Over Breakfast
Haninozuka Estate:
Most of the time, Haruhi would have been aggravated at the sheer size of the estate that lay before her. To her this looked like a fortress, all sharp but, elegant none the less corners and each one held a small bell and a little mirror. Her eyes changed from the house to the gardens, and she instantly quelled the urge to mumble 'Rich Bastard!' because no one could be chastised for the brilliance that was laid out before her. Everything it seemed was local plants and cherry blossom trees, nothing looked imported but the way that it was set up and the obvious care that had been taken with them was not overlooked by the shocked girl standing and looking around. Closing her eyes she took a deep gentle breath in through her nose inhaling the sweet scent. This was simply beautiful, but what did she expect, Honey was so sweet and caring, that he could hardly be classified as a "rich bastard" but this was Honey, the sweetest guy she knew. Realizing where her train of thought might take her, she decided to brush it off and turn to Honey.
"Sempai, your house is so beautiful!" Haruhi said with a warm smile, and a gentle look in her eyes. Honey smiled back and cheerily gave his thanks at the compliment and they made their way inside. At this point Haruhi noted they had not come in the main entrance rather a door not far from the main one that led straight to the kitchen. When they walked in to the room it was vast and high tec. She found herself itching to get a better look at all of the equipment sitting on the various counters, noting the two large marble tables obviously for sugar, and chocolate work, as well as the wooden table for the bread. Soon she also realized they were not alone and that she was being introduced to someone.
"Miyuzuki-san this is Haruhi Fujioka, she will be staying here for the next few days and is also the reason I asked space to be cleared in one of the walk-ins. Haru-Chan this is my favorite chef Miyuzuki Rokoji."Honey said, introducing the small plump women to Haruhi. Haruhi bowed politely with a bright smile on her face.
"You must be the one who made those amazing cookies that Honey-sempai brought me when I was sick! Wow I would really love to learn a bit from you if I could!" Haruhi said a bit more excited then she realized that she was. It was just so much fun for her to cook plus she had a feeling that learning a thing or two about cooking from a professional would add to the quality of her food for the host club. The women smiled at her in a slightly uncertain way not sure if Haruhi was serious or just messing with the older women, trying to make her feel comfortable and then would laugh if she agreed.
"Miyu-chan, Haruhi is the scholarship student I keep telling you about. She loves to cook and loves to learn, you should teach her!" Honey encouraged, slightly noticing the women's uncertainty. She breathed a sigh of relief when her young master said this. It meant that Haruhi was a commoner, and not one of those simpering little brats that she knew went to school with Honey. She nodded her head again and looked to Haruhi.
"I will warn you I'm not a very patient women once I show you to do something I expect you to pay attention and be able to do it without my help the next time. I'm old and don't always have a softest tongue so you'll have to excuse my gruff nature." Miyuzuki explained.
Haruhi nodded her head in understanding. "I can see that you and I are going to get along perfectly!" Haruhi said with absolute sincerity. And silently the older women agreed. "I am also very thankful that you were willing to place all that food someplace. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience."
"Not at all! It wasn't any trouble, I'm happy to help. Would you kids like something to eat?" she asked knowing her young master the way she did he most likely wanted another cake. If she ever left this place she was sure that she could be the best pastry chef in the world at the rate that the young man practically absorbed the sugary substance. Honey quickly became excited.
"CAKE!" he said in a tone that the chef had become all too used to. Although she didn't really mind he addiction sometimes she wished that he would choose something different every once in a while. It was one of the reasons she found that she enjoyed him having all of his friends around. Not all of them had his affinity for sweet's and would often ask for something like an orange or something, hell a ham sandwich she could work with. But there are only so many times a women can make strawberry cake before eventually she never wants to look at one again, and in all of her years as a chef for this family, she had come to her limit when Honey was 6, but out of love and adoration for the little boy who always made her feel appreciated she never complained; out loud that is. Smiling at him she realized that in her musings Haruhi had started to talk to Honey and he didn't look too excited about whatever she seemed to be saying.
"Seriously Honey-sempai not to be rude but you did just get another cavity filled, I think if you get another one Mori-sempai will implode, or possibly spontaneously combust. Why don't you try something new? You did that once today and it worked out well didn't it. You liked the pancakes I made for breakfast right?" she tried her best to go slow but to be logical. She wasn't kidding last time Honey got a tummy ache from all of the cake he was eating, Mori nearly ran him straight to the emergency. She could not imagine what he would do if Honey got yet another cavity. Besides rich or not you only get one set of original teeth and he was starting to run out of places for them to drill holes in his molars. So instead she had thought that offering to make him a snack that her mother used to make her when she was young that was healthy and tasty all at the same time.
