A/N:
hey guys! I told you I'd update ASAP didnt i???
i couldnt make you wait a month after a cliffy like the last one!!!
and your lucky I'm posting it today. I was gonna post it tomorrow cuz my family is having Thanksgiving today and I have to be helping out right now. (but my sisters aren't here yet so I'm ok!) and if your wondering why we're having Thanksgiving today...its cuz my moms work is a butthole and won't give her thanksgiving off so we gotta have it today.
this one is a little longer then the last. but not my longest.
and their are 2 flashbacks in this story what were in my written chapters before but I took them out cuz I thought they werent needed. haha. how wrong was I? XDD good thing I saved them otherwise I'd have to think of something else.
and........ONE MORE CHAPTER AND ITS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOO! but!!!! i'm thinking of writing an epilogue to this story as well! :) yay! so..i guess 2 more chapters? haha
ok im gonna shut up now. enjoy the TEST!!! :D
i do not own Ouran High School Host Club...i only own Yumi and her family and the idea for this story. :P
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Chapter Twenty-one: Is it the Right Answer?
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Eddy leaned forward, "Alright Kaoru, it's very simple. Only 10 questions."
Kaoru nodded, "Sounds easy enough."
Paul sighed, "That's what they all say," he mumbled, flipping the page on his notepad.
Kaoru's hands were balled into such tight fists the skin on his knuckles were turning white. His hands at his side and back straight and he felt like he might become sick in mere moments.
Nothing to worry about! Kaoru reassured himself, I'm sure I'll get this right. I mean, if I get the slightest answer wrong I'll have to leave and never tell Yumi my feelings and I'd have to move on, but that's just it… Oh who am I kidding! This is insane! Hikaru was right, no matter how much we've talked, I can't know everything about Yumi in just two weeks!
"Um, before we start," Kaoru piped up. Paul, Sue and Eddy looked over at Kaoru.
"I just wanted to say this is all kind of stupid." Kaoru said.
"Kaoru!" Tamaki shouted, "Don't be rude when they're about to give you a test! Now they'll give you extra hard questions!"
Kaoru ignored him, "How do you know doing this will just hurt Yumi too? What if Yumi met a guy in the future and fell in love," Kaoru paused; just thinking about Yumi falling for another man ached at his heart, "Um, and she brought him home to meet you and you gave him the test and he failed? Yumi would be so hurt and, who knows, she might disobey the rules and run away with the man and never see you guys again. Maybe after this you should just stop with this test all together." he explained.
Sue nodded, "Thank you! I've been telling Paul that but would he listen? Noooo! He has to be the "over-protective grandpa" and watch over her like she's some important emerald!"
Paul's face turned red, "Sue!" he said angrily. Sue shrugged innocently, "What? It's true."
Eddy tapped Sue's shoulder, "Can we just get on with this?" he asked. Paul sighed and nodded while Sue wrote something down on her own notepad and held it up for Kaoru to see, not Paul. It said: Don't Worry! I hope you'll win!
Kaoru smiled lightly at Sue and nodded.
Paul cleared his throat, "Alright, the first question is always the easy one. What is Yumi's middle name?" he asked.
Kaoru thought for a moment.
Behind him, Hikaru leaned over to Haruhi, "Do you know that?" he whispered. Haruhi shook her head, "Yumi never brought it up."
Kaoru thought for a moment. Middle name…middle name…then, something popped into his head. Something she told him when they were locked in the cave together.
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-Flashback-
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Kaoru couldn't stop chuckling. Yumi was in full panic and it had only been ten minutes down the cave.
"Yumi, calm down. I'm sure if we keep walking-"
"Oh my gosh! This is so not right! We're gonna die in here! We're gonna be like that guy in "The Goonies" who went exploring in the 30s and died down there! No one will ever look for us and we'll end up either starving to death or become cannibals and eat each other!" Yumi rambled.
Kaoru rolled his eyes and pulled Yumi along down the tunnel, "Alright Yumi. I wouldn't want to eat you if I was a cannibal, anyways. You're too boney."
Yumi snapped back, "I am not!"
