Chapter 10 - "Lets get this rolling."
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran Highschool Host Club.
Haruhi sat on her small sofa, her eyes glued to the small TV screen. She was in the middle of channel surfing and she was not really paying attention to what was blaring on the lit up screen. It was such a great start to her day off, which was a Saturday. It was also the seventh of December, and Haruhi had plans to do some Christmas shopping with Masami and Miyako, plus Anja. The plan was for Miyako to call for Haruhi at about eleven, and the two would walk down to Masami's and collect her and Anja. They would then walk to the massive shopping centre in the middle of town, and do their shopping there. Haruhi still had no clue on what to buy, so she had saved quite a bit of money, just in case something caught her attention.
Precisely at eleven o'clock, there were a few knocks on the door of Haruhi's apartment. Haruhi groaned as she heaved herself up from her spot on her sofa, but soon a small smile formed on her face as she opened her door, revealing a rosy-cheeked Miyako. The two girls greeted each other, and Haruhi ushered the red head inside. Once she stepped in, Yuzuko slinked his way to the front door and stared up at Miyako, his head tilted.
"I don't think you have met my little kitty, have you?" Haruhi asked as she threw on her coat, hurriedly buttoning the item of clothing as she switched her gaze from the coat to her friend. Miyako was crouched down on the floor, happily stroking the purring cat.
"No, I haven't" she responded, her gaze never wandering from the small kitten, "and I don't understand why. Look at him! He's adorable."
"I'm a lucky lady."
"Yes, you are."
Fifteen to around twenty minutes later, the two friends found themselves at the Masami's door. She owned a nice little apartment, which was reasonably sized, and she had friendly neighbours who would bend backwards for her.
"Are you knocking or am I?" Haruhi asked, shifting her bag so it the strap of her bag hung more snugly over her shoulder.
"You knock. I knocked on your door earlier." Miyako responded, giving Haruhi a little side glance.
"But can you? You're closer."
"Is it because I'm taller, huh? My arms are longer, right?" The tall read head chuckled, placing her hands on her hips as she smiled at her brunette friend.
"No, well yes, but… I'll do it, I'll do it."
Haruhi quickly stuck out her tongue at her friend, but smiled as she knocked on the sturdy door. The two faintly heard Masami shouting, 'Coming!', and the steady drum of feet, plus the little pitter patter of tiny feet. The door opened, revealing Masami with a little girl standing before her, who looked around three.
The little girl raised her arms, her little fingers reaching out towards the two adults. She bore a toothy grin, her mop of unruly blonde hair swaying as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Aunty Haruhi, Aunty Miyako!" The little girl's dark blue eyes danced with happiness, as she stared up two of her most favourite people in the world, besides her mother.
"Hello Anja," Haruhi smiled, squatting down to become level with the small girl, "and have you gotten bigger? It seems that you were only a tiny baby last time I saw you."
Little Anja crinkled her button nose, her freckles hidden. The curly blonde didn't like being called a baby, even if it was by her Aunty Haruhi. "Mummy's here." Anja grabbed onto Haruhi's and Miyako's hands, her pudgy fingers warm against their cold skin. She brought them inside, and with Miyako's free hand, she carefully shut the door.
Masami stood a few steps away, leaning heavily on one foot, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Anja, sweety? Can you go to your room and grab your boots for mummy, please?" The curly blonde pouted and almost retorted with 'no', but upon seeing her two favourite aunties, she shut her mouth and ran to her room.
Once Anja left, Masami turned to the two. "Good morning." She grinned, "Oh, and thanks for coming today. Anja hasn't seen you two in ages, and she has missed you."
"Mummy," Anja beamed, running back into the small living room with a pair of dark boots in hand, "here!"
"Good girl, Anja." Masami smiled, ruffling her daughter's mop of unruly blonde hair. "Do you want to show your aunts how you're a big girl now?"
