Haruhi/Arai
The Old Friend: Part XII
Most of the Host Club liked him. Except for Hikaru. Arai-kun gave them a look into what Haruhi's childhood was like. Her school days before Ouran. It gave them an idea of who she used to be. And that was interesting to everybody. Except Hikaru. Hikaru was a more in-the-moment guy. So naturally he wasn't interested in hearing about the past.
The rest of the Host Club enjoyed seeing Haruhi blush in embarrassment due to the stories Arai-kun was telling. Hikaru didn't get to see those blushed. He did get to see her scared later on though.
Arai-kun had always admired Haruhi. He admired her drive. Her intelligence. The way she chose to get to know about a person before judging them. He liked her alot. So of course it hurt when she rejected him. It hurt a little more when he learned she hadn't understood or realized what he had been saying at all.
He really was a fool for not realizing that of course Haruhi would take it the wrong way. He had seen her turn down guy after guy, repeating she had no interest in them or misunderstanding them entirely. Arai-kun was no different from the other boys to Haruhi other than the fact he was her genuine friend. She didn't have many of those, most people being after her either for her brains or beauty. She turned each and every one down, 'I don't have enough time for a relationship', 'I'm sorry, I'm not interested', 'Uh… who are you again? I don't recall meeting…', 'I can't go out with you then. I will be studying.' He remembered almost every reply she ever gave.
He remembered her replies to his attempts even clearer. Haruhi was clueless as to what he actually meant. Sometimes her denseness saddened him. No girl should go through life as alone as Haruhi was. When he met the Host Club he was glad she had such good friends looking out for her. She needed them.
Haruhi enjoyed their friendship in middle school much more than she ever met on. She could always rely Arai-kun. She remembered how he wanted to be friends with her, the real her, not just one of the most beautiful girls in the school, of the smartest flat out. No, he was just interested in Haruhi Fujioka. She liked that. But at the time he was just her best friend, nothing more.
