Hello, all! I am officially back from Vegas and will be spending a week here before my parents drag me to New Hampshire. If any of you live in New Hampshire, I don't mean to offend you. It really is lovely. It's just that I will have no computer for a week again... (sobs). Anyway, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High. I mean, do you really think I'm Bisco Hatori?
Song's Apartment Complex, Floor 5, Room 6
Haruhi awoke at nine, then promptly prepared herself for any crazy plans the Host Club might have dragged her into. By ten she was showered, had eaten and had her cup of coffee, and was dressed and completely ready. For once.
Of course, when she was prepared, nothing happened.
Haruhi sat in a chair, staring once more out the window. Just my luck. I get ready for them and they don't come. Do they know when they intrude on me that I'm not prepared? Is that how they get their kicks, dragging me out of bed for a day of insanity? She sighed. Well, at least I'm not lonely today.
Did you forget about me, Haruhi? Your inner voice, from yesterday? I'm not going anywhere until you can answer my question.
I am not arguing with myself today. No. Find a new question, or go away.
Nu-uh, I'm sticking around. Just tell me and we can end this whole discussion.
I don't know, okay? I get the feeling that sometime soon I'll be able to honestly answer that, but for now LEAVE ME ALONE!!!
Okay, okay, no need to be pushy. I'm going. For now, at least. I'll be back later, maybe tomorrow.
Haruhi looked blankly at the crowds below her. They were all focused on themselves, paying little or no attention to all that went on around them. Why do I feel like I'm oblivious to something important? I feel like I'm doing the same thing as the people on the street, ignoring the bigger picture and focusing on just one facet of it, one aspect.
Confused, she watched the street, trying to piece together what little she knew.
I know the Host Club is back, and they seem to be taking turns looking in on me. I know Kaoru is different around me, and I'm a tiny bit different around him, but not the others. I know I'm missing something that will help me figure this out. Ah, hell, this is useless.
A knock on the door interrupted her thought process. She stood up expectantly. "Hello? Who's there?"
"Package for you from a Mister Kyoya Ohtori, ma'am."
Surprised, Haruhi stood and walked to the door. She swung it open to face the apartment's delivery boy. He held a medium sized box, wrapped in silver foil. "Do I have to sign for it?"
"Yes. Just sign here," he pulled out a clipboard and indicated a line near the bottom, "and it's all yours."
Haruhi took a pen from the clipboard and signed her name.
The boy gave her the package and walked away.
Intrigued, Haruhi took it into her apartment. It wasn't heavy, nor did anything rattle inside. She set it carefully on her kitchen table and began unwrapping it.
Inside was something another box and a card. Haruhi removed the card first, opening it.
'I have to go to a party tonight, because some of my father's friends are throwing a birthday party for their son. They expect me to bring a girl, but I don't know anyone here, so I would appreciate it if you would come. That isn't a request, by the way: you have to come if you want your college funding to continue. Be ready by seven. I will be sending a car to pick you up a seven-thirty. -Kyoya'
Haruhi schemed silently for a moment before ripping up the card. Kyoya was funding my schooling? Damn him! If I could strangle him and not be arrested...
With that pleasant thought, Haruhi tugged out the contents of the second box. A piece of fabric unfolded into the shape of a dress. It really was pretty; it was lavender and nearly skin-tight on top, with long sleeves and a flowing layered skirt. Each layer of the skirt was a darker purple than the last, and the darkest purple was also sewn in around the edge of the sleeves and as a sash at the waist. A slash near at the top of the dress, tied back together with deep-purple ribbon, revealed a bit of skin and cleavage.
Haruhi looked back into the box and found matching shoes and a second card.
'Dear Haruhi,
Kyoya told me what he was doing, dragging you of to the party. I think it was rude of him, but you (should) know better than to cross an Ohtori. Still, he hadn't thought about your wardrobe, so I intercepted his package to give you an outfit. It really will look pretty on you, and you won't have to worry about get dressed.
I'll be at the party too, so if Kyoya gets too evil you can always come talk with me to get away. I would suggest you wear mascara and eye shadow, as well as lip stick and blush. If you need help getting ready, call me. You know my number.
Kaoru'
A faint smile appeared on Haruhi's face. "Kaoru, you baka. You know I always need your help."
She resolved to wait, and think, before calling Kaoru.
Kyoya...what is going on with you? Not just you, everyone is acting weird. It's like you're all here for something I don't know about... so what could it be?
Haruhi realized she was giving her inner-self yet another chance to pop out and annoy her, so she stopped thinking and called Kaoru.