Kaoru rolled his eyes, "Then get a hold of yourself!" he shouted. Yumi pulled her arm out of Kaoru's grasp and banged her hand with her hands, "That's right! You gotta calm yourself Yumi! Yumi Cheyenne De Luca will no longer freak out!" she mumbled.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow, "Cheyenne? Isn't that American?" he asked. Yumi blinked and looked at him. She nodded a moment later, "Yeah. What of it?" she asked. Kaoru shrugged, "Just weird, I guess."
Yumi walked past him, "For your information, my mother gave me that middle name on account of her great-aunt! I, for one, don't like it much but it's has its moments when I think its cute." she explained.
Kaoru chuckled and followed behind Yumi, "Whatever you say." he mumbled.
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-End Flashback-
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Kaoru's head snapped up, "Cheyenne?" he asked. He heard his friends mumble to each other weather that was right or wrong while Paul gave Kaoru a look before marking something on his notepad, "One down, nine to go." he mumbled. Kaoru smiled and the host club all started to cheer and clap for Kaoru.
Tala and Tino shushed them and continued to watch from their playpen.
Eddy leaned forward, "Question Two, which is very easy, which family member does Yumi resemble most?" he asked.
"Eddy! That's so obvious!" Paul argued. Eddy smiled, "Too late! It's already out there! Well Kaoru?" he asked.
Kaoru grinned, "Her mother." Eddy marked on his own notepad, "Two down!" he smiled.
Everyone clapped and Hikaru cheered, "Yeah! Go Kaoru!" happily.
Sue filled a page on her notepad, "Next question. What was the game Yumi's mother taught her that she wasn't very good at?"
Kaoru paused for a moment. What game? Their could be a million games Mrs. De Luca could have taught Yumi that she wasn't good at. But for some reason this sounds familiar…wait! Yumi mentioned that time she came over to my mansion to set up the plan about a game she sucked at as a kid! What was it called? German Dutch? Dippy Doug? No, no, none of those. Wait!
"Is it Double Dutch?" Kaoru asked. Their was a pause but Ed marked his notepad, "Seven more to go!" he grinned. Kaoru sighed with relief and his shoulders fall a little.
Paul sighed, "Question four: what is Yumi's number one song on her iPod?" he asked. Kaoru thought back to whenever he'd seen Yumi with her iPod out. Had she ever mentioned her number one? I have no idea…
"I know that." Haruhi mumbled to Hikaru. Hikaru looked at her, "What is it?"
"It's a song by a band…um…t.A.T.u but I can't remember the song." she mumbled. Hikaru looked at the back of Kaoru's head. Come on Kaoru! You can do it! She might have said it when she first got here but I know you remember it!
Kaoru scrunched his eyebrows, "Um…I think it's Gomen by t.A.T.u?" he asked, bracing himself for them to say it's wrong.
Eddy, Paul and Sue shared a glance. "You're right!" Eddy said happily. Kaoru smiled, "really?"
Paul nodded, "It's really Gomenasai. But Yumi always calls in Gomen for short. We'll give it to you." he said.
Kaoru grinned and gave a thumbs up to Hikaru and the rest of his friends behind him. They waved and some gave him a thumbs up back.
Kaoru turned back around. Sue smiled at him, "Alright. Question Five: what's Yumi's favorite place to go to?" she asked. Kaoru smiled, "Very easy. She loves the beach. So I'm gonna go with the beach."
Paul sighed, "You know your stuff." he mumbled as Eddy, happily, put another mark on his notepad.
Only five more. I can do this. He smiled and readied himself for the next question.
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Meanwhile…
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Yumi was walking happily down a dirt road, spinning in circles every few moments, staring up at the sky.
It's just a perfect day in Genoa, like always. Yumi thought happily.
"Is that you, Miss Yumiko?" a husky voice shouted, making Yumi jump and look farther up the road. She saw an older man standing next to the dirk road in front of an old western style house and barn, with another barn right across the road.
Yumi ran up to the man, "Is that you Mr. McCroom?" Yumi called, using her hand to block the sun from her eyes. The old man smiled at her, pulling at the suspenders that were gripped tightly at his dirty jeans and hung tightly to his plaid long sleeve shirt. He was growing out a beard and Yumi could smell that strange scent all old men and woman carried, no matter how much perfume or AXE they used.