Honey looked at her skeptically for a few moments before seeming to decide something. He nodded.
"Alright then Haru-chan but if I don't like it, do you promise to let me have cake?" he asked in a slightly childish manner but only smiled.
"Of course I wouldn't dream of forcing you to do something that you didn't want to do." She assured him. Miyuzuki was stunned; this mere slip of a girl had just convinced the boy to eat something else that was not sugary. She nearly fainted on the spot but held her wits about her, she was willing to help that was for sure. Quickly she got the ingredients that Haruhi required along with a large platter that could be put in the oven but was also presentable enough to place on a table. Haruhi started to work immediately julienning the carrots slightly bigger than standard and then roughly chopping the celery in to little quarter inch dippers. Taking the can of artichoke hearts she added them to the cream cheese and placed them in a pan over the stove. Then she opened a can of olives and cut open a bag black and white corn chips. Adding sour cream to the mixture on the stove, she used a micro plain and grated the parmesan cheese into the pot, once she had enough she turned to the cutting board and started grating a bit more for the top. She had placed the platter in the oven to get warm and had added several handfuls of chips to the platter. She added spinach, careful not to let Honey see the wet spindly greens, in case he hated the vegetable, to the pot on the stove and started to stir. When she finished there was a pleasing smell emanating in the kitchen and she chef found that she could not look away from the girl. Honey was having the same issue but not for the same reason. Once she finished she tasted it and add a bit of kosher salt and some cracked black pepper, and using a spatula placed the mixture in to a medium large ramekin and smothered the top with the remaining parmesan cheese and placed it into the oven to brown and keep warm with the chips. Taking two large leaves of lettuce she found she placed the carrots and celery on to them neatly, then pulling out a small mixing bowl she started to mix some other ingredients that the chef noted to be the short cut for making ranch and watched as the girl effortlessly seasoned everything. Never stopping to taste and never stopping to calculate, she just moved swiftly and precise, as though she was programmed to do this type of work.
Haruhi pulled the platter from the oven without a mitt, and when Honey was about to warn her she simply continued what she was doing never noticing the heat and easily placed it on the pad on the marble counter top. She placed the carrots and celery and the other ramekin now filled with a vegetable dressing that she enjoyed, and then surrounded the dishes with olives. As a final thought she also sliced pickles and some green onions and placed them in different spots on the platter. When she was done the effect was really quite stunning, her plating design though raw was also very nice and well put together. When Haruhi placed the platter in front of honey at the small table in the kitchen she turned and grabbed a smaller plate they had not seen her fill before and handed it to the chef with a smile.
"For letting me dirty your kitchen, if Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai like the snack then there won't be enough for you to try any yourself so I made a smaller plate for you." She explained handing the dish to the at this point absolutely shocked chef. She couldn't believe this girl attended Ouran, there was no way, and she wouldn't survive a single day there as she saw this girl now.
Turning to Honey, Haruhi looked at him and smiled. "How long until Mori-sempai arrives? I don't want everything to get cold before he gets here I can't believe I didn't think of that." She stated a little frustrated with her poor timing.
"Here" A low voice said from the doorway. Mori stood there looking at the scene in front of him, not sure what he had just walked into. Miyuzuki was still standing there looking at the dish in her hands as though she had never seen anything of the like before, Honey was eyeing the vegetables with slight distaste, and Haruhi looked like she was ready to slap herself on the forehead.
"Takashi! Haru-chan convinced me to try this new snack instead of cake will you try it with me?" Honey asked.
"Ah" he said and walked to the table and pulled out a chair motioning for Haruhi to take a seat. Surprised Haruhi walked to the chair and he smoothly pushed it in while she sat down. He walked to the seat next to her and sat down himself, and finally taking a look at what was on the table. Miyuzuki seemed to snap out of her trance and settled the dish on to the counter while she went to get something for them to drink and came back with three glasses and a large glass pitcher of strawberry lemonade, to add something slightly sweet to their snack without giving Honey cake. She walked back to the group of young people noting that Honey had yet to try anything and was looking slightly confused, while he looked the young women at the table. Swiftly the chef placed all of the glasses on the table and poured some of the sweet liquid into each glass, being sure to add some of the frozen strawberries to each glass. With that she bowed slightly and walked back to the counter where she had left the small tray and walked out a door on the far side of the kitchen after waving and smiling at Honey, and Haruhi. With that she was gone and headed to share her rare treat with a friend who also worked here.