The little girl's face froze, and shone with determination instead. She fell to the ground and proceeded to shove on her boots, waiting for her approval from her mother. Once Masami had inspected that her little girl had put her boots on the correct feet, which she did, she was rewarded with a wide smile and ruffle of her locks. Anja then lifted her arms and Masami laced her chubby little arms through her bright and colourful coat, buttoning up the item of clothing as Anja talked with her aunties.
Haruhi scooted past the her friends and child, to go retrieve Anya's buggy that she kept in the little store cupboard down the hall. Afterall, they were going to be on their feet for a long time and seeing that Anja was nearly three, Haruhi didn't want the poor girl to be getting tired. Besides, once Anja gets tired and if she can't sit and rest, she would throw a strop and make someone carry her. Once she had found the plain buggy, she carried back into the living room. There was no point of opening it just yet, because Masami's apartment was on the second floor. They had to go down the stairs, because nobody really trusted the rusty lift.
"Are you ready to go?" Miyako asked, her question aimed towards the blonde mother but the blonde child had answered instead. She giggled yes, and received a small smile from the tallest present as Masami was quietly conferring with the only brunette.
"Thanks for doing this, Haruhi. You don't know how much this means to me and how much it means to Anja." Masami watched Miyako as she bent down and held the little girl's hands, and watched as they talked between themselves.
It wasn't long until the quartet found themselves in front of a playground, with multiple sets of brightly coloured swings, slides and climbing frames. Almost immediately, Anja had tried unbuckling herself from her buggy, her dark eyes alight with childish excitement. Masami couldn't say no, especially since they had walked for quite some time and how excited Anja was. Masami wheeled the buggy into the park, sighing as they travelled down the gravelled path. The buggy bounced as the wheels rolled, but Anja couldn't be happier. She was going to play! And with her mum, and two aunts!
Haruhi watched as Masami unbuckled her child, taking a moment to fix her coat and shoes. Anja grabbed her mother's hand and practically dragged her over to a free swing, where Anja asked nicely if she could go on it, and if her mum could push her. Haruhi sat side by side with Miyako on a little wooden bench and the two looked at all the other families. There was a mum and a dad near the tyre swing, the dad gently pushing his son and daughter. There was a dad near the climbing frame, his hands up incase his little toddler fell from the bars a step up from the ground. Haruhi glanced around the park, but her eyes stopped on the man near the climbing frame. She narrowed her eyes, taking in the sight of his blood red hair. There was only one person she knew who had that colour of hair and she knew it was him, so she told Miyako she needed to do a thing or two, so the redhead nodded and didn't ask.
Haruhi walked over to the man, his back facing her as the man had his eyes locked on the young boy in front of him. She stood behind him for a second or two, pondering or whether she would tap his shoulder or give a little awkward cough. So she then tapped his shoulder, her fingers digging into his broad shoulders. His head swivelled round, his hard eyes glaring but softened upon seeing his friend that he had not seen in so long.
"Is that you, Haruhi?" The man grabbed the little toddler of the climbing frame and held him in his arms. The small boy smiled up at the redhead, his pudgy cheeks a rosy colour. His dark hair rustled in the slight wind as he reached up at the red head, but the man had his eyes on the brunette in front of him.
"Nice to see you, Kasanoda."
"Holy shi-" At the last moment, he remembered that he was holding a child in his arms and so he quickly changed his word into something else, "-shiitake mushrooms, it's been awhile."
"It's been ages. How are you doing? Are you still with Mei and if so, how's she? And who is this little guy?" Haruhi bombarded the man with questions, her arms outstretched the greet the little guy in Kasanoda's arms. Even though Ritsu was someone that she kept in contact with since the incident two years ago, she hadn't seem him in awhile. She felt like this was a good quick way to catch up with the red haired man. The redhead blinked as he watched her walk closer as he had forgotten that the brunette was one to ask many questions.
