Author's note: Hmm… What can I say about this chapter? I guess I'd say this is my favorite. Though I must admit, I did not put many romantic parts in this chapter; you can say that it gets close. :D I sincerely hope that you'd like this chapter as much as you did the others. Please review!
EDIT: wow. I got a LOT of reviews from chapter 11, and I think there were some hints and requests over there. :D Oh, and Hankyoo, they haven't forgotten, believe me. It's just deep in the back of their brilliant and intricate minds, until now, that is. :D Thanks for reviewing!
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THIRTEEN
"Kyouya-senpai…" I called him, and he turned to face me, the silver box in his palm. I stared at it. He cocked his head to the side, wondering why I was stopping him from moving further.
"Yes?" he asked, baffled by my sudden idiocy. I looked into his eyes.
"Do you smoke?" I asked, sounding as stupid as I probably looked. He stared at me, surprised.
"Smoke," he repeated blankly. I nodded, pointing at his hand. He held it up, and stared at the silver thing in his hand. I glared at him.
"I'm sorry, but smoking slowly kills you. I don't understand why you want to kill yourself, senpai," I said roughly. He chuckled and threw at me the 'lighter'. I caught it and stared at it.
"It's a cellular phone, Haruhi. I didn't know you were that poor," he said rudely. I flicked it back at him, fuming. "I see why you mistake it for a lighter. But really, did you not learn in kindergarten not to speak before thinking?"
I felt the sudden urge to stick my tongue out at him, but it would probably end with more disparaging insults. "Well, obviously you haven't learned that lesson yourself."
He looked at me, tittering mirth reflecting in his glasses. He flipped the phone open with his thumb and the small, tinkling sounds of its beeping echoed in the night.
After a second, he glanced at his watch and sighed.
"Are you not hungry? Or would you like to talk about more incoherent things?" he asked, crossing his arms impatiently. I scoffed and trudged away. He followed, but still, I could've sworn he was laughing silently behind.
--
"The sushi shop," whispered Kyouya-senpai, as we stopped in front of a small looking stall or shack near the park. He looked at it with such displeasure, I was sure that the shop would tremble. I grinned at it.
"If you decide to stop judging the exterior of this place, I'm convinced that you'd enjoy their world-class sushi," I said wistfully. He continued to scowl at the small sign above the wooden door that said, 'the Sushi Shop', in red, glaringly absurd letters.
Though I have only been there for special occasions, the place always left me with good and hospitable memories. My father always saved a lot of money just so that we could order enough sushi to make our bellies burst. Luckily, that place seemed to be affordable too, as it was popular with our crowd—the commoner crowd, that is.
The Sushi Shop has been conveniently placed next to the park, but it's small, unconvincingly 'refreshing' brown paint and red accents made it hard for other 'unknowing' human beings to realize that it sold the best sushi in Japan.
Kyouya-senpai sighed heavily, "'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' would be a good phrase here."
I nodded and smiled and pushed the heavy door open with both my hands. Kyouya-senpai looked torn between calling his bodyguards to take him away, or if he should just follow and lay his life in the hands of a commoner.
"Don't worry, senpai. You should take more risks," I mumbled at him as we stepped into the small shop.
"I'd rather take risks that don't involve me swallowing anything, thank you very much," he growled lowly. I rolled my eyes.
"Welcome to the Sushi Shop, would you like a menu?" asked an elderly waiter. I grinned at him and nodded as he led us to a small table at the very side of the tiny four cornered place. I looked around, feeling the familiarity sink in. The place looked exactly like the outside, except that there were three tables and six chairs inside. It was very cozy.
"This place is stuffy," complained Kyouya-senpai, fanning his face with his hand. The only other two customers in the shop stared at him. I looked at them apologetically.
"Please stop that," I said under my breath. He blinked.
"Stop what?" he asked, his deep voice near my ear. I didn't realize that the table was that small.
"You're complaining," I hissed. He ignored me as he picked up the menu and scanned it with one finger, as if it were dirty. I could feel myself get angry.
