Hey there everybody! Here the new chapter! I'll apologize in advance that this chapter is so epically short, and for anyone reading my other story, A Heart Like Winter, I apologize for not having that chapter up tonight. It will defiantly be up by the end of next week! The reason for my being so awful is that school activities have just gotten so hectic lately that I've barely had time for anything else, and I am really just kind of exhausted at this point.
Again, I am really sorry and wish that this chapter could have been better, but school has to be my priority in situations like this. I hope that the next chapter I am able to post will be under less stressful circumstances, and therefore better written.
Thanks to all the readers and reviewers for checking out this chapter! You guys rock my socks (Even though I'm not wearing any)!
Note: And, please, just for the sake of this story, can you pretend that Hikaru could show a seemingly random display of artistic talent? I mean, the hosts can do pretty much anything with poise and finesse, that could include sketching.
Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. ANYTHING.
Chapter 8
Message
My Dearest,
You have captured my heart with your striking beauty. Your complexion then color of ivory, your sparkling eyes...
You are my princess.
Please allow me to continue to admire your from afar.
Signed,
An Admirer.
"This... This has to be a joke," muttered Haruhi, staring in bewilderment at the note, "This is hands-down the cheesiest thing I've ever read."
Haruhi tried to brush the disturbing note off as a joke, but couldn't stop staring at the tiny piece of paper.
Finally, she sighed and dropped it into her desk drawer, unable to recognize the handwriting.
Just as she closed the drawer, there was a soft knock on her door.
It must be Shima, she thought, knowing that nobody else would be knocking on her door. However, when she opened the door, she was shocked to find Tamaki standing in the hallway, a smile on his face.
"Senpai..." she asked, shaking her head, "since when do you bother to knock?"
Haruhi had a feeling that it was about what had happened earlier that day.
Tamaki's eyes grew wide and he blinked, a confused look on his face, "Don't I usually?"
"Uh, no." said Haruhi bluntly, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Well, that doesn't matter," Tamaki continued enthusiastically, his smile returning, "Haruhi, speaking as your father, I think that you should wear this! It would look much more feminine that your usual attire!"
From behind his back, Tamaki pulled a pink sundress with t-shirt length, poofy, princess-style sleeves. It was very modest in length and cut, not at all the kind of dress that most teenage boys would try to force a girl to wear if they had the chance.
But then again, at the moment Tamaki wasn't speaking as a teenage boy, but rather as a fatherly figure. So, as a gift from a parent, the dress would make perfect sense.
But that didn't mean that Haruhi would wear it.
"No way."
"But why not? It would be a nice change for you, wouldn't it? You do wear such masculine clothing sometimes!" exclaimed Tamaki, looking at Haruhi's current outfit: Plain black trousers that were just a bit too long in the legs and a white blouse, also a bit too large, it's long sleeve billowing around Haruhi's slender arms.
Haruhi knew that Tamaki was about two seconds away from using the infamous puppy-dog eyes as a tactic to get her to wear the frilly frock, but she truthfully didn't like to wear dresses all that much. Sure, she had to wear one for her school uniform, but outside of school she simply preferred to wear long pants, and clothes that were comfortable.
"Honestly, senpai, I don't really care if I dress like a dude."
"What was that?! My darling daughter will not refer to herself as a dude!" replied Tamaki, practically on the verge of tears.
"I'll refer to myself however I want to! And stop crying!" said Haruhi, a slight twitch to her eye, who was more than a little irritated at this point.
"Wahh!" cried Tamaki, retreating to his corner of woe.
Tamaki seemed relatively unaffected by what had happened earlier that day, strangely.
That was a good sign, Haruhi was sure.
Nekozawa was pleased. Very, very pleased.
Such an easy target, he had found in Tamaki Suou.
An idiot who would fall for anything.
Everything was falling right into place, like the most perfect of games. A game that required cunning and strategic thought.
And all odds were in his favor. Nekozawa chuckled darkly.
"Game, set... And match."
Kaoru was lying flat on his back, on his bed, and he was mulling over what he had seen the other night.
It had been oddly frightening, to say the least. But he would make the best out of it. For Hikaru.
He glanced at his brother, who was sitting at one of the two desks in the corner of the room, put in place for the twins to study. Hikaru was bent over a piece of paper, studiously scribbling something on it's surface.
As if sensing his brother's stare focused on him, Hikaru looked up from his paper.
"Hey, Kaoru... Is there something you want to talk about?"
This was one of many very similar as well as very awkward questions that Hikaru had been asking his brother as of lately, after he had left the other night and came back without an explanation as to what he had seen that had affected him so strangely.
Something like this seemed so out of the ordinary for both boys because they were always so used to knowing what the other was thinking all of the time. Thus, there was never any need for such questions.
This was a first.
For the first time, Hikaru was unable to read what Kaoru was thinking, and Kaoru almost couldn't tell what was going on in Hikaru's head lately. Almost.
But still, Kaoru gave the same answer.
"No. There's nothing I want to talk about right now."
Hikaru reluctantly nodded, then went into the twin's private bathroom. Kaoru waited until he heard the shower running before he walked over to the desk. He curiously looked down at the paper.
A sketch of Haruhi Fujioka stared back at him.
Just as he had thought.
CH.8/END
So, was it good? Bad? Terrible?
I tried to make this chapter more light and humorous than the previous. I know that this, being a "Cantarella" fic, will have to deal with some more serious issues in later chapters, but since it is also an Ouran fic, it needs a healthy dose of humor as well. This story is a challange, but I love writing it! I'm so thankful for all the support I have gotten!
Please let me know what you think! And thank you all so much for reading this chapter, and every chapter before it, really. You have no idea how much your support means to me!
Bye for now,
Massie