Kaoru's rental car, a BMW M3
Kaoru knew he was far too lucky. He was going to see Haruhi dressed up again.
Not only that, but she had called him twice in as many days.
It was too good to be true: if Kaoru wasn't focusing on the road he would have pinched himself to make sure he was awake.
Beautiful Haruhi had asked for his help to make her more beautiful.
It was laughable almost, that he was having such luck. Back in Japan, Haruhi had barely noticed him. He had stayed in the background, and Haruhi had focused on Kyoya and Tamaki and Hikaru.
But even in the shadows of the others, he had fallen in love with her. Kaoru had realized quickly, much more so than the others. But he had known things would have had to change for him to be with Haruhi. He was still so immature then, and he had never been alone with her.
Kaoru smiled. Things really had changed. He was in a different country, and he was almost a different person.
All through college he had turned down girls, all for Haruhi. Hikaru had dated a girl in his class, Amane, and they seemed to like each other, but a petty fight broke the two apart. From what little he had seen of Kyoya, the Ohtori had been keeping close company with a beautiful blond girl from a rich family, the sort of person whose merits would be good enough even for Kyoya. And Tamaki had been, well, Tamaki, with no girlfriend but lots of admirers.
Never Kaoru. He had waited for Haruhi, hoping they would be together.
Finally, his luck had changed. He had come here, and Haruhi seemed to have finally noticed him, really noticed him.
"I think I'm starting to like America," Kaoru mused.
Finally, Haruhi's building came into sight. He parked carefully, then walked through the lobby and up five floors to her door. Kaoru was confidant in himself.
"Haruhi?"
The door swung open to reveal the face he had wanted to see. She grinned playfully. "Coming in, Kaoru?"
"Of course."
He followed her into the vaguely familiar room. The dress, he noticed with some amusement, had been draped over two chairs so it looked like an invisible person leaning on the seats. "Haruhi, it's not like you to be so rude."
She turned to him, a confused, beautiful look on her face. Kaoru fought back the urge to lean forwards and kiss her, instead gesturing in front of him with a teasing glance. "Why you haven't introduced me to your friend there?"
Haruhi noticed the dress, and, with a grin, played along. "Oh, I'm sorry. Kaoru, this is... Dress. Dress, this is Kaoru." She skipped forward, grabbed the sleeve of the dress and extended it like an arm.
"Dress. What an imaginative name," he said, teasing Haruhi. She stuck out her tongue, and he returned the gesture.
Kaoru took the imaginary hand and shook it. "Wherever is your body, Ms. Dress?"
"Oh, I have no body," Haruhi said, attempting to throw her voice and doing a pitiful job of it.
"Really? So if I, say... tickled you, you wouldn't feel it?"
"Not a thing."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Well," Kaoru said with a glint in his eye, "we'll see about that." Before Haruhi could respond he launched himself towards her, tickling her as they fell.
After a few moments, she managed to gasp out something similar to mercy between laughs. Kaoru leaned backwards, watching her as she struggled to regain her composure.
"Kaoru?"
Her voice was light, uncertain.
His heart skipped a beat. Could it be...? "What, Haruhi?"
"Um... could you please remove yourself from my abdomen?"
Kaoru glanced down, realizing how awkward their position was. "No problem."
He stood, attempting not to injure Haruhi. Dusting himself off, he lowered a hand and tugged Haruhi from the ground. She smiled. "Shouldn't I be changing into my dress, O Torturer of Helpless Women?"
"Yes, you should, O Not So Helpless At All."
They exchanged glances, both mentally laughing while pretending to be offended. Haruhi took the dress and walked to her bathroom.
Kaoru used his time to survey what little make-up Haruhi owned. Deciding it was not enough, he returned to his car and grabbed the case he had brought in anticipation of such an event.
Kaoru took his time coming back, eventually returning to the unlocked door and walking in.
Haruhi stood facing away from him, fully clothed to Kaoru's immense relief and, from what little he could see of her face, happy. "What do you think?" she inquired, spinning to face him.
Kaoru dropped the case.
There have always been authors who attempt to describe the most beautiful woman alive. Some of them use too many words, ruining the very idea with too much description. The very best simply leave words untouched and let their inability to describe her as the description.
Kaoru found himself similarly lost for words. She was Haruhi still, but not Haruhi, somehow the woman he loved and yet someone who he had never met. Haruhi...
He knew that other people would look at her and find faults, but Kaoru was startled by the perfection he saw. Even without make-up, she was amazing.