"Well, it is you, Yumiko! I haven't seen you since your parent's funeral." he said to her. Yumi nodded, "I didn't want to go down to the beach then. And then I left the country to go to this fancy school in Japan. And now I'm back for who knows how long. How are you Mr. McCroom?" she asked.
He smiled at her, "Oh, business is going good. The animals though," he grunted, "Gosh, they've been extra loud and the family can't sleep with all the noise so we built the new barn across the road. But at least now I can keep an eye on the barn from my bedroom window after I have my surgery." he explained.
Yumi nodded, "Is it for your heart or lung?" she asked. Mr. McCroom smiled and patted his heart, "Just a little check up, they say. But my son, you remember Mike, he's going to watch over the farm if…well if anything happens to me. And I'm retiring next month anyway. So it's all for the best." he smiled at Yumi.
Yumi looked past Mr. McCroom to the old barn and house, "Where is Mike?" she asked. Mr. McCroom pointed to the barn, "Getting the animals ready for the move. We're having them move into the new barn today. He told me to stand here and watch for cars." he explained.
Yumi looked up the road and then down the road, "Well, it looks like their will be a lot of traffic. You guys better get moving!" she giggled.
Mr. McCroom chuckled, "Alright, alright. You better get a move on to the beach before it gets too dark."
Yumi nodded, "Nice seeing you Mr. McCroom! Good luck with the surgery!" Yumi called, starting off farther down the road. She waved back happily as Mr. McCroom waved back.
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Meanwhile…
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"Would you like some more tea before we move on, Kaoru?" Sue asked, standing up. He shook his head, "No thank you, Mrs. Rossi." he answered.
Paul shook his head as did everyone else. They were all too focused on the test to drink anymore tea.
"Question six: What is Yumi's favorite movie of all time?" Paul asked. He grinned, No way he knows this. It's something I wouldn't even think a guy would watch and Yumi doesn't even talk about it much. He thought.
Kaoru bit his lower lip. Movie…movie…
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-Flashback-
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Kaoru and Yumi stood outside the movie theatre the day the skipped school. "Hmm. What's playing that's any good?" Yumi mumbled. Kaoru shrugged, "Maybe a scary one? How about "The Grudge 3"?" he asked.
Yumi shrugged, "I liked the first Grudge, but not the second as much. To me, sequels don't do well for the movie unless it's extremely good, which hasn't happened yet." she explained, taking a few steps forward in the line.
Kaoru looked up at the movie posters, "Well, none of these do justice to my favorite." he smiled. Yumi looked over at him, "What's your favorite movie?" she asked.
Kaoru stared up at the ceiling, "Don't laugh, but it's 'Princess Mononoke'." Yumi giggled. Kaoru glared at her, "I told you not to laugh!"
Yumi shook her head, "No, no! I just think it's cute! That's by Studio Ghibli, right? My dad got me into those movies. The first one I saw was "Castle in the Sky". It was my favorite as a kid."
"Castle in the Sky? I've seen that. It's…cute." Kaoru thought. Yumi chuckled, "Yeah. I loved it as a kid. And when I went to America when I was seven, ya know after learning English, my aunt rented the movie in English and I saw it. I still can't pick which one I like better: the Japanese dub or the English dub."
"Is Castle in the Sky still your favorite?" he asked. Yumi shook her head, "Castle in the Sky was my favorite as a kid, but now I love "Spirited Away"! It's so amazing. I could watch it forever. What about you?"
Kaoru shrugged, "Hikaru's seen it but I haven't-"
"What?!" Yumi gasped. She pulled Kaoru out of line and over to the elevator, "We're going to the video store! First, we're renting Spirited Away and you're so gonna watch it and then your gonna love it!" she smiled. Kaoru smiled at Yumi and nodded, "Sounds like a plan."
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-End Flashback-
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"Spirited Away." Kaoru finally said. Paul gave Kaoru a look, "You sure you're not guessing?" he asked. Kaoru nodded, "Yumi told me her favorite as a child was 'Castle in the Sky' and now that she's older her favorite is 'Spirited away'. No guessing here, sir." he explained.