"Let's order a plate of everything, shall we?" he asked after five minutes of silence. I looked up from the menu—which I mostly used to block his face away from mine—and stared at him.
"Everything?" I asked in surprise. Of course, money really wasn't a problem for him, but still did he not think of the possibility that there might be some leftovers?
"If it were delicious, I'd like to bring the leftovers to my body guards," he said lightly, as if he could read my mind.
"What if it does not suit your taste?" I subjected. He smirked.
"The best, as you say it, would always suit my taste," he said abruptly. With that, he snapped his fingers swiftly. A waiter appeared out of the kitchen—a young teenager that looked about fourteen, looking flustered at Kyouya-senpai's command. I bit my lip as he stumbled to our seat, bumping his toe in the process.
"May I take your order?" he asked, his hands shaking as he held up a small paper pad and a ballpoint pen.
"I'd like to—" I started, but was cut off by Kyouya-senpai, who turned to the boy sharply.
"We'd like to order everything, one serving in a plate, please," he ordered, a hint of demand in his tone. The waiter seemed suddenly frozen. I sighed.
"And a glass of water for me please," I mumbled. The boy nodded, writing something rapidly on the pad, which looked like, 'One plate of everything for the rich dude.'
As the boy disappeared behind the kitchen's curtain I turned to Kyouya-senpai.
"That was interesting," I noted. He smiled a smile that was a bit stony.
"What? It was hardly interesting," he said slowly. I laughed.
"No, I'm talking about your aura and tone, it's very intimidating to others," I said indifferently. He continued to smile as he took off his glasses and wiped it with a cloth from his pocket.
"Intimidating? Do I intimidate you, Haruhi?" he asked smoothly. I grimaced.
"Not as much as you think, senpai," I said. He smirked, as he digested my words in his head.
Silence followed my words, until he broke it out of nowhere,
"May I ask you a question?"
I looked up from the table and found myself a few inches from his face. He did not flinch away as I did.
"It depends on what that question is," I said, nonplused.
"When was the last time you cried?" he asked, a curious look on his eyes. I blushed.
"I don't really remember, but the last time I remembered crying was when… My mother died," I said heavily. He eyed me, his face blank.
"Your mother… You loved her," he stated. I nodded, my face grinning on its own accord.
"Yes, I did. Many things in my life were inspired by her. She was beautiful, smart and loving, everything I wish and hope to be," I said, I put my arms on the table and leaned over to him. Still, he did not flinch or bother to move away. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek. "Did you love your mother?"
He blinked and looked away.
"My mother died when I was young, I do not remember much of her. All I knew was that after she died, my father turned into the man he is now," he said coldly. I nodded, turning away as he.
There was more silence, this time, it was much more uneasy and disquieted. I broke it,
"Are you willing to answer the question that you asked me?" I asked, my voice low and intentional. He leaned back on his chair, and his face seemed to darken as it did when he was angry or anxious.
"I will answer that, Haruhi, but please wait for it later," he said, forcing a smile on his pale face. I smacked my lips together, an unconscious action.
"Why must I wait for it? Are you not sure of what to answer?" I asked, implying his tentative figure and aura. He shook his head.
"The fact is, it is a very long story. And I really do not want to spoil the food that is coming our way… Right now," he said, pointing with his hand the teenage waiter carrying a tray filled with so much sushi that it was colorful to no end. I wondered how much I should eat before I might start to burst.
"Wow," I mumbled, not able to help my awe. The couple next to us watched as the waiter laid it down on our table, connecting another so that we had remaining space. It was very limited.
"Here is your water, madame," said waiter-san, who grinned at me, as he most likely thought it was foolish to smile at Kyouya-senpai. He soon left, his arms looking red with the weight he lifted. I turned to the plates around us and grinned—as big smile that added to the familiarity.
"Itadekimasu!" I exclaimed happily, picking a piece of California Maki out of the others. It was my favorite. I grinned as the taste melted in my mouth. I suddenly realized that Kyouya-senpai was eyeing the sushi with prudent anxiousness.
