This chapter was updated on Christmas Eve, 2010 (eastern coast time lol)
"God...Akane REALLY isn't sly. She may think she's a ninja, but that's really not enough.." Tadashi muttered as he saw a little bit of long black hair swish from turning around rapidly. "But Akane should be with Gramps…"
"I want to visit Gorou jii-chan too.. how come I didn't get to go?" Haruhi frowned, crossing her arms.
"Gramps lives at the mainhouse. You're too young to go, and all the kids at the house where born there so they have a reason." Tadashi said
"Hhmph. I don't get it. If it's about maturity, I'm much more-"
"Cut it out. You'll get to go when you're older." He said.
"Ttch." Haruhi mumbled. "Is there really any need to act stingy?" Tadashi rolled his eyes, nearly tripping over a small stone on the sidewalk. As the group turned the corner to get to the apartment building, "Well, I'm going to go finish dinner. Why don't you come over tonight, since you invited me yesterday?" she asked Harry, who's cheeks turned bright red in memory of the night before. He nodded and kissed her cheek before heading for the stairs, back to his apartment.
"I was NOT acting stingy." Tadashi stated as Haruhi turned for the stairs. "Gramps said.. secret stuff to me."
"Who said I wanted to know what he tells you? I just wanted to visit my grandfather." She said. "Stingy." She said quietly. Tadashi sighed and leaned on the railing.
"That cloud looks like a bunny." He giggled "Right Haruhi- Hey, where'd she go?" he turned his head left and right. He ran up to her door and knocked rapidly. "Haruhi! Haruhi open the door! Come on Haruhi, don't be like that! I'm starving!"
"The door's open.. smartness." She said in a bored voice "Maybe if you tried turning the knob instead of trying to break down the door you'd have figured that out."
Tadashi scowled. He opened the door quickly and came inside. Clearing his throat he leaned against the door and watched her work at the stove.
"Hmm… I could just finish all this before Harry comes, there's not much work left to be done. I could take a nap for a while." She said, eyeing the pot's contents.
"You want me to finish it for you?" he said, putting on a pair of guest slippers he found in the closet and walking to the kitchen.
"Be my guest, and maybe if you're a good boy I'll let you have some." She joked, going back to cooking.
He sat in the tatami mat room and stretched his arms, while letting out a big yawn. "All this talk about cooking and ramen and things of that natured is really making me tired. We should bring out the Kotatsu."
"Onii-chan, there's no "we". You don't live here remember?" Haruhi said, blowing her bangs out of her face "Besides, it's not cold enough to bring it out. It would just be a waste of energy and time."
"Well Mrs. Matter-of-factly, you can at least take a break from cooking and sit with your favorite cousin can't you?"
Haruhi turned around, to find Tadashi, open arms, with sparkling eyes. She shrugged and turned back to the pot. "What would get accomplished from doing that?"
"Sheer joy and well-being."
Haruhi continued to cook, sprinkling a little bit of seasoning into the pot and stirring.
"Good lord Haruhi, don't work so hard just for dinner. It's not like you're inviting royalty."
"Hush, Onii-chan. Please be quiet. I'm almost done." She assured him. He sighed and stared at the stuffed animal placed safely ontop of the television.
"I dub thee, Bubba-san!" he cried, pointing to the stuffed doll.
Haruhi let out a small chuckle before turning the stove switch to off. "Do me a favor, go put my sweater in my dresser. Just don't go snooping around in my room." She said, taking off her sweater and throwing it at him.
"Are you hiding sexy underwear in there?" he asked, raising his eyebrows giggled at the thought and skipped to her room. He placed her sweater neatly inside her dresser, and peered at the bottom drawer.
"Will power Tadashi, will power. Whatever she's hiding is probably some picture she hates. Meh, might as well have a little look see~" he reasoned, and carefully took hold of the handle. He pulled slowly, and looked into the contents.
"AAAAHHHH! THE FUCK IS THAT?" he screamed, kicking the drawer closed. Haruhi ran into the room, "What?" she cried
"Did you see that thing in the bottom drawer? What are you, some type of black magic specialist?" he yelled, opening the drawer and taking out Tsumi-kun by the throat. Haruhi froze.