Eddy leaned forward and held out his hand, a grin on his face, "You got it!"
Kaoru slapped Eddy's hand in a High-5 and then returned to his spot on the couch.
Paul sighed, "You really do know your stuff." he mumbled. Kaoru took that as a compliment.
"Question seven," Sue said, returning to her seat in the middle, "What is Yumi's favorite drink?" she asked.
Kaoru paused. What have I seen her drink most? She hardly never drinks tea at the club…what is that drink that's she's always drinking…its pink…OH YEAH!
"Pink lemonade." Kaoru answered. Sue smiled and nodded her head as Eddy made another mark on his notepad.
Eddy looked at Kaoru, "Question eight: what type of camera does Yumi prefer to use?" he asked.
Kaoru shook his head, "Well, I've only ever seen her use a Polaroid camera, so I'm gonna have to say Polaroid."
Paul stood up, "I think we should take a small break." he said, walking into the kitchen. Kaoru watched him then turned to Eddy, who was marking his paper, "Right." he said to Kaoru.
Hikaru got up to give Kaoru a pat on the back for getting so far, but Kaoru sprang up and walked into the kitchen.
Paul was drinking a glass of water. Kaoru walked forward, "Um, Mr. Rossi?" he asked. Paul looked at Kaoru, "Yes?" he asked.
Kaoru bit his lip, "Um, you're mad that I'm doing so well, aren't you?" he asked. Paul chuckled, "It's just a little shocker, is all. Normally all those boys from before couldn't even get past question one or two. You, on the other hand, got all the way up to question eight and are still going."
Kaoru nodded, "I'm a good listener, I guess. Yumi seemed so open to me the past two weeks. She's told me almost everything about her."
Paul glanced at Kaoru; "I'm angry." he made clear.
Kaoru gulped, "About..?"
Paul sighed, "I love Yumi to death, I do, but…she's been through so much. I don't want her to get hurt by some stupid teenage boy. I want to make sure the boy she dates is responsible, loving, and above all, someone who would never hurt her. And for some reason I don't know if you'll be able to do any of those." he explained.
Kaoru took a step closer to Paul, "Mr. Rossi, I am a member of the Ouran Host Club. I know how to treat a girl, especially with respect. And, I really and truly do love your granddaughter and would never in my life want or even try to hurt her. You have my word. And If, even though I'm sure it won't happen, I do hurt your granddaughter, feel free to hurt me or hire a hit man or anything as payback." he explained.
Paul gave Kaoru one last look, sighed and then shook Kaoru's hand, "You're alright, kid." he smiled.
"Are you two ready to continue?!" they heard Eddy shout from the living room. Kaoru and Paul both shared a look and then both walked out of the kitchen together.
Kaoru took his seat on the couch, across from Yumi's family. Paul took his back out his notepad and pushed his glasses up his nose, "Ready?" he asked.
"Yes sir." Kaoru answered, less tense then before. Paul glanced at the notepad, "No more easy questions for you. Question nine: Yumi's favorite Italian dish. What is it?" he asked.
Kaoru gulped. That was a hard one for him. The whole time he'd see Yumi order something to eat that was Italian, it was always different. This time, he had to go on his gut and take a guess.
"Umm…" he mumbled, his head down and his finger tapping his chin. "Umm…" he said again. He glanced up at Sue and she had a strange look on her face. Her eyes were slightly big and she kept raising her eyebrows.
Kaoru gulped, here goes nothing! "Anything her grandma makes?" he asked slowly. He held his breath and kept and eye on Eddy's hand, seeing if he'd make a mark or not.
"You're right!" Sue smiled while Eddy happily put a mark down on the paper. Kaoru let out the breath and a second later he heard the host club exhale as well. He chuckled.
"Go Kaoru! One more question! You can do it!" The host's chanted happily.
"Shhh!" Tala and Tino shushed them. The club looked at the babies and they pointed to Kaoru, "Tranquilla stupida!" they scolded.
Ignoring the conversation they were having, back to the test!
