hair. "Get out."
"You'll pay for this!" the maid shouted with a glare and left the room. I could not help but inwardly chuckle at her dry promise; after all, did she forget that I have the power to change her life for the worse?
"She's going to pay," my brothers said together darkly as they glared at the retreating figure of the maid. Kaoru-nii grabbed the fallen ice pack, and went back to the kitchen to probably exchange it with a new one.
I let out a deep sigh after she had left, and gingerly touched my left cheek, wincing when I felt a burning sensation. "Don't worry about small fries like her," I stated as I ran a hand through my hair once more and tied it in high ponytail. My lips then curled to form a dark smirk as I added, "Sooner or later, she's going to realize that she messed with the wrong person. We were the ones who were supporting her family financially by giving her this job."
"Let me see the damage, Riku," Kaoru-nii remarked as he came back with another ice pack wrapped in a soft-looking towel.
"At least it didn't get to your eyes," Hikaru-nii commented as he peered from behind Kaoru-nii.
"I'm surprised, though," Ootori-san stated as he readjusted his glasses, and continued with a smirk on his expression, "How did you know that she was going to stab you?"
"Please," I began with a dignified scoff, and accepted the ice pack, which I placed on my burning cheek. "What she did was the oldest and most obvious trick in the book. I saw it from the beginning when she returned with my ramen, and how she tripped over nothing in particular so that the food would land on me and only me."
The Host Club blinked in surprised at my response, and finally, Suoh-san responded, "If you had seen it coming, couldn't you have dodged it?"
"I could have," I answered with a shrug as I moved the position of the ice pack, and continued, "But I wanted to have a rational reason to fire her, and her attempt to assassinate me was just a bonus to uphold that intention. I don't appreciate people rummaging through my belongings without a probable cause. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go shower and change."
I left the room before anyone could say anything. It would have been a perfect opportunity to die; however, things definitely would have been messy since my brothers and the Host Club had been present. Besides, I would not put it pass my brothers to try and save me… and then ship me off to a hospital.
'And I loathe hospital visits,' I added in the back of my mind.
Song Used:
Trust Me by Matsushita Yuya
Random Notes about Riku:
She likes stuffed animals (mostly the ones that happened to be large enough for her to hug), and has a huge collection (of more than 100). She keeps changing the name of her favorite stuffed bear, and cannot remember what she calls him. At one point, he was called 'Kumajiro' but she recently changed it to 'Kumataro' since she forgot its name.
She has a different persona when she is in 'mission mode'. However, one should also note that how she portrays herself to the world is different from how her thoughts portray about her.
My thought/concern with this chapter:
I know I'm going too fast with Riku's relationship with the twins; but I have something planned for this.
P.S.: There is going to be an Ouran live action/drama, anyone planning to watch it? Me? I'm curious to see how it will turn out.