Chapter Ten
Kyo's Long Day – Part Three
"The two of you should be ashamed of your actions!" Tamaki snapped while stomping his foot down on the ground, hands on his hips and a very much irritated look on his face as he stared down the two redheaded devils sitting before him on the couch in the Third Music Room. "How could you do that to Kyo-san? I know there was an agreement on both sides to this 'prank war', but that was beyond any prank!" The tall blonde scowled, his irritation with the two boys growing even more as he watched their bored and unamused looks drift off into space. "Fine." He spoke in a rather smooth, and cool tone of voice while standing straight and tall, his arms coming to fold across his chest. A rather dignified and mature adult air now surrounding him. "If you want to continue acting like children, then you shall be treated as such. For the rest of the week the two of you will not be participating in any of our club activities, and you will be placed on cleaning duty at the end of each day."
"What?!" Hikaru sputtered while finally looking up at Tamaki, eyes holding an intense flame of annoyance to the creed of their 'lord'. "You can't do that!"
Kaoru looked just as equally pissed as his brother, but while Hikaru vented openly in response to the punishment to their prank, Kaoru fumed still over what had happened in the cafeteria with Kyo. They hadn't intended for Kyo to be embarrassed to the point in which she would actually turn tail and run like a frightened deer. They had merely wanted to point out the fact that she couldn't tell who was who and then 'punish' her for that mistake by of course soaking her in the soup of the day by means of a vertically flipped table. However, There's no way we could have foreseen Mori-senpai getting involved by accident like that. Let alone the two of them accidentally kissing on the cafeteria floor. As Kaoru replayed that whole scene over again in his mind, he felt the muscles in his jaw tighten suddenly while his hands curled into tight fists. Why does that piss me off?
Tamaki noted both of the brother's responses to this, and then shook his head in response to Hikaru's outburst. "I am the club president, and yes I can. The two of you went too far this time, and for all we know Kyo-san's feelings have been hurt deeply by your foolish acts." He stated while catching sight of Kyoya from the corner of his eye as the Vice President stepped purposely forward in order to catch Tamaki's attention. Glancing up over at the ornate clock hanging up on the wall off to his right near the double doors of the club room, Tamaki noted that his reprimanding of the twins was going to have to end on that note as they were only a few moments from opening their doors to the awaiting young ladies on the outside. "I have nothing further to say, and that's final. Now, we have guests awaiting our services as hosts." He stated calmly while running a hand through his hair and walked off with Kyoya to prepare the music room.
Hikaru growled within his throat angrily and then huffed loudly as he flopped backwards into the couch he sat on and crossed his arms like a stubborn child. Kaoru on the other hand merely propped his elbow up on the arm rest and then cupped his forehead within his hand, amber eyes almost glaring down at the floor as he stared for no particular reason. "It wasn't our fault that it happened." Hikaru muttered begrudgingly while still huffing in response to Tamaki's laying down the law on him and Kaoru.
"We had a hand in it, Hikaru." Kaoru snapped mutely while pinching the middle of his forehead with his hand. This earned him the disbelieving and heated stare of his brother that he noticed without even seeing it. In response, Kaoru shot his brother an annoyed of his own. "Don't look at me like that!" He snapped.
"Are you actually defending her again?!" Hikaru hissed as he noticed the doors opening at the hands of their first customers. "That's the second time Kaoru, that you spoke up about Paper Fan-senpai." His amber eyes narrowed almost dangerously on his brother, who matched it with his own, and sparks were starting to pop between their glares as they growled at one another.
While the twins continued to stare each other down in a rather vicious manner, the first of the days customers were already walking into the Third Music Room, and were greeted by the other present members of the Host Club. Two of the girls that appeared were Asuka and Miura from the 1-A Class who had come with th specific request of having Haruhi and Kyo as their hosts for the afternoon. The girls were greeted by Tamaki who bowed deeply to them like a complete nobleman and gave them a welcoming smile. "Welcome, sweet Princesses."
Asuka giggled behind her hand in response to his charming manners. "Good afternoon, Suoh-senpai." She returned while then also curtsying alongside Miura. "How are you today Senpai?" She asked with a smile.