"I told you not to go snooping! And don't hold him like that, you're gonna choke him!" she said. She grabbed Tsumi-kun from Tadashi's hands and stroked his back lovingly. "It's okay, Tsumibito. I'm not gonna let him hurt you again."
"Hurt him? I'm the one that nearly got a heart attack! How am I supposed to hurt a freaking DOLL?"
"How's a freaking doll supposed to hurt a person?" she said under her breath.
"Hey! I heard that! And have you ever heard of a voodoo doll?"
"You make me sound like some sort of criminal." she said quietly
"Put it down!" he cried. The two started running around the apartment, Tadashi chasing Haruhi. "Do it! Put it down now!"
"Can't catch me! Can't catch me can you?" she cried.
"Put it down you obbsessed, addicted maniac!"
Haruhi and Tadashi stopped in their tracks when they heard a small thud by the door, followed by a "Ouch!"
~~
Haruhi and Tadashi stared at Kaoru, the only thing heard throughout the house was the soft ticking of Kaoru's watch. He looked awkwardly from side to side, avoiding their eyes. He cleared his throat and glanced quickly at Haruhi.
"Don't look at me like that, you were the one eavesdropping on us." She said firmly.
Kaoru shrugged "Weeeellllll, seeing as how I brought cake trying to make amends for... Well...See, I would rather think of it as, say, checking up on you... I heard yelling and loud footsteps... and then I accidentally fell down so- wait," Kaoru said, pointing to Tsumi-kun. "Wh-?"
"Well, thank you for flying Air Fujioka, please make your way towards the nearest exit." Tadashi interrupted, bowing slightly to Kaoru.
"Hey, what've I done to you-! Nevermind.."
"Onii-chan, be nice. He can stay." Haruhi told Tadashi. Kaoru sighed, a hint of regret in his eyes. "I'll go make some tea for the five of us." Tadashi let out a low grumble and stretched his legs under the table.
"Five?" he asked "Akane has a lot of personality, but I doubt she counts as two people." he eyed Haruhi as she ignored him "You inviting that brat four eyes? I want sugar~!"
"He has a name you know, it's not "four eyes." she told him, carefully putting a few spoonfuls of tea leaves into the teapot full of clear water. She turned a knob on the stove and set the teapot on one of the burners. "And he's most definitely not a brat."
Kaoru sat at the table, tea-ceremony style, as Haruhi and Tadashi had their little argument. Did Haruhi know that he was sorry, or was she just ignoring him on purpose? Either way, he knew that cake wasn't going to fix anything.
''Is he someone from school?" he said, attempting to break the ice. "Do I know him?"
"It's Harry." Haruhi said simply. Kaoru paused.
"O-Oh, that's nice." he blubbered. Haruhi let out a small sigh, massaging her temples.
"God, these headaches are coming way too frequent now," she breathed, glancing quickly at the medicine cabinet where she kept that secret orange bottle. She quickly took the bottle from the cabinet, taking the small carton of sugar as a distraction from Tadashi and Kaoru. She quietly tugged on the tap, let a few drop of water trickle out from the nozzle, into the cup. She took a pill in her mouth and swallowed it, along with the water. She read the label again. Perscribed: Fujioka, Haruhi. She pondered for a bit, wondering if it probably was a good idea to get new medicine from the doctor.
"You okay?" Tadashi asked "Seem kinda out of it.."
"I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all." she assured. Tadashi went to the kitchen and stood there, pondering the thought he was currently thinking.
"Where would I be, if she was trying to hide me?" he murmured, stroking his imaginary beard. His eyes moved about the kitchen, quickly glancing at Haruhi ever so often to see if there was any reaction. "The spice cabinet?" he asked himself. He slyly opened the cabinet, grabbing the tiny orange bottle before Haruhi could notice. "I want sugar in mine." he stated proudly when she looked at him. "I already know that." she told him, shaking the small carton of sugar she had next to her slightly. "Your sweettooth is almost as big as one of my sempai's."