"Thank you very much Miyu-chan!" Honey said happily. Taking a deep drink of it he let out a sigh. "This is really good!" he praised. The old chef looked at him knowing what he was doing immediately, and strongly disapproved. He was avoiding trying what the girl had made because he felt that most all vegetables were the enemy, but he was also caught because of the chips and artichoke dip, that looked so creamy.
"Mitsukuni, eat something." Mori pushed trying to get him to try it so that he may as well, and also to see if they boy would really eat a carrot of all things for Haruhi.
"You can combine them any way you want but if you'd like I can show you a combo that I really enjoy." Haruhi said helpfully, as she scooped a large bit on to a chip and added an olive, to the top. Holding it out to Honey she said hopefully, "here try it sempai it really is quite good." She said as if trying to convince him that this was NOT a trick. She was surprised at what he did next, leaning forward he took the chip in his mouth while she was still holding it, taking a bite barely touching her fingers with his lips making it feel like he had kissed her making her blush lightly.
He sat back and rolled the new flavors around in his mouth while he studied Haruhi, wondering if he had pushed it a bit fast. But from what he could see she wasn't going to object, and instead only blushed lightly. Mori looked at Honey confused but upon catching his cousin's eye he knew what was going on and he was not going to fight it, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. With that he turned to look at Haruhi and noticed that she was holding a chip to him as well. Without a second thought he did exactly the same as Honey had only this time a little more obvious. At this Haruhi's face set fire, her eyes blurring, her fingers and arms tingling slightly from the contact from them both. This was a bit strange to her. Honey she could almost expect to do things like that, and she had found after a while that she really didn't mind if he did. But Mori was a completely different animal. He was not rash or overly bold; he kept his words to himself preferring to remain unnoticed until he was needed. Only Haruhi had always seen him. To her it was hard not to notice him. For one he was amazingly tall for a Japanese man, sometimes she wondered if there was a bit of western blood in his line do to the fact that his eyes appearing to be a beautiful stormy gray and black color were different when you were up close, and in the light. If you looked you could see that they were a dark cerulean blue that were rimmed in black with a slight gray haze seeming to dust over the top. In truth they were stunning, and even more so framed by his thick black lashes.
"So what do you guys think?" she asked trying to remain calm as her heart felt like it was going to explode at the rate it was pounding. Honey's eyes were wide as he looked at her, a huge smile spread across face as he nodded vigorously.
"Haru-chan I hate veggies! But I think if I ate them like this, I wouldn't mind so much. The carrots and celery are just small enough not to be overwhelming. I can just dip and chew and not really notice how it feels in my mouth." Honey told her reaching forward to take another. Mori smiled a rare turn of his lips in her direction. "Takashi, you like veggies right? What do you think?" Honey asked his quiet friend.
"It's very good Mitsukuni." Mori replied. Turning to Haruhi he gave a small grin. "You did very well." He told her sincerely. And it was true, Mori may like vegetables, but that did not mean he liked all of them and somehow he found himself enjoying the creamy artichoke and spinach, even using the celery to scoop instead of the chip.
"Thank you! I really appreciate the encouragement, I don't know why but I've always loved to cook." Haruhi said nibbling on a pickle spear. After a while of eating, Honey telling Haruhi all about his room, and his family. They had finished eating and Honey was ready for a nap. Rubbing his eyes and looking at Haruhi he gave her a sleepy smile, which made his eyes look molten. Without knowing Haruhi blushed a bit. This did not go unnoticed by the smaller senior.
"Ne, Haru-chan I'm sleepy. Do you want to work on your school work while I take a small nap? This way I'm not bothering you while you're trying to study." He asked her. Haruhi smiled and nodded grateful that he was thinking about her overall concentration, using his nap as a reprieve so that she could get some work done, and though she would never admit it she was excited about spending some one on one time with the tall stoic man. "Is that alright with you Mori-sempai, are you comfortable studying with just me for a while, if it makes you more comfortable we could always study in Honey's room." She asked him, hoping to make sure that she got the most of her time, by making sure he felt as comfortable as possible, that and she's never been alone with Mori before, except when they were at Kyoya's indoor water park.
Mori looked at her surprised, why would she feel like she might make him uncomfortable. She had no idea but he had even stopped in the middle of training to help her with her work. He enjoyed time with her, and he wanted her to know it but couldn't find the words. Those were his problem, "words" he hated them because there were just too many, though they made things like recording history easy, he had never been able to say them out loud, preferring to keep them to him self lest he say something that may not come out quite right. And right now he was feeling stuck, because he didn't know how to reassure her of his willingness to be alone with her without seeming to forward. Thinking quickly he turned to her and smiled a genuine large smile, allowing it to reach his eyes.
