Rendezvous Point

Chapter Ten: The Betrayal Pact

London, England: Tenshi Adams, Aiko Jikihara, & Kyoko Ishimaru

"I told you he wasn't coming."

"Ugh! B-but that's not fair!" yelled a brunette in response, her blue eyes demonstrating her disbelief "He's going to miss the entire thing!"

"Oh, don't complain" murmured a smooth voice that belonged to a black haired female "If he doesn't want to be in the reunion then that's his loss. After all, some of us are better off without the group."

"And I don't suppose you'd be referring to yourself Aiko, now would you?" another spoke up, flinging another blouse across the bed after disallowing its appearance on her figure.

Aiko smiled one of her signature smirks, and merely shrugged her shoulders. She didn't need to say it aloud for the other two to know that she was, indeed referring to herself. The blue eyed companion gave her an almost stern stare in response; she knew very well that Aiko was bluffing with them, and her show of apathy was nothing, but a sorry excuse to appear high and mighty.

"You don't mean that" she mumbled under her breath, two eyebrows furrowing upwards in a hurt expression "We loved our club."

"Get over yourself, Tenshi" another blouse was thrown into the rejection section "the club was something insignificant. I think we've all moved on."

"Just because we've moved on doesn't mean that we can't look forward to the reunion" Tenshi complained, her voice slightly cracking "I mean, we've all had such good times."

"She's got a point there" Aiko leaned down to place her head on Tenshi's lap, her black eyes staring up at the ceiling "It'll be more than enjoyable to see our 'good times' again." She added one of her whisper-like chuckles as the thought crossed her mind.

"That's not exactly what I meant" but a blush crossed her face either way.

"Isn't it? Don't tell me you won't be excited to see those Hosts again. Isn't that right Kyoko? I bet you're just dying to see Haruhi the most."

A scowl made its way to the woman named Kyoko, as she threw another item of clothing onto Aiko's face purposefully.

"Don't even mention that weasel's name in front of me. You know what she said to me when I called her?"

"Yeah-yeah we know, we know. She told you off."

"I believe she's still upset with you over…well…what you did to her" Tenshi commented somewhat cautiously, knowing very well that Kyoko was a fragile bomb.

"She deserved it" Kyo stated in a matter-of-fact way, finally finding something suitable to wear and slipping it on "Everyone thought so. They wouldn't have taken my side if they didn't feel I was right. Which, I was."

There was muteness in the room, causing Kyoko to snap her head in her friend's direction.

"Right?" she snarled through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah"

"Very right"

"Completely deserved"

When the petty replies had satisfied her, the tall woman went back to dressing herself.

"Anyways, back to the topic at hand ladies" Tenshi started "Kaoru. I just think the reunion wouldn't be the same without him."

"Oh please Ten" Yoko began, not really looking at the girl as she applied a thick layer of mascara "it's like Aiko said, don't worry about it. I'm sure Hisayo has a plan up her sleeve."

The brunette's lip frowned deeply.

"You couldn't possibly mean- -"

"Oh, but I do. If there's something I know about Hisa, it's that she won't take Kaoru's rejection standing."

The black haired female sat up from her comfortable position "That's right. She's going to force him to go."

"But Hisayo wouldn't do that, not anymore at least. She's changed."

"Only you would believe something so ignorant Tenshi. You should know better than anyone else that Hisayo hasn't shed a single hair of personality since the last time we saw her. Why do you think she made each of us call a Host instead of doing the business herself?"

"It was so that we could get in touch" she defended, but her voice had begun to waiver by then.

"It was so we could mess with their minds. Why else would I call Haruhi? This is all some part of her big plan, and we're just the puns in her little, twisted game."

The naïve girl didn't reply this time.

"What that plan is though, I'm not quite sure of yet. Who knows what Hisayo has in that mind of hers?"

"Yeah. It's especially a mystery what she wants from that club; I mean she took everything from them, from their meetings, to their customers" Aiko added.

"Not to mention the school's fondness, and their popularity."

"And on top of it all their pride, specifically Tamaki's."

"Harsh."

"Ah, but who's to say life is fair and sweet?" asked Yoko in a sing-song voice as she fiddled with a large hoop earring.

"That doesn't mean that she should have treated them so cruelly" Tenshi scoffed. She could almost begin to feel the sting of potential tears rising in her eyes.

"Her? Oh, honey don't forget that she didn't do that alone. We helped."

"We treated them cruelly. Not just her."

"We were children back then!" by then Tenshi was standing "We didn't know how much the Host Club cared about their meetings. It was all fun and games back then; we weren't aware of what we were doing to them, of what we were getting into!"

"Don't justify yourself Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes" Yoko snapped, clearly enraged by Tenshi's emotional state.

Aiko on the other hand was a bit more compassionate to her friend's distress; she could very well tell that her feelings were honest. After all, they always had been before, and out of all of the Hostesses and Hosts she felt that Tenshi was the one that had changed the least.

"Look doll" the woman cooed, her voice flowing smoother than sugar sprinkled atop honey "I know you mean well, but that's not exactly the case for everyone. You know what I mean?"

"I-I Can't say I do."

"What I'm trying to say is…" she went on gingerly, placing her tiny hands on Tenshi's shoulders "…that not all of us went in there blindly. We weren't all tricked, and used by Hisayo. Some of us knew what the consequences were."

"So you're telling me, that you two knew you were hurting the Hosts purposefully?" the blue-eyed figure couldn't hold back the shock in her voice.

"Well yes, and no. More yes than no."

Tenshi sank back to her spot on the bed, her hands covering most of her face. She mumbled something through her lips, but the two block-ways didn't let the sound come through clearly.