"Oh.. see, Haruhi, this-" he shook the orange bottle in front of her face "- doesn't really look like sugar to me."
"Figure that all by yourself, did you?" she joked
"Haruhi, it's not even half empty!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down.
"Well, that's because I got a new bottle recently!" she told him.
"You got this in May." he pointed out, showing her that under her name it said clearly in black letters, May.
"Well, maybe I just got confused with the, um, other bottle I have."
"You said um. Why'd you say um? Is it because you're lying to me? Is that why you said "um"?"
"Mind your own buisness." she told him, turning her head away from him.
"Um.. if you don't mind me interupting.." Kaoru said, Haruhi and Tadashi stopped arguing and turned towards him. "You don't have to whisper...I already know what your talking about." Haruhi frowned and shoved the tray of tea into Tadashi's hands. Confused, he took the try and set it on the table, taking a seat. Haruhi opened the fridge door furiously, and grabbed an assortment of vegetables. She then took out a pot and filled it halfway with water, setting it on one of the stove burners and turning it on to "medium".
Tadashi looked at Haruhi, then at Kaoru, then back at Haruhi. His brow furrowed in confusion as he watched the tension aroung them grow. Kaoru took a sip of his tea hesitantly, his heart beating at a rapid rate. Maybe I should go over there and apologize to her. It's the least I can do. He thought
Have you got a death wish? Look at that knife she's using! Look at it! And thus, he began to argue with himself.
C'mon, sooner or later it's gonna come up in a conversation, so-
Who the HELL would talk about that in a normal conversation? "Hey Haruhi, so I just wanted to apologize for-
Kaoru got up from the table and made his way towards the kitchen. Slowly, and gently, he placed his hand on Haruhi's shoulder. She clenched her fist around the knife she was holding and tried to ignore him. "I'm sorry Haruhi." he said quietly "I'm really sorry, I was just being stupid. What I did was.. was uncalled for, dirty, rude-"
"Keep going." she muttered
"-Obnoxious, rotten, despicable, vile, disgusting, terrible,-"
"Offensive, painfull, down-right embarrasing, -ow!" she growled as she accidentally cut her finger with the knife. Crimson blood trickled out from the wound. Kaoru immedeatly ripped off a peice of paper towel from the roll, and wrapped it around her finger. He held it tight, hoping to stop the blood from flowing out of the cut. She turned her head away from him as he rubbed her finger with his thumb. "I don't need your help with it."
The corners of Kaoru's mouth rose up into a small smile, then he went back to the table to a very, very confused Tadashi. "I don't even wanna know. You alright there Haruhi?" She nodded, and Tadashi sighed "Hey! You changed the subject!" he yelled, pointing at Kaoru. "Haruhi, we're not done talking about- How the hell did you know what we were talking about? What are you, some kind mind reading ninja?" he said, his attention back to Kaoru. "And you," he pointed to Haruhi, but the doorbell rang. Haruhi went to open the door and was greeted by a friendly hug from Harry. Kaoru shifted awkwardly where he was sitting.
"Hey, dinner's not for another hour. Why are you here so early?" she asked. He shrugged
"Just wanted to ask you more questions about that thing you told me at dinner, but I see that you have company." he said, eyeing darkly towards Kaoru and Tadashi. "Why is he here? After what happened this morning you're still letting him in here?" he asked, accompanying Haruhi with making dinner. She told him to cut the onions, and wash the carrots thoroughly.
"Which one?" she asked glumly, "Tadashi or Kaoru?"
Tadashi and Kaoru watched the two of them very carefully. "He's giving us the evil eye. Wow, he's pissed off at you too?" Tadashi asked him quietly, Kaoru nodded shakily. "What'd you do?"
"I kinda.. sorta.. well, there was kissing.. and touching.. and removal of clothes.."
"You made out with her today TOO?"
"What do you mean, "too"?
Tadashi began to giggle slightly. Slightly turned into moderatly, and moderatly turned into a hysterical laugh. "HAHAHAHA!"
"What's so funny?"