It took a few seconds for the man to reply, as in his silence he watched the boy in his arm's face light up when he grabbed her hands. "I'm doing great, and Mei is too. My job as a florist is still going pretty well and we're engaged now, Haruhi. And this little guy here is Mei's dad's friend's son. This little tyke is named Keito. The friend of Mei's dad was busy, so he gave his son to Mei's dad to look after awhile. He was busy also so he called up Mei and I."
Haruhi smiled up at him. "Congratulations on your engagement! And speaking of Mei, where is she?"
"She's just stepped out of the park to do some errands. Maybe we could catch up when she comes back?"
"I'd love to, but I can't." Haruhi frowned, "I'm here with a couple of friends and her daughter and we're going to go shopping on down in the town."
"Oh, where are they? I'd love to meet them."
Haruhi took the man and child over towards where Miyako sat. She wasn't really paying attention, hence her dazed expression when the trio walked over. She sat with her arms across her chest, her eyes staring in the direction of Masami and Anja, but never really focusing on anything.
It took a few tries from Haruhi to get her friend back to the real world. "Oh, er, Haruhi!" Miyako started, her head snapping up towards the brunette. "Who is this?" She peered round the side of her friend, inspecting the red haired man from head to toe with curious eyes, including the little toddler in his arms.
"This is my friend Ritsu Kasanoda and his fiancée's friend's son, Keito."
The two red heads began talking and surprisingly enough, the two had much to talk about and in the end, they had formed a small bond of sorts. Haruhi smiled as they talked to each other and took little Keito out of Kasanoda's arms, cradling him in hers as she searched for Masami. She found the blonde woman and her child at the tyre swing, the chains creaking as little Anja jumped down from the worn tyre and ran over to the brunette.
"Hello Aunty Haruhi!" The little blonde called, stopping in front of said woman as she beamed up at her. She furrowed her brows for a split second upon seeing a smiling boy placed at Haruhi's hip, but thought nothing of it as Haruhi lowered the boy down.
"This is Keito. Keito, this is Anja." Haruhi introduced the two to each other and she felt as if her heart melted upon seeing the smiling faces of the two.
Anja grabbed Keito's hand and dragged him over towards the massive slide in the middle of the park, its metallic sheen causing patterns of light to dance on the soft ground. Masami and Haruhi followed slowly, knowing that the two kids wouldn't be able to climb up the slide's steps without assistance.
"Did you kidnap that kid?" Masami raised a brow as she regarded her friend, her face impassive except for the lift of her thin brow.
"I haven't, so don't you worry. He's called Keito and he's here with my friend, who is looking after him."
"He's not doing a very good job, whoever he is. Little children shouldn't be left alone with you."
"Hey! I'm a responsible adult who can look after children. You've left me with Anja many times before."
"That's my child and besides, my baby is a tough little cookie."
"Of course she's your child. You're similar and so different in many ways."
"Oh how you amuse me. She's also like her daddy. She's got his eyes and his curly bap."
"I wish I could have met him, you know, before the… the accident."
"I know, Haruhi, I know. I believed he would have liked you."
"I'm sorry, Masami. I shouldn't have brought this up - today was supposed to be a happy day."
"It is, it is," Masami's usually cheerful smile faltered for a second as she left her gaze sweep downwards, " but don't worry about it. It's fine."
Entering the massive shopping centre was like stepping into someplace magical, and for Anja it was like stepping into Santa's Grotto. Twinkling lights were strung below the glass roof of the centre, and a few stars flickered to life. Everywhere the group of four went, three but plus child, cheesy Christmas music rang loud and clear throughout the many shops. In the centre of the shopping centre, below the curved dome upon the roof, stood the Christmas tree. It stood tall and proud, its branches close together to hide what lay within. It was decorated with twinkling lights, stars compared to the dark colour of the trees, and large baubles the size of people's heads, varying from a range of dark to sparkly neon colours. A sign hanging down from the floor above them told them that Santa's Grotto was on down, near the end of the ground floor, and that it would open shortly. And as the four went deeper, the shopping centre held a mixture of scents, the most prominent being the warm smell of toasted cinnamon.