"What'd she say?"

"Something about cherries, and sandals I think" the tallest replied halfheartedly, checking out which skirt was shorter to wear that night. She finally decided on the denim one.

"I said" Tenshi clarified, taking her hands away from her reddened face "you guys knew this entire time what you were doing and you went along with it? Even when Hisayo told them that they could never re-band again? You agreed with that deal of hers?"

"It's more complex than that doll" although it really wasn't; they just went along with the entire ordeal.

"Oh my God. I don't even know how Kyoya can stand to look me in the face after all of these years. I would've been so mortified if it was the other way around."

"What's done is done" Aiko said, and she truly wished she had something better to say to her dismayed friend, but that was the truth. The past, as scarring as it was, couldn't be altered. The black haired female added an exaggerative "Oh well" afterwards.

The angel faced one standing beside her wasn't even paying attention by then, for her eyes were deep into a wordless concentration.

Ai passed her dark eyes from her to Kyoko, and sighed loudly.

"Kyo, would you be a dear, and get me a glass of water?"

"Why don't you go get it yourself?" Yoko replied in her usual rude manner.

"Because" she had already anticipated that reply "I feel a cold coming on, and I don't want be the one to tell Hisayo that I couldn't sing at the reunion due to your poor hospitality."

Kyoko reacted to this threat marvelously, for her eyes widened in sudden fear of the thought, and then she used them to give her friend an evil glare before leaving the room. Aiko stood motionless as she heard the retreating footsteps, waiting just the right moment before speaking up again.

"Okay listen, and listen good Tenshi" her eyes sharpened as she placed a firm clutch on her companion's shoulder, making her ground back to Earth.

"Huh?"

Without waiting a second longer Aiko placed her hand roughly over Tenshi's mouth, knowing very well that the ditzy girl could bring Kyoko back in the room at any second.

"Don't talk, just listen. What Yoko said about Hisayo is right; she has a plan up her sleeve, for Kaoru, and for all of us. What it is, none of us know yet, but I have a plan of my own. Nod if you understand."

She didn't nod; nevertheless, Aiko went on after rolling her eyes.

"I don't know about you, but I won't be part of Hisayo's puppet show anymore. I'm sick of being her underdog, and I refuse to do anything that could possibly hurt the Hosts again."

Kenshi's eyes brightened at that statement, almost spilling tears at her friend's words.

"Oh don't give me that. I'm not going soft, and honestly I could care less about the rest of the men. But" she paused before admitting the rest "I do care about Mori, and if there's something I don't want to see it's that look of morose in his eyes again. At least, if I do see it I want to know that I'm not the cause of it. You understand that much right?"

Tenshi nodded enthusiastically this time.

"Good. So here's what I'm planning, or well what I somewhat have in store for Hisayo - a mutiny."

The girl's eyes opened wide, but not because she seemed to be excited about the plan. Slowly she brought Aiko's hand from her mouth, and let an audible gulp out.

"But wouldn't that be…wrong?"

"What? Whose side are you on? You've seen what Hisayo has done to them - -to us. You really want to go through that again? Look, I'm willing to bet good money that whatever it is she wants to do at the reunion isn't good, and if anything it would mean another disaster for the Host Club. Do you want that?"

"Well…no."

"So then help me. I can't do this alone, and you're one on my side."

"What about Kyoko?"

"Psh, she's all talk. She says what she wants here, but when Hisayo's around she goes back to being her lap dog."

"Ah—"

"I know what you're going to say, and my answer is no. Our Mori is just too distracted; she won't care about this anymore than she cares for any other responsibility in her life. But that doesn't mean that Kazu can't help us; I'm hoping to get him on board with this, and with any luck he won't let his cowardice get in the way."

"But what are you planning to do exactly?"

"I…don't know. But I've got to do something" Aiko's eyes gave an almost pleading look by then "Aside from helping Mori I also want to do this for me. It's like everywhere I turn I see Hisayo's shadow following me, like she's watching over me, and I can't see her. It's haunting. Haven't…you ever gotten that feeling?"

"I –uhm—suppose so. Not to that extent, but I guess that's because I didn't realize how dark she was until now. I've been pretty oblivious so far."

"Then help me" Ai said sternly, holding her hands "If you don't want to be left behind like a child would, then take the stand for yourself. Take it for all of us, take it for Kyoya."

There was a thick silence between the two.

Footsteps could now be heard ascending the stairs of the apartment.

A pair of hands tensed in each other's hold.

"You can't be good forever Tenshi."

"I know that…"

"What's your answer then? Are you in, or are you out?"

The silver doorknob turned slowly.

Tenshi let out a stifled breath.

"I'm in."

A/N: Ah, so a much deeper look into the Hostesses. Maybe some aren't as bad as you thought them to be? Maybe they're better, or worse than what you imagined?

A lot of dialogue in this one, but it was pretty sure compared to some of the others. I decided I would split this chapter between three people instead of one, because I really didn't want to have to get too deep into each character. That would have really slowed down the process, and would've been tedious to read, so again things are going to be more fast paced now. The whole one-by-one details won't be as fluent anymore, but they won't disappear forever. They'll especially become less seen when the reunion comes, because I have to make room for a lot of interaction. Not that that's a bad thing; I think that's what we've been dying to see [;)]

The Hosts aren't the only ones plagued by the Hostess Club, and their leader; it seems that even the girls are having some problems of their own. Onward Aiko's rebellion!

This should also answer the question (more or less) about what Hisayo had said to the Hosts after they won. That is, that they weren't allowed to re-band, but I'll get deeper into that as chapters progress.

Thanks a bunch for your support and reviews! I adore you guys!