"Ravishing, for lack of a better word."
She smiled. "Really?"
"Yeah." Kaoru scooped back up his case and gestured her towards a kitchen chair. "Now let me attempt to make you look even better, if such a thing can be done."
He opened the case and began his work.
Kyoya Ohtori's Rental Limo #2
Haruhi sat in the back of the limo, painted nails tapping out a pattern on the leather seats.
Kaoru had gone in another car, promising to help her if Kyoya grew too evil. She had been ushered into the limousine and driven god-only-knows-where for an hour.
Finally, the car had parked.
The door swung open, and the chauffeur offered her a hand. She accepted it, stepping carefully out of the limousine to examine her surroundings.
The building in front of her, a huge mansion, seemed to be made of marble. A large, grandiose door swelled towards the sky at the top of a staircase of polished stone, two twisting rails making their way up along side of the stairs. On her distant right was something that appeared to be a garden: Haruhi could barely see an edge of greenery around the immense house. On her left was just mansion, huge amounts of it.
"Welcome to the side entrance of the Domen Family manor, Miss Fujioka." A man wearing a professional looking tuxedo had appeared at her elbow. "If you will follow me, Master Kyoya has left instructions to escort you inside and announce you. Come this way, please."
Haruhi followed him, stepping gingerly in the heels so she would not topple over. She ascended the stairs, focusing only on where she stepped next.
The man servant (Haruhi wondered if that was the correct term) lead her in through the masterfully crafted door, through an enormous entrance hall to a room with a ceiling that arched in to form a peak far above the floor.
The mural on the ceiling depicted some picture from myth, filled with dragons and what appeared to be a king and his knights. From the painting descended chandeliers of crystal (or diamond, perhaps, Haruhi thought, shuddering at the possible cost of such a thing.)
The floor was definitely marble, and occupied by at least 300 dancing, talking people (with extra room to spare... rich bastards ) and Haruhi immediately felt lost.
"Miss Haruhi Fujioka," the man beside her pronounced, before leaving as abruptly as he had come. Haruhi watched the crowd, feeling enormously out of her depth.
"Haruhi!" A familiar voice called.
Relieved, Haruhi turned to face the direction the voice was coming from. She zeroed in on a mane of red hair that could only belong to one person. "Kaoru!"
Her friend approached as quickly as he could, slipping through the crowd to meet her. Finally he reached the entrance where she stood, practically gasping for air. "Well, don't you look lost."
"I am," Haruhi admitted. "I don't know where we are, even."
Kaoru chuckled. "We are in the private party for William Domen the Third. He's eight by the way. Anyway, we are the exclusive members of this party. About eight hundred people of lesser social status are gathered in the adjacent room."
Haruhi raised a carefully plucked eyebrow (and that had hurt!). "Lesser social status?"
"Well, commoners, children of minor ambassadors, lower class diplomats, new money. Everyone here is old money, the aristocrats."
Haruhi looked at him. "Why am I in this room, then?"
"You are in here," Kaoru said, "because you are being escorted tonight by Kyoya Ohtori. The most major stock-holder for the Domen Family Company is Kyoya's father."
Haruhi sighed. "Is there a single business the Ohtori's don't have a hold in?"
"Well, they don't own the family's of the Host Club members, but other than that--"
A hand clamped down on Haruhi's shoulder with a grip of iron. "Let's not put any false impressions in my escort's mind." The voice was sleek and icy, obviously Kyoya's.
Haruhi spun towards him.
For a moment, Haruhi could have sworn his impassive eyes widened a bit, but it was just a trick of the light. "Ah," he said slowly, "so you can clean up nicely. Who would have thought? Come now, Haruhi."
Haruhi stood still. "I was speaking to Kaoru, Kyoya, and I would like to continue doing so."
Kyoya stiffened. "I thought you wanted to go to college still?"
Kaoru leaned towards her ear and whispered, "Just go. I'll see you later."
Haruhi nodded, then began to reluctantly follow Kyoya.
He led her to a small circle of people in expensive clothes. "Hello, Mr. Domen," Kyoya voiced, his tone gentle again. "May I introduce you to Miss Fujioka?"
"Fujioka?" The man who spoke was wearing a suit of the highest quality and sipping at a glass of champagne. 'I don't believe I've ever heard of you. What does your family do again?"
"Well, I--"
"Haruhi is going into law school next year. Harvard. As for her family, they are common. Haruhi is going to be new money soon." Kyoya interrupted her smoothly.