"Far off better than I ever have been, now that you're here Princess." Tamaki returned while offering her his left hand and Miura his right. "You requested the company of Haruhi-kun and Kyo-san today, didn't you?" He asked while leading them over to a prepared table holding a tear platter of delicate sweet cakes and an elegant tea seat perfuming the air with its crisp aroma.
"We did indeed." Miura replied this time, the look on her face falling a bit as she noticed that neither spoken of boy was to be seen at the moment. Is Kyo-senpai not here today?
Noticing the look on Miura's small face, Tamaki quickly switched into his most charming of modes – Assuring a Damsel in Distress. "Wonderful. I'm sure they will both be pleased to see you two young ladies when they get here." He stated with a warm smile as he seated them both about the designated table. "You will have to forgive them though. Haruhi-kun had to go track down our new rebel, seeing as how Kyo-san needed to get some air." Tamaki explained while sitting down with them, his smile still present as he spoke. Haruhi, you're probably the only one who can get Kyo-san back here without a problem. I only hope that Hikaru and Kaoru didn't hurt Kyo-san with their behavior.
"I knew it!" Hikaru's voice suddenly sprung up above the conversations of the other parties about them. The taller of the twins was up on his feet and pointing an accusing finger at his seated brother who looked on the verge of jumping on Hikaru at any given moment. "You like Kyo-san, don't you?!" Hikaru snapped through gritted teeth as he glared at Kaoru.
Kaoru looked taken back by this accusation, but that look quickly faded as he sprang to his feet and glared at his brother. "I do not! You take that back, Hikaru!" He snapped back while clenching his hands into tight fists at his sides.
All eyes were on the shouting twins and the room had gone strangely quiet as the tension between the two brothers was building to a boiling point. Some of the girls in the room looked a bot worried in response to the sudden outburst of aggression that they had yet to ever see the twins exhibit before against anyone, let alone one another. Tamaki clenched his jaw into a tight vice as he slammed his hands down firmly upon the table top and stood up from his seat as he was going to put a stop to this, once and for all before the reputation of the Host Club was stained any further. Asuka and Miura stared up at the annoyed blonde who had been acting as a substitute host to them until their real hosts arrived. Both girls held nervous looks as they couldn't figure out whether or not this was an act for their entertainment, or if it was in fact an actual fight.
As the situation looked about to be on the bursting point, it was quickly dealt with as a cool and clam storm swept in to diffuse the ruckus before anyone started trading blows. Hikaru's extended arm was suddenly grabbed about the wrist with a firm slender grip that pulled him forward and almost off his feet. Stumbling forward in complete shock, Hikaru bumped into a solid and yet soft object, and was immediately ensnared about the waist by an equally strong arm that pulled him even closer. Looking up with wide eyes and a completely startled look, Hikaru was even further shocked to meet a pair of violet colored eyes staring down at him with a stern commanding gaze.
"Kyo-senpai." Miura murmured quietly as she watched the cinnamon haired second year hold Hikaru to him almost in the exact same manner he had always done to Kaoru in their displays of 'brotherly love'.
"You!" Hikaru stammered in a mix of shock and annoyance as he tried to start the push away from the cross-dressing host. However, Hikaru found it incredibly difficult to even move his arms as one of them was still within the grasp of Kyo at the moment. The Hitachiin twin had to blink a few times to force his vision to view Kyo as a female and not the male appearance she seemed to be exhibiting at that moment. How in the hell did she become so damn convincing?! Wait...what?! Damn this woman! "Let me go!" He demanded angrily while trying to pull his arm free.
This only prompted Kyo to move her face in closer to Hikaru's and keep up that very intense stare of hers. "First you need to calm down, Hikaru-kun." Kyo's tone of voice was deep and even had Tamaki and the others who knew her true gender identity fooled for the moment, and even confused.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Hikaru growled angrily as he was starting to grow increasingly uncomfortable with his situation against Kyo. She was holding him too close, and far too possessively for his liking needless to say. What the hell is wrong with her? What's wrong with me?! My face feels hot...AM I BLUSHING?! The answer to his own thoughts were of course the correct ones, as there was a very deep rose colored blush creeping across his face in response to having Kyo's face so close to him like this. Already he could feel his heart starting to race as her arm about him adjusted the way in which it held him close to her, causing the younger student to look away from her gaze.