Anja sat up in her buggy, the straps the only thing retaining her from running about in pure glee. She bounced in her seat, her dark eyes alive with delight. She strained her head back and looked at up her mum, pointing to the wooden side above them, all the while with a big grin on her face.
"What it say, what it say?" She repeatedly excitedly, caught up in the Christmas spirit.
"It says Santa's Grotto will be opening soon, honey."
"Santa? Santa here?" She looked around the entrance of the shopping centre, on the look out for the jolly old man with a bushy white beard.
"Yes, Santa's here. If you're a good girl we will take you to see him and you can tell him what you want for Christmas."
Christmas in Japan is not a national holiday but since Masami originally came from Germany and Miyako from Ireland, where Christmas was regarded as a holiday, they decided that they would continue the Christmassy tradition. Haruhi liked the idea of Christmas even if wasn't a national holiday, especially the idea of giving presents, and so she kept at it. It was reassuring to see that the many shops were now styled in reds, golds or greens and had little snowflakes donning their windows and cheesy Christmas music playing on repeat, and it was all in good spirit.
Simply enough, the plan was to split and do their own shopping and then regroup in front of the massive tree. Haruhi had left to go inspect the floor above them, clutching her bag close to her chest so she wouldn't get separated from the bag holding her money. The hordes of shoppers came at her, unwavering in their steps and it took all of Haruhi's might to find some stairs that would take her up. Once she had finally managed to get to the first floor, she wandered around the many shops but she either window shopped or stayed in the warm shops for no more than five minutes.
She had pondered on what to get for her friends, as she stood infront of the umpteenth shop. There was Miyako, Masami plus Anja, Mori and Honey. But there was also the twins, Tamaki and Kyoya that she had to take into consideration. Although she hadn't seen the latter two in nearly two years, she had to get them something. She had to let them know she had forgiven them, but she was uncertain if they would accept her apology. She sat down on a little bench near the railings that overlooked the ground floor. She sat in silence in a bubble of silence, collecting her thoughts, and the loud buzz of many a shopper's chatting went straight through her. Although, the song that was playing around the centre snapped her out of her stupor. It was that song 'All I Want For Christmas'.
She tunelessly hummed along with the song, not really paying attention to what was happening around her. Until, that is, an elderly gentleman plopped down on the bench beside her, a few shopping bags in one hand, as the other gripped onto the arm of the wooden bench. She couldn't help her eyes travelling to his shopping bags, and she couldn't help the surprised gasp that exited her mouth.
"Excuse me sir," She started, turning round in her seat to face the elderly man, "I didn't mean to look but I can't help myself from asking this, but where did you get that?" She gestured to his shopping bags on the bench, the one nearest her catching her attention.
The man looked at brown haired girl, his bushy eyebrows knitting together before he warmly smiled, "I don't mind, I don't mind," He said with a slight shake of his head, "I, er, I got that in the shop on down this floor, near the back." With a shaky hand, he gestured towards the end of the floor that they were on, offering a warm smile towards the brunette.
"Thank you, sir!" Haruhi heaved herself up from the bench and clutched her bag close, and smiled at the man before speed walking down to the end of the floor.
At first glance, it was just a bag that Haruhi had seen. But what lay within the bag had caught her attention. It was a small and simple black briefcase, and Haruhi was certain it was leather. Leather briefcases were very pricey, and Haruhi knew she didn't have enough to buy a proper one. But she had to purchase one, hopefully a less expensive one, but she couldn't say for certain. The briefcase was for Mori, as she remembered she had accidentally soaked his when she encountered him in November. Haruhi felt awful for getting his briefcase wet, especially as she noticed how it shrivelled slightly.