"Come on, senpai, its delicious! If it were poisoned, at least you'd have someone to go down with you," I joked, feeling happier as I dropped another piece of sushi in my mouth. He sighed.
"You're right, this is getting ridiculous," he said, taking his chopsticks and getting an unfamiliar looking piece of sushi goodness. He grimaced and said weakly, "Itadekimasu. "
As he popped it in his mouth. I waited, feeling the need to see his reaction. To my surprise, his eyes started to tear up. Was he going to cry because of the goodness? That was possible.
"Water," he croaked, his eyes closed, his nose blaring. I grabbed my glass and shoved it into his hands, he drank it all in one chug. My eyes widened.
"Senpai?" I asked, completely amused. He breathed heavily.
"That was painful," he muttered, pointing one finger at the sushi that he picked.
It was covered in green. Oh, the wasabi sushi. The statement group sushi that was used in dares. I looked at Kyouya-senpai, my face controlled from laughing.
"That was wasabi sushi, senpai," I said, which was muffled by my lips. He clamped his teeth together.
"I knew this place was going to poison me," he growled, "Who on earth makes wasabi sushi?"
"This place, quite delicious if you get past the coolness in the throat," I replied, my eyebrows cocked. He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"If you like it so much, will you please take one and shove it down your mouth?" he asked, sounding angry. I finally laughed, took my chopsticks, and picked one—'shoving it down my mouth', if you please.
My eyes started to water. Kyouya-senpai grinned evilly, as he pushed the whole plate of wasabi sushi in front of me.
--
"I will not lie, that was very delicious," he said two hours later as we walked around the park. He called a car a few minutes ago, not willing to walk me back home. I sighed; I guessed it was time to admit the truth: The host club was at his house, waiting for him to arrive.
"We have to go to your house, senpai," I said weakly. He looked at me, but only from the side of his eye. I waited for him to ask why. But he didn't.
"Okay," he said, "But I want to bring you to some place, first."
"Where?" I asked, hoping that it wasn't another restaurant. I already held a box filled with leftover sushi.
"My office," he said, smiling. I raised my eyebrows.
"Your office… You have an office?" I asked, bemused. It was not really surprising, but what made me quite curious was why his office was disconnected with the Ootori mansion. I recalled Tamaki-senpai saying that their family worked at the mansion, so why was Kyouya-senpai bringing me somewhere else?
"Of course," he said. I expected him to say something else, but he stopped talking as a familiar car stopped in front of the park's sidewalk. It was the usual car that he used to bring me to work. He walked pass me and I watched him enter the back of the car. I followed him a second later, feeling awkward. I realized the person that drove us was another one of his body guards.
"May I ask where your office is?" I asked after the driver pulled out of the park's entrance. Kyouya smirked.
"For someone who has a brilliant mind, your memory is quite substandard," he noted. I waited, keeping my cool and dignity intact, "The office is in the Ootori Grand Ball, if you remember."
"Oh," I mumbled. Yes, I do remember.
There are many things in my life that I could never forget…
My childhood with both my parents, the years I spent with the host club, the time he proposed, and the time I said 'no', running away with my bare feet in the rain.
Maybe I could say at that time that I was a coward. I should have faced him, despite the fact that he practically threatened me.
"Intimidating? Do I intimidate you, Haruhi?" he asked smoothly. I grimaced.
"Not as much as you think, senpai," I said.
I guess I wasn't different from the others, after all.
Author's note: the Date part THREE will be tomorrow! I hope you guys stay tuned for that, which will probably make a lot of people outraged or something. If you hate kyouyaxOC, I suggest you cover your eyes. :D
I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO REPLY TO YOUR REVIEWS, ANYMORE. I'M SORRY, BUT MY TIME IS REALLY LIMITED NOW. PLEASE CONTINUE REVIEWING, THOUGH. I ENJOY THEM VERY MUCH. :D love love!