Haruhi turned around with her eyes wide "What happened?"
Tadashi laughing too hard too even be able to register what Kaoru and Haruhi were saying to him. His laughing began to quiet down gradually, and eventually he began to take deep breaths to calm himself down. He turned his head, and to his ultimate displeasure, saw Tsumibito's face smiling at him from under the table.
"HOW THE FUCK DID THAT THING GET UNDER THERE?" he yelled, jumping back and trying to climb the wall. Kaoru took Tsumi-kun from under the table and stared at him. As Haruhi started to scold Tadashi for his rudeness to Tsumi-kun, he could have sworn he saw Tsumi's head move to one side and stare at Kaoru. He shook his head vigorously, and looked at the rag doll again. Haruhi took Tsumibito from Kaoru and went to her room, grumbling angrily to herself. The sound of a drawer being shut was heard, and Haruhi shuffled back through the door with her hands empty. She rejoined Harry in the kitchen.
"What was that?" Harry asked
"A doll. His name's Tsumibito, Tsumi or Tsumi-kun for short. He's really important to me."
"Sumi... Ta-sumi... I can't say it.."
"Here, try this: ''tsu"."
"Ttss..."
Haruhi made his lips pursed with her fingers "Tsuumi."
"Ts...Tsumi?"
"Hoorah." she smiled, resisting the urge to kiss his cheek.
"Hey! Four-eyes! Thanks for making me loose concentration!" Tadashi yelled, fuming. "Haruhi, you realize you're supposed to take these," he shook the orange bottle "Three times a day?"
"Why should I? I think it happens to be a waste. I've taken once a day so far, and I'm fine." Haruhi said boredly
"Why should you? I'll tell you why, if you don't I'll tear that damn rag-doll to pieces using my teeth, that's why." he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. Then he started to whisper in he ear "I love you, but you drive me crazy sometimes. If you won't do it for me, or Tsumibito, then do it for Gramps, Akane, and Ranka-papa. Hell, even do it for four-eyes. C'mon Haruhi, you're smart. You should know better than do skip out on the dosages."
"Read the back of the bottle." she whispered back. Tadashi turned the bottle around in his hands and stared at the two blocks of writing. One, he recognized as japanese, the other was written in some strange language. He read the one he could translate: Side Effects. "That fucking sucks. Mood swings? Drowsiness? Headaches? What is this, some kind of instant death pill?"
There was a rapid knock at the door, followed by the sound of someone turning the doorknob from the outside, which lead to Haruhi being trampled by a girl with waist-long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, baby-blue eyes that were shining with excitement and a wide grin creeping onto her face. Her bangs were brushed to the side, and some were brushed to the other side to frame her face.
"When you knock, you have to wait for someone to answer the door." Tadashi groaned "Smartass."
"Dumbass." the girl snorted "Haruhi! How've you been? I haven't seen you since you had long hair! And by the way, why in the name of all that is covered in chocolate are there so many boys here?"
"Haruhi, you didn't tell me you had a sister!" Kaoru exclaimed.
"Oh, no. Kaoru, this is Akane. My cousin."
"But..."
"Yeah, Haruhi is basically me with short brown hair and deep chocolate brown eyes. Such a beauty you are~" she chirped, and gave Haruhi a tight hug.
"Nee-chan, you're choking me.." Haruhi sputtered. "And you forgot to close the door too. Cold air is blowing in." There was a swish of color, and the next thing Haruhi knew, Hikaru was standing infront of her, breathless.
"HARUHI! I'M SORRY FOR WHAT KAORU- eh?" he asked, staring at Kaoru. "Are you having a party in here or something?"
"THERE'S TWO OF THEM? Tadashi yelled, pointing to Hikaru and Kaoru.
"Everybody SHUT UP!" Akane yelled. The apartment was silent, everyone stared at her "Sorry, too much was happening at once, I just couldn't stand the noise."
Tadashi opened his mouth to say something, but Akane glared at him so he decided against it. "Nee-chan, the two twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hiitachin, they go to my school. He's Harry Potter, he's a new transfer student, and he lives right next door." Harry waved nervously.