Feeling content with what she had bought for the tall man, Haruhi exited the shop with an extra bag in tow. She had bought a little plain case, brown in colour and she was thankful for the Christmas sale reductions. Although the object wasn't dear to begin with, it made the brunette happy to have bought it at a reasonable price. On her mental list of what to get, she ticked off Mori's name and wandered further through the first floor, eyeing the displays in the large windows. This present was mainly for the gratitude she held for the man, as he had reintroduced her back into the life of chaotic events featuring her many, albeit somewhat annoying although loveable, old classmates.
And then there was Honey's present she had to scavenge for. As Haruhi presumed she had a time limit, she flittered about the first floor focused on buying presents for her old friends. After ten minutes after buying her first present, she had found a collection of little planners which were all black in colour. Haruhi eyed them, noting how they were all planners for different events. For example, one was a time planner for meetings, and one was just a little day to day planner and the last in the bundle of three, was a black note book which was suspiciously similar to the notebook Kyoya had in high school. She had bought the bundle of planners with Kyoya in mind, but she was uncertain if she would see the black haired man before the end of the year. But if that be the case, she would pass on his present through Mori, Honey or the twins or anyone who had a meeting with him before the new year.
And them came Honey's present. She was searching through the racks of warm clothes in one of the larger shops, when she lifted her head and spotted a sign. The brown sign had the effect of flour dusted upon it's wood, and it read: Kitchen must-haves. She followed the direction of said sign, and found herself surrounded by shelves of everything that belonged in a grand kitchen. There was so much to choose from, and so many little bits and bobs to look at. Haruhi didn't know how long she spent in that shop, in that aisle alone, but when she finally emerged from the small doors she found that she was carrying an extra bag. Sifting through the contents of the newly obtained bag, she realised that she had bought a cook book especially on how to bake various cakes and biscuits and a few utensils for baking, such as oddly shaped dough cutters and multiple decorative plates. The brunette stared in disbelief, not knowing if she had bought these items for herself, but seeing as she bought utensils and what not associated with cakes, she assumed that these were for Honey. This was an interesting gift, so to speak, but she couldn't help worrying.
The brunette stood alone in front of the giant Christmas Tree, a few too many bags on each hand. After successfully managing to buy everything that she had originally came here for, she was extremely happy with what she had purchased. For starters, she had bought the hosts all their presents along with Masami's and Miyako's, plus little Anja's.
In order, she had first bought Mori a plain brown leather briefcase with its price greatly deducted because of the Christmas sale, but there was no way that she would tell him that. Next came Kyoya's gift, which simply enough was just a collection of three planners. After that came Honey's, which Haruhi had bought the blonde man a cook book and baking utensils. She had bought Masami, Miyako and the twins presents in the same store. She had bought the four matching sets of cheesy Christmassy jumpers, as Masami and Miyako's were blue in colour with jolly reindeers as the twins were red with a pair of smiling snowmen stitched onto the fabric. But the funny thing about their jumpers was that on each and every one of them, there was a lump of cloth that protruded upwards. On the reindeer jumpers, the ball of cloth was red and it was supposed to be the reindeer's nose but on the blue, the lumps were supposed to be the pebbles belonging to the snowmen. As well as those, Haruhi had purchased a beautiful snow globe for her red haired friend and flowery scented perfume for the blonde. And as a final present for the twins, the brunette bought Hikaru some strongly scented aftershave of sorts, or what she liked to call man perfume. But for Kaoru, she simply purchased a plain watch.