She was about to say she had no intention of becoming 'new money' when all of a laser seemed to be burning into the side of her head. She turned, only to see Kyoya looking at her in a way that could only mean, 'Shut up, Haruhi, and let me talk.'
The conversation continued in such a manner for hours, topic swinging from new money to stocks to political views to the correct wine to have with such-and-such a food. The chatter was interrupted briefly for the birthday speech, but returned to its course during the far-too-expensive dinner.
After the cake, Haruhi had had enough.
"Excuse me, Kyoya, but I feel faint. I believe I will go take a walk. Some fresh air would be good for me." Haruhi imitated the actors in a movie she had seen recently, and found it worked quite well. Free at last, Haruhi meandered in the general direction of the garden she had seen earlier.
It took several minutes of wandering, but finally she reached a door that opened out onto a courtyard of sorts.
Like the rest of the house, it was over sized. In the center was a large fountain with a center piece styled after a large dog. Water burbled out of it's mouth into an illuminated basin below. Two rows of plants, mostly flowers and ferns, wrapped around the edge of the courtyard, framing it. The stars shone down on the stone of the floor, as no ceiling blocked them.
Haruhi stumbled out into the night air, immediately feeling slightly chilled. She rubbed her arms and shivered slightly, looking up at the night sky.
"Star-gazing?"
Kaoru stood in the doorway, watching her with a faint smile. She returned the grin. "How do you keep finding me, Kaoru? Tracking chip?"
He laughed. "No, but I saw you walk out and thought you might get lost. So I followed. Simple, easy, and no tracker required."
He walked towards her, steering her to a bench of stone.
She sat, still shivering. With a sigh, Kaoru tugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
She laughed slightly.
Puzzled, Kaoru watched her. Haruhi noticed his gaze and filled him in. "Oh, it's just that this is so cliché. I mean, really, if this were a movie you would lean over and point out the constellations."
Kaoru leaned over teasingly. "Well," he said jokingly, "that there is Orion..."
"Um, Kaoru, I think that's the Big Dipper."
"And there is the Little Dipper."
"Kaoru, I don't know what that is, but it sure as hell isn't the Little Dipper."
"That's the... Mango!"
"Huh?"
"You've never heard the story of the Mango? It was... um, just sitting on a counter top with... a peach. Some guy went to eat the peach... but the Mango dived in his path, and seeing that he had grabbed the Mango, he um... ate it instead. So the gods of fruit gave Mango the Martyr his own constellation."
"Where did that story come from, Kaoru?"
"Right off the top of my head."
"Do you usually think about various fruits, Kaoru?"
"Ah, you named a dress Dress, so you can't complain."
Haruhi smacked his arm lightly. "Just move on."
"Okay. Umm, that one is the evil and shadowy business man."
"Where?"
Footsteps resounded through the hall. "Haruhi." The voice was insistent, commanding.
Kaoru groaned. "Right behind us."
They turned to look at Kyoya Ohtori. He offered a hand. "Come, Haruhi. It's time to get you home." Haruhi remained still, but Kaoru shoved her forwards. Looking back with a slight glare (Kaoru's look was apologetic, so she quickly forgave him) she walked to Kyoya.
"I trust you have your own method of transportation, Kaoru?"
"Of course."
Kyoya nodded, leading Haruhi away.
His chauffeur took her home, where she got ready for bed and slept.
While she was sleeping, the fledgling thought grew.
Hello, it's me. Here's a nice, long chapter to compensate for my lack of posting (please don't be mad.)
Millions of apologies for the wait. But I got busy... and that's not just an excuse. I helped move my brother into his dorm, and then got braces (ow, officially), and then went to the doctor who told me that I really was short (who knew?). Later today my grandparents are coming up for my brother's orientation. Then on Friday I'm off to New Hampshire, and once I get back I'm being dragged into a camping trip with my parents and a family that we are all friendly with (thank god I'm friends with their daughter, otherwise I would be bored to death.) Yeah, that kind of busy.
Rant over, I have an important bit of news. I looked at my plan for the up-coming chapters and found out this story will be at least 22 chapters long. Please, stick with me for a bit, cause this story is going to be fairly long.
I know Kaoru and Haruhi seemed a bit more immature in this chapter, but you can't be serious all the time and I felt the need for a lighter mood.
Review, please, because even though I'll be away I depend on your input. I read and appreciate all your reviews. Really, it's because of them that I continued this story. At first I had three stories, but your reviewing focused me on this one. Now the only stories I'm working on are this one and Songs of Silence. So please, review.
No Flames!