Tamaki stared in disbelief and was both relieved and also shocked as he watched Kyo deal with the twins yet again in a manner that was about to set them straight. Staring with wide eyes, Tamaki was completely focused on Kyo and Hikaru, so much so that he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden appearance of Haruhi at his side. "Haruhi-kun?! When did you get here?!" Tamaki asked in strangled voice as he tried to calm his racing heart down to a normal pace.
"The same time as Kyo-senpai. I just slipped in behind him while everyone's attention was grabbed." Haruhi replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, arms crossing in a casual manner over her chest. "Sorry we didn't arrive sooner, but Kyo-senpai was feeling a bit down and didn't want to displease the young ladies who had requested his company today." She explained in an apology while giving both Asuka and Miura a friendly smile in a further apology to the late arrival.
"I said let me go!" Hikaru snapped one more time, only to have his chin grabbed by Kyo's hand that had freed his wrist from its grasp, and found that his face was now separated from Kyo's by a bare few millimeters of space between them. Kyo's steady breathing brushed out against the surface of Hikaru's cheek causing the redhead to blush furiously and swallow hard as it felt like his heart was up in his throat. Frozen stiff with panic, all Hikaru could do was watch with wide eyes as Kyo leaned in even further now, her cheek resting against his.
"I know what your prank was, and I also know what happened after I avoided it was not planned for on the part of you two, so it doesn't count. Our score stands at twelve to seven, and the two of you are still loosing." She murmured quietly into his ear, making it a point to let her lips feather against the bottom of his earlobe, and smirked at the feeling of Hikaru's body going completely rigid in response. "Besides, you know I like you the best, Hikaru-kun." Kyo pulled back just enough to look as though she were seriously about to kiss the first year student.
All the of the female customers were holding their breath and either clutching their hands tightly or wringing them with anticipation to another display of "Mo" about to explode before them, except this time it was two out of the three in the "newly formed" Brotherly Trio...or so they had been dubbed. However, their hopes would be dashed as Hikaru tried his best to look away causing the corner of Kyo's mouth to pull with a smirk as she gently released him. Haruhi chuckled quietly to herself while taking a seat at the table with Asuka and Miura, her gaze flickering across the music room to watch both the mournful and yet satisfied sighs of the girls who had been captured by the whole scene and convinced that it had all been an act for their entertainment.
While Kyo had dealt with Hikaru, Kaoru watched with a dropped jaw. At the moment when Kyo had leaned in towards his brother in a near intimate fashion, Kaoru's stomach clench and twist in an unpleasant manner. The younger of the twins was slowly starting realize something that he had been nearly oblivious to until now, and when he caught what Kyo whispered to his brother, Kaoru felt his blood run cold and a bitter flame of jealousy swell up within him. She's kidding, isn't she? Kyo-san is only teasing Hikaru to put him in his place, that's all...that's all...Kaoru's gaze fell for a moment as he stared off to the left, trying to piece together what it was that had started to take over while his brother slumped down into a seat on the couch again as Kyo moved off to join up with Haruhi and the girls waiting for her. Looking over at his brother, Kaoru held a somewhat frustrated look on his face, his brow now wrinkling in response to the fact that Hikaru's face was still flushed and was rubbing the back of his neck in an embarrassed manner.
"Ah, Kyo-san, good to have you joining us." Tamaki greeted his friend in a cheerful manner while a look of complete gratitude was plastered across his face for her intervention at the last moment with the twins. "You were beginning to worry Asuka-hime and Miura-hime." He added in with a wink at both girls seated at the table. Bowing to them and nodding his head at Haruhi, Tamaki took his leave, pausing a moment at Kyo's side and set a hand on her shoulder. "I owe you one, Kyo-san." He murmured quietly to the tall girl nearly standing eye-level with him. A nod from the cinnamon haired Sophomore was all that Tamaki needed before moving off to entertain his own customers who had been waiting patiently for him.