Although all these presents, though altogether, were beginning to get quite pricey, Haruhi still had Tamaki and Anja to buy presents for. So, Haruhi settled with food and a toy for the little blonde because what better way was there to earn yourself a place in a little girl's heart? Haruhi was kidding, of course, but she couldn't wait to give little Anja her present. It was a dress-up doll and one with many different outfits, shoes and accessories. Even though Anja was roughly three years old, she was extremely mature and responsible when it came to her own toys. So Haruhi decided it was the perfect present for the girl, along with a bar of her most favourite chocolate. And finally, Haruhi had bought Tamaki a tea set. A tea set which included a white ceramic tea pot, a bunch of decorative and colourful mugs and little plates for the tea cups to sit upon, because the brunette could remember a time where the blonde man took a great interest in all various styles and tastes of tea. She didn't know if he still upheld that obsession today, but it was worth a shot. And as well as that, Haruhi had obtained a book full of pieces for the piano. The brunette wasn't musical but she did recognise a few names as she leafed through the book, the most repeated names Bach and Mozart. If Haruhi recalled properly, the pieces shown throughout the book were simplified versions but they still looked quite complicated.
It was worth a shot because the brunette didn't know if she would see Tamaki or Kyoya before the new year. She hoped to see them, because she had forgiven them but she didn't know if they had forgiven her. She had been blinded by her actions, and at the time she wasn't thinking straight. It was a stupid excuse but it was the only one Haruhi had.
Haruhi was quickly knocked out of her trance when she felt a pair of chubby hands gently pelt her leg. She looked down and saw the beaming face of Anja, her big blue eyes alive with happiness, with Miyako hurriedly walking after the blonde girl, the little girl's buggy rolling in front of her. Miyako had a few bag in each hand, and she greeted the brunette warmly.
"How'd your shopping go?"
"I've got everything I came here for. What about you, have you got everything?"
"Yeah about that," Miyako sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of her neck, "er, I haven't. Masami hasn't either, so could you take Anja to go see Santa? She's been extremely good."
Haruhi glanced down at Anja, who had plopped down on her buggy and was playing with the safety strap. "I don't mind at all. You run along, and tell Masami that we will meet her afterwards."
After Miyako had ran off, bags and coat flailing behind her, Haruhi strapped Anja back into her buggy and began rolling the girl down into the shopping centre, in the direction of Santa's Grotto. "Hurry, hurry!" The little girl squeaked, straining forwards in her seat so she could keep an eye out. Haruhi smiled and told the girl not to worry, because she would see Santa soon. But nothing could contain Anja's excitement, so Haruhi let it be. With the weight of her shopping bags digging into her wrists, and the childish squeals of Anja, she hardened her gaze and braced the horde of people, all the while with a smile ghosting her lips.
"Lets get this rolling."
A/N: Hello there, and welcome to the end of the tenth chapter.
By the way, I wish each and everyone one of you a happy holiday! I hope you have a great remainder of this year, and a fantastic new one. All of you, each and every one of you, deserve it. Because let's be honest. Sticking with me and reading my stories? Pssssh, you really deserve it!
Jokes or my own versions of 'jokes' aside, I hope you have a great day. I hope you have a great week, and leading up to the new year, I hope you have a fantastic new year.
So besides that, thank you for each read, review, favourite and follow. You honestly don't know how much it means to me and I can't express my gratitude enough. But before I go, I would like to apologise. I'm sorry for this not so great chapter, and that it took absolute ages to upload. The chapter itself is just, no. It was supposed to be a kind of relaxed chapter but I don't know.
It was supposed to be like a little wind down before Christmas, because I know a few of you would be stressed because it's so near. Two days for me, so it's Christmas Eve, eve? So I'm not sure what it's like for you guys out there, but that's not really the point and I'm rambling now...
Before I go, I'm sorry for the mistakes because I didn't really go through this chapter as much as I wanted to. As Christmas is just around the corner, I wanted to post something before the end of this year because if you know me, you know that I'm extremely lazy and I procrastinate a lot. So, this chapter's like a little early present.
And that is seriously all I wanted to say. I'm sorry for rambling though! Although a part of me isn't, because it feels like I can connect with you guys better this way. Oh, and if you haven't noticed yet, I've changed my name! It is now JoannaBananus.
So, that's all I have to say. Thanks for sticking with me for this so far, and have yourself a happy holiday.
Goodbye, and until next time.