"No problem at all, Mitsukuni is a very light sleeper, we should study in the living room." He suggested. Honey brightened at that point and looked to Haruhi, who was slightly in shock. She was surprised that he said that many words but, if she thought about it he will have to talk to her much more than that while they are studying, while answering her questions.
"Okay." She said nodding and standing to gather her things. "Lead the way sempai." She said giving Honey a hug before he headed up for his nap. Mori stood and walked next to her placing his hand on the small of her back gently guiding her to the entrance to the rest of the house followed closely by Honey caring his bunny. Once inside they split ways and Mori led Haruhi to a large room with a very large entertainment center placed dead center. When she started to slow her walking thinking they had arrived, instead Mori gestured with his other hand to a door on the left, which Haruhi noted was only one of six doors. Stepping forward he turned the knob, and pushing the door open holding it so that she could walk through. When she walked inside the room it was slightly smaller and populated with several very tall book shelf's and in the middle of the room there was a table placed close to the floor and surrounding it was very large and comfortable looking cushions. All in all the room screamed relax and work, between the warm brown paint and green vine designs adorning it, as well as the heavy fabric wall hangings on several spots of the wall each depicting a scene from Japanese lore. To one side of the room there was a computer and small lamp were placed on a desk, with a large black office chair sitting in front of the desk.
Walking to the middle of the room Haruhi was motioned to take a seat, and Mori disappeared around the corner of one of the book shelves. Haruhi started pulling out her books and supplies and produced her notes, starting to go over some of them trying to decipher what might be on the mid-term. Mori returned shortly after, swiftly and quietly walking towards the small brunet perched on a purple cushion, pouring over what looked to be her school notes. Gracefully he seated himself down on a cushion next to her. Haruhi was startled when he sat down. Wondering where he had gone she turned to him only to see that he had gathered several pencils and pens along with two spiral notebooks and a few books, which on closer inspection were covering the Edo period, which was exactly what she was studying at the moment in history. As well as a copy of her textbook that looked rather worn but still the same edition.
"Supplies." He said without her needing to ask. Haruhi smiled.
"I really appreciate this Sempai, I usually don't have such a hard time but I seem to be struggling more then I would like to admit." She told him pulling out a paper that contained the instructions for her assignment. Gently he took the paper from her and looked it over and nodded his head.
"I remember this." He stated. She seemed surprised so he added, "Ouran is a rich school. But they don't usually deviate from a lesson plan that has worked in the past." He told her. He produced one of the note books that he had carried over and handed it to her. Inspecting it she saw that is was in fact Mori's notes from the same history class she was in now, and also labeled for the proper section. For Haruhi this was not a surprise this was gold! Being able to read others notes helps to give you a better in a nutshell perspective about the lesion.
"Wow, thank you so much sempai." She said opening her book and the spiral hoping to compare what she did have down. He nodded and handed her the other spiral, she noted that is was the same kind as the one he had only it was maroon instead of black. She noted that the notebook she currently held was blank and had the same section label as the one that Mori had filled in. realizing what this meant, he was helping her by going over his notes and allowing her the opportunity to take ones just as thorough.
Haruhi looked at Mori, with the most brilliant smile that he had ever seen on her. "Thank you so much I really do appreciate this, I promise your time won't be wasted." She promised with a determined stare, and a large smile. He felt his insides start to soften just looking at that smile and hearing the words of praise she so sincerely gave him. Smiling slightly he looked down and the table and said quietly;
"My time is never wasted with you Ha-ru-hi." He said, rolling her name around in his mouth like a soft caress. Haruhi froze looking him in the eye when he said that. What did he mean by that, that his time is never wasted on her? Why? Doesn't he have better things to do then help her out? But that was just how he is. He helped and never asked for anything in return. Somehow that thought was even more endearing to her because she knew that if she had asked Kyoya for his help in doing the assignment it would have been torture and would most likely cost her, her first born child. Stifling a giggle she had not realized that she had been watching Mori the whole time.
"Are you alright? Your face is red?" he asked, reaching his hand out to touch her forehead with his wrist.
"Eh?" she said startled. Instead of responding he leaned forward and placed his warm soft lips to her exposed forehead.
Readers, thank you so much for the reviews that I have received they fill my day with courage to keep writing ;) also sorry about not posting yesterday, I used the net from my phone to surf the web on my laptop and my free trial ran out so I had to find the free version. So I can post regularly now but in order to make up for my laps I put together a 4200 word chapter for your reading needs!
Love and light
EsantraLee
