Chapter 10: Hikaru
Novella100: …ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep…
Hikaru: They did? I have to see this!
Novella100: …I wish I broke mirrors instead of promises….
Kaoru: Oh, no, breaking a mirror is bad luck. It's better to break promises.
Novella100: …reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there…
Hikaru: Sometimes I'm not sure if you even know what reality IS.
Kaoru: What's wrong with you, Novella? I know you're weird but…
Hikaru: This is beyond weird.
Novella100: Pullingoutheadphones Oh, hey guys! I was listening to Owl City!
Hikaru: You know, I really wish you'd stop singing aloud…
Kaoru has been acting weird all week. And I don't mean the normal weird…the last time he'd been this awkward was when we both had a crush on Haruhi. I'm worried about him, because my little brother can be an idiot sometimes. And he has the nerve to call mestupid.
To top it all off, the graffiti and mess that was in the host Clubroom last week hadn't been a one-off. In fact, somebody seemed intent on ruining the Host club. Honey and Mori had volunteered to stand guard one night, but the saboteur had somehow managed to lock them up in the cage trap the Milord had installed. This person, whoever he was, was scary.
"You do know that is disgusting, amigos." Rosa sneers, watching Kaoru and I pull another brotherly love act. I frown at her, and Rosa smiles.
"It's brotherly love…"
Rosa snorts. "Brotherly love. I have five brothers, amigo, and none act the way you do. Can you imagine pathetic little Pedro pretending to be in love?" I wonder what the rest of her brothers are like, if she describes Pedro as 'pathetic'.
"Really. You two may be good actors, but-"
"Who said we were acting?" Kaoru says fiercely. Rosa rolls her eyes.
"Porfavor!You may have these idiots fooled," Rosa gestures to the other girls sitting at the table, "But you don't. Fool. Me."
I lean away from Kaoru and survey the sassy Spaniard with distaste. "Everyone knows girls are easy." I say, not caring what anyone else thinks of this comment. Rosa blinks at me, and then throws back her head and laughs loudly.
"Easy! Oh, you wait, Hikaru…I'll show you what I can reallydo, amigo. We'll see if you think I'm easy then, eh?" Still chuckling, Rosa stands up and walks out of the room. I stare after her, wondering what she meant. Something about Rosa made me feel uncomfortable.
"Hey, Hikaru, coming?" Kaoru asks me, as the classroom empties. "Muki's waiting."
"Muki? You're spending a lot of time with Muki. Am I being replaced, Kaoru?" I tease, but Kaoru turns white and looks at his feet, muttering,
"Don't be stupid."
I laugh and pull the pins that part my hair out, letting orange hair fall across my forehead. "Go on. I think I left our game console in the Clubroom, anyway. I'll meet you outside, alright?"
"Fine." I smile at my twin and walk up to the Clubroom, flicking on the lights. I crouch down and feel around under the tables for the game console. My hand clasps around a small plastic object and I stand up, clutching the console in my hand. I turn around, and almost run into the head handing from the ceiling, level with mine.
The head hanging from the ceiling.
Rosa grins at me. "Hola." I yelp and leap back.
"Rosa? What are you doing here?" Rosa ignores me and climbs down from her perch on the chandelier. Then I see the aerosol can in her hand, and everything comes together.
"You're the saboteur, aren't you?" I guess. Rosa cocks and eyebrow and sprays something onto the carpet-DUH.I frown and redden. Rosa smirks, and sways forward, sliding her hips form side to side. She tilts her head to one side and says coyly,
"Are you going to tell on me know, Hikaru?" I swallow, and Rosa smiles sweetly.
"It's nothing personal, amigo.Just a job, you know."
"A job?"
"Amigo,I'm a mercenary. It's my…role, you could say." Good God, she sounded like Kyoya. Rosa's voice became threatening. "And, well…you wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious twin, do you? Little brother Kaoru." I gasp.
"You wouldn't." I stutter, but Rosa merely smiles. I remember what she was like when we were in the old run down estate, and I shudder. Rosa's deadly, ruthless.
"I won't breathe a word." I promise, and I see Rosa relax. The scary, deadly Rosa is gone, replaced by the girl who teases the teacher's about school uniform. Mind, that Rosa isn't much nicer.
"You like games, don't you, Hikaru?" Rosa asks, waving at the game console in my hands. Rosa grins and there's a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Let's play a game. If you can catch me…"
"What?"
"You win." Rosa winks, and is off running. I hesitate slightly, then start running after her. The little Spaniard is quick, but Kaoru and I go running regularly and I can keep up a steady pace. Rosa is lithe, slipping around pillars and making sharp swerves. I hear a ringing, piercing laugh, and I wonder where the sound is coming from, before I realize its Rosa. This isn't a mocking, teasing laugh…she's really happy, being chased for the pleasure of it. Somehow, we've changed from threatening to playing. I start to laugh as she calls,
"Hurry up, Hikaru! Don't you want to win my game?" I slow down, and Rosa looks over her shoulder and scowls. She prances over to me and scrutinizes my face.
"What is it?" She demands. " You're not thinking of grassing on me, are you?"
"No, no. It's just…how do you know I'm Hikaru?" This has just occurred to me, but I remember un-parting my hair, so Rosa shouldn't be able to tell which twin I am. Rosa blinks, then shrugs.
"I live with criminals and gangsters, amigo.You're exactlylike a criminal…Kaoru isn't."
"So, I'm the evil one?" I say, disgruntled. Rosa chuckle.
"You're the funone, Hikaru." I smile at her, and Rosa smiles back, before gesturing to the window.
"You're twin and girlfriend are waiting, amigo. Don't tattle, you hear?" I look out of the window and see Kaoru looking up at the building, frowning, and saying something to Muki, whose head is sticking out of the car.
"Oh, Muki isn't-" I start to say, but I stop when I realize Rosa is gone.
It's not until I reach the car and Kaoru asks me where the game console is, that I realize the console is still lying on the floor of the Clubroom. I smile wryly to myself. Guess I was to busy playing Rosa's games to bother about my own.