Sitting down at the table, Kyo pulled at the tie about her neck to loosen its grip as she felt nearly strangled now and almost exhausted as well. Exhaling heavily, Kyo propped an arm up on the back of her chair as she offered Asuka and Miura an apologetic smile. "I am terribly sorry ladies. My tardiness is inexcusable." She nodded her head to them as the complete gentleman that she was playing to be, although her apology was very much sincere. "I only hope you won't be too mad with me."
Asuka giggled behind her hand before picking up her teacup and taking a sip from the sweet steaming liquid inside its porcelain confines. "Do not worry about it, Kyo-senpai." She assured her host while setting her teacup down upon its saucer and used the small ringlet of a handle to turn her cup to its proper setting.
"Asuka-san is too kind." Kyo returned while sitting forward and removed her arm from over the top of the chair so that she sat in a more 'proper' manner. Looking over at Haruhi with a smile, Kyo nodded at her. "You'll have to thank Haruhi-kun over here for getting me back on time. He knows my affinity for cloud watching when I need some air, and knew exactly where to find me." As Kyo spoke, Haruhi nodded in agreement to this while taking a drink from her own teacup.
"You watch clouds, Kyo-senpai?" Miura asked while holding a rather odd look to her face that looked like a mix of disbelief and something else that couldn't be placed by anyone who was paying attention.
Kyo glanced over at the quieter of the two girls with a curious look on her face in response to question asked of her. "Does that sound weird?" She asked while wondering to herself now about whether or not her past time was in fact weird at all. "Hmm, I guess it does sound a little weird for someone my age to be cloud watching." Kyo mused while looking up at the ceiling as she pondered this for a moment.
Miura started to blush a bit as she watched Kyo take on a rather childish look of frustration as he continued to think further on this. "N-No, I don't think it's weird at all, Kyo-senpai." Miura stammered while tracing her finger along the lip of the teacup before her and stared down into the copper colored liquid inside. "It's just that...I've never really heard of anyone cloud watching for fun." She murmured.
Her response caused Kyo to loose her self frustrated look as she turned her gaze to the younger girl and grinned rather boyishly. "That's because not many have the patience to do it. When I watch the clouds, it gives me this sense of peace and calm while staring up at them thousands of miles above me." Kyo explained. "Just kind of reminds me that even though I come from a wealthy family and a comfortable living, I'll never be as free as those clouds are." She pointed out in a rather wise manner that even caught the ears of the other girls sitting nearby with Kyoya.
"What a load of crap!"
The booming echo of a Yakuza-accented voice filled the whole music room and immediately had everyone's attention glancing all about to locate where the profane exclamation had come from. Hunny held the fork he had been eating with between his teeth as he had been in the midst of eating a slice of strawberry cream cake, and looked about with a rather wide-eyed look while his towering cousin Mori merely glanced over towards the main doors of the room. Both twins were looking about in opposite directions to one another with arms crossed over their chests and confused looks on their faces as they couldn't quite understand what had been shouted in the first place. Tamaki glanced about as well, curious to know what this statement was about and happened to glance back over his shoulder at that moment, his gaze widening a bit as he stared at the main doors.
Soon the eyes of the whole room, minus of course Kyo's and Kyoya's, were on a group of four large looking teens dressed in public school uniforms wearing white cloth headbands about their brows with their uniform jackets unbuttoned halfway down and sleeves rolled up to their elbows. The one standing more at the front of the group had a large leather like gauntlet strapped about his right forearm with metal studs flowing down its face in three rows of five, and had rather unamused look on his square shaped face while his brow furrowed deeply causing the eyebrows to connect at the middle. Both hosts and customers stared with dropped jaws and confused looks before they began to murmur amongst one another as to how an unruly bunch of outsiders managed to get inside the gates of an academy like Ouran that had some the most top notch security that could almost rival that of government officials.
The gang of teens scanned the room, their dark eyes searching for someone in particular until the leader's passed over a cinnamon haired student off to his far left sitting at a table with two girls and another male student with brunette hair. Doing a double take, the leader suddenly sneered in a rather cocky manner before tilting his head up a bit. "Well, well, if it isn't the lazy shirker." He chuckled hoarsely before pointing at the mentioned student with his leather clad hand and arm. "Neh? UCHIWA KYO!"