"Hi! My name's Akane Fujioka! Future Mrs. Watanabe." Akane sang as he shook everyone's hands.
"Did you just say..?" Tadashi asked in awe "I thought you were engaged to-"
"Forget I said anything!" Akane said, flustered.
"Who's "Watanabe"?" Hikaru asked
"Onee-chan's one true love." Haruhi laughed, giving Akane an understanding pat on the back "She's being wed to-" Haruhi stopped mid-sentence and looked at Akane empathetically "To someone else."
"It's an arranged marriage?" Hikaru asked
"That's awful!" Kaoru exclaimed. Hikaru stared at Kaoru. He then immedeatly bowed to Haruhi "I personally apologize for my brothers actions."
"You know what, why don't we just get started on dinner? I don't want to start eating it when it's getting cold. Onee-chan, you know where everything is. Help me set the table."
#
"Ha~Ru~Hi... you're such a good cook." Tadashi crooned ''Can I live here?"
"You most certainly cannot." Haruhi said sternly.
"He's right Haruhi, you really are an amazing cook." Kaoru said. Haruhi ignored him.
"Akane, were you following us on our way home form the park?" Tadashi asked. Akane stared at him.
"Why would I want to do that?" she asked "I see you almost everyday." she said in disgust. Tadashi frowned, not expecting a mean remark. He then thought for a moment.
"If that wasn't you, who did I see?
"Well, what did you see?"
As the two cousins began their discussion, Kaoru looked around the room, at the photographs. There was one he had seen on many occasions, that always seemed to give him the feeling that all hope was lost, yet it was enlightening somehow. It was what seemed to be two lions standing face to face to each other, with their paws in that "thriller" position. In the middle of the two lions was a man with black hair and ragged, messy clothes. The man was being binded down by chains, and he had the wings of an angel. The wings stretched on a little bit past the two lions. . One his back there was a very intricate tattoo, do detailed Kaoru would barely make out what is was.
Suddenly, the power went out. Harry almost said Lumos, as his wand was in his pocket, but it took him a moment to remember that he was in a room full of muggles. "Tadashi, that's not funny." Akane said
"Why do you think it was me? I was sitting next to Haruhi and Carrot-Top the whole time!"
"Hey!" Kaoru said angrily
'"Onee-chan.. This is happening much more frequently now. Should we tell Gorou-Ojiisan? Maybe it's-" Haruhi started
"No. Just.. just wait for it to pass. It wont be this way for long." Akane whispered back. The lights flickered, and everyone sighed in relief as the lights turned back on. "Haruhi, do you want me to spend the night? I can drop Tadashi home then come back-"
"Onee-chan, just go." Haruhi said quietly.
Akane nodded. "Hey squirt, we're leaving. Say goodbye to your friends and let's go."
"I do NOT make friends with fifteen-year olds."
Haruhi scowled at that, he smiled nervously "I don't mean you of course, Haruhi. I couldn't mean you at all." he said, winking. She shuddered and gestured for him to leave. Akane blew a chibi kiss to Haruhi before leaving.
"Um.. Haruhi? I know that this is a bad time to say this but.. aren't you supposed to take your medicine now?" Kaoru asked her. She sighed, then nodded. She went to the spice cabinet yet again and took out that dreaded orange bottle. Hikaru stared in disbeleif as she swallowed a pill with a gulp of water.
"So it's true, huh?" he asked. She looked at him in question "You really are on meds?"
"You make it sounds like I'm a drug-addict. I don't even like these pills."
"Why? I thought you were old enough to get over pills tasting bad. Hey, pills don't even taste like anything. Just swallow, then-"
"It's the side effects that bother me." she said, handing him the bottle. He read the contents very, very carefully, turning the bottle in his hands.
"Haruhi?" he asked
"Hmm?"
"Anemia? You're Anemic?"
Merry Christmas to all of you! This is my families' first year with a tree (hehe, not even a real tree. It's one of those pop-up instant light up ones :P)
Yeah, so hope you enjoyed this chapter~