As if on cue to this, all eyes snapped over to the cinnamon haired and violet eyed host sitting with arms folded neatly across the lip of the table on his side, and head somewhat bowed as though staring into the teacup sitting before them. As both Asuka and Miura gasped and turned to stare at their beloved host, Haruhi held a troubled and worried look upon her face as she too stared at her friend. "Kyo-senpai?"
"Kyo-senpai, who are those men and how do they know your name?" Asuka asked in an urgent whisper from behind the cover of her hand.
As all questioning stares and murmured concerns burned down upon her, Kyo continued to stare into the copper colored liquid inside the teacup she had been using. Not once did she blink, and a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as she noticed one tiny tea stalk floating straight up and down in the middle of the cup itself. Must be my lucky day apparently.
"OI! UCHIWA!" The leader shouted, his tone showing a sense of strong will and unmoving confidence as he shrieked. "We've come to claim what belongs to our family's clan blood! Prepare yourself!" He announced with a sneer. His fellows chuckling to themselves as they switched into fighting stances, their eyes staring at Kyo with all intent to deliver harm.
Haruhi stood to her feet and slammed her hands down on the table, ready to scolded the teens who had appeared with such a unacceptable amount of rude manners. However, as Haruhi opened her mouth to begin shooting them down, Kyo spoke up suddenly in a quick and short manner. "No."
All four teens tripped over themselves in response to the rather blunt response given to them, but recovered quickly or at least their leader did first. The vein upon his right temple throbbed in response to the annoyance that she was causing him and his look of frustration was evident by the narrowed evil eyes and curled fist held up in gesture. "How dare you speak that way to us! Prepare yourself, Uchiwa-san!"
"Hell no." Kyo replied yet again, causing the gang to grow even more angrier by the second as she continued to stare into her teacup. She noted the look on Haruhi's face from the corner of her eye and exhaled heavily before pushing her chair back across the floor and then stood to her feet. The tips of her fingers touched gently against the surface of the lace cloth that covered the table in an elegant and crisp manner, her eyes focused on the standing tea stalk in her cup. Smirking to herself quietly again, Kyo blinked slowly before turning her gaze over at the gang who appeared to be surrounded by burning hellfire flames as their fists were clenched and their teeth barred. Kyo arched a brow at this. "The last time you guys came claiming to 'claim what belongs to your family's clan blood', I left you in a pile for the janitor to sweep up at the park."
The gang choked at the reminder, but their leader recovered quickly and stabbed a finger in her direction. "That may be so, but this time we will beat you! Now, PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A HUMILIATING BEATING AND A DEFEAT YOU WILL REMEMBER UNTIL THE END OF YOUR LIFE!" He shouted before vanishing like a vapor on the wind and reappeared before the table that Kyo was sitting at and threw a rather heavy punch with everything he had right at Kyo's face. His appearance caused everyone to gasp, while Asuka and Miura gave a startled cry while Haruhi called out for Kyo to watch out.
Hunny and Mori moved from their places to stop him before he reached Kyo, but they weren't expecting him to move like he did, and the cousins felt a sense of panic overtake them as the guy threw his punch at Kyo with such a confident smirk on his face. However, to everyone's surprise, Kyo caught the punch with her hand at what seemed like the last moment and held him in place with a powerful unmoving grip. The leader of the gang huffed at this as he had been expecting such a thing and went to pull his fist free only to find it not coming as he wanted it too. Raising a quick brow at this, the leader grimaced suddenly as he felt his hand being squeezed in what could only be described as a cold vice. Shit, I need to get away from her now before...The small sounds of popping started and a sharp pain shot through his arm as the bones in his fist sprung hairline fractures and were going to be on the verge of breaking within the next three seconds if he didn't act quickly.
Pushing off with his left foot, he swung his right up in a sideways quick aimed at Kyo's temple, and as he had hoped she dropped his fist and went to block the kick. With his fist released, the teen dropped his kick and tried this time for a left hook only to find empty space as he swung. Kyo had ducked and was now shooting up from a near crouched position with her left elbow aimed for the underside of his chin. Caught off-guard, the teen felt the blow connect and found himself being thrown back to where his guys stood in wait for their go-ahead. With their leader thrown back at them, the other three rushed forward to catch their leader in his fall. "Boss!" One of them cried out in worry as he grabbed a hold of his comrade's upper arm.
"Damn." The fallen teen muttered while wiping the back of his free arm over his struck jaw as the whole bone structure throbbed with a burning pain from the blow that Kyo had so quickly delivered without much effort. "I know Uchiwa-san is strong, but it's like there's been a big change since the last encounter." He stated while righting himself and took up a strong stance once again. "Yu. Genji. Ryuu. Get ready."
"Yes, Boss!" All three chorused their immediate response to his command and prepared themselves once again for a fight.
"Whatever." Kyo groaned under her breath while running a hand up through her bangs, holding her fingertips against her front hairline causing the longs bangs that framed her face to drape in a rather alluring manner, however her narrowed violet eyes gleamed with a very dangerous look that sent a chill through anyone else in the room that had seen that look. "You four are becoming a nuisance." She stated in a voice that was cold and very much unlike the friendly Kyo many had already come to be associated with. "Now, let's move this outside." Her hand dropped from its position and within the blink of an eye Kyo had two of the four in a headlock beneath either arm before tossing them out into the hallway.
As Genji and Ryuu were tossed out, Kyo used the momentum of her own action to follow, planting a foot in the middle of either of the boy's chest and pushed down as she vaulted up and out. The cinnamon haired Sophomore tucked herself through a forward flip and landed easily on the banister following the edge of the third floor of the South Building. Looking back over her shoulder, Kyo eyed both Yu and Boss as they appeared in the massive hallway next right behind her.
"Give it up Uchiwa-san! You're not gonna win this time!" Boss declared while throwing his finger out at her once again, causing Kyo to pull a sour and unamused look in response to his barking claims of unseen victory.
You have got to be kidding me. Every time these guys show up, it's the same outcome. Sighing as the last encounter that happened a year ago came to mind, Kyo looked off down the hall as if contemplating something a moment longer and then shrugged to herself before giving them both a very demon like glare. In an instant Kyo had vanished like a vapor in the air, and moved almost ten times faster than Boss, appearing like a bolt lightning behind them facing the gaping doors of the club room where every student inside had gotten out their seats to watch what was going on outside. Her left hand flexed in a slight twitch at her side and at that same moment both still standing boys hit their knees while coughing and holding their stomachs. "You were saying. Gokudo-kun?" She asked while crossing her arms over her chest and turned herself slightly to stand sideways towards them.
The one called Boss by his comrades, also known as Gokudo by Kyo, struggled to his feet and was barely able to keep himself standing as he turned to look at her. "I will never admit that you are the rightful Katana no Sarutobi Sasuke! Never!" He shouted while barely being able to point at her again. "That title doesn't belong to an Uchiwa!" Gokudo snapped.
"I never claimed that title! You were the one who started calling me that back in fourth grade you moron!" Kyo snapped back an faced him completely, the two now up in one another's face, the sparks of tension snapping between their line of vision as they growled at one another. "Stop following me around already, it's weird and creepy!"
"It's called surveillance!" Gokudo shot back, the vein throbbing in his temple yet again as he knew he and his friends had been defeated once more in a failed attempt to take the title they called her by.
"No, it's stalking! And it's illegal!" Kyo pulled back her right fist and then launched it forward, catching Gokudo square in the jaw on the other side, the power of her blow sending him backwards into the railing. Catching movement from the others as they stood to their feet now as well, Kyo shot them one of her pissed off cat-eared and tailed looks with an underlying growling hiss to send them even further warning.
Immediately all three remembered the warning and knew what it meant, loosing color in their faces they swallowed hard before scrambling quickly to snatch up their boss, bow in apology to Kyo and speed off like there was no tomorrow for them. Kyo watched with a sour look on her face and a bit of a disheveled appearance as her shoulders slumped forward and she exhaled heavily. When is this day going to be over?