"Last question," Paul said seriously. "What is Yumi's favorite dessert?" he asked. Koaru thought about it, she's always eating ice cream. Chocolate ice cream actually. That has to be it then!
"Chocolate ice cream." he said.
Kaoru stared at each of their faces, trying to read them. That's right, it has to be.
Kaoru looked at Eddy's hand. Mark the page…mark the page! He repeated over and over in his head.
Eddy started to move his hand to the notepad.
Mark the page…
Closer and closer…
Mark the page alright!
Just as the pencil hovered over the page, Eddy moved it up more and placed it on the spiral ring of the notepad…not marking the page.
"Sorry Kaoru, but that's wrong." He said sadly.
Kaoru clenched his teeth and he actually felt like he'd cry. I was…wrong…
Eddy stood up and walked over to the twins, Sue stood up and gave Kaoru a comforting hug before helping Eddy with the twins, while Paul stayed seated.
The host's ran over to Kaoru.
"Oh Koaru! I'm sorry!" Hikaru said, giving his brother a hug. Haruhi nodded, patting his shoulder, "Me too. I even thought her favorite was chocolate ice cream."
Paul shook his head, "Her favorite is chocolate fudge cake. Extra fudge. She doesn't normally share that fact with people though because she hates eating it in public. She's a whole different person eating that. She goes crazy actually. Very funny sight." He explained.
Kaoru looked over at him and held out his right hand. "Thank you for letting me take this test, Mr. Rossi. As I promised, I'll leave tonight and I'll move on." he said a knot in his throat.
Paul shook his hand, "You're a good kid, Kaoru." he answered. "No one has gotten as far as you did."
Kaoru nodded. Paul took a pen off the coffee table and wrote something down on the notepad, ripped it off and handed it to Kaoru.
He took it, and stared at the paper. An address?
"That's where Yumi is." Paul told him. Kaoru shot Paul a confused look. Paul rolled his eyes, "Can't you take a hint, boy? I'm forgetting this stupid test and I approve of you! Now go find my granddaughter and tell her your feelings already." he instructed.
Kaoru was bewildered.
"You got that far. But there is still a lot you need to learn about her. I'm sure you'll learn it when you two start a relationship. If she has feelings for you as well." Paul said nonchalantly, walking over to his wife.
"Really? You're letting to do this even though I failed the test?" Kaoru asked, standing up. Paul nodded, "You better get going too. It's about a forty five minute drive, and an hour and a half walk. Plus it's getting late."
Kaoru nodded, "Thank you sir." he said before running to the front door. Hikaru followed closed behind, then Haruhi and Tamaki and so on.
Kyoya called his limo to come round and they piled in, while Kaoru handed the driver the address.
"So, where is the place we're going to?" Tamaki asked Kyoya, who was looking it up on an online website for directions.
A moment later, "It says she's at a small beach on the edge of Genoa. Its an abandon beach, no one's been there in years." Kyoya explained.
"Why would Yumi-Chan be there?" Hunny asked. "Because that's where her father took her." Kaoru mumbled.
Hikaru gave him a look, "From that diary entry?" he asked. Kaoru nodded, "And it's where her family would go all the time after that. And on the cliff next to that beach was where her parents were married and-"
"Okay Koaru. You aren't taking a test anymore. You don't have to explain everything about Yumi now." Haruhi giggled.
Kaoru nodded, "Sorry. Just…kinda nervous." he said.
The limo was moving extra fast, because Kaoru had told the driver to step on it. It had been twenty minutes, and everyone was looking out the window, (even Kyoya) at the big open valleys and small towns and pounds and animals they passed.
But soon, the limo came to a halt. Kaoru looked out the window, "This can't be it." he mumbled. They all piled out of the car and an instant smell of animals and just a plain stink of the inside of a barn overcame them.
In front of the limo was a line of animals, crossing the road to a barn on the other side. An older man in his, what seemed like eighties, and a younger man in his late thirties and then another man in his teens were leading them across.
"Hey!" Kaoru shouted. The teen turned to look at them, "What?" he shouted.
The group gave each other looks, "Anyone understand him?" Hikaru asked. Kyoya tapped on the front window, "The driver can." he said as the driver quickly jumped out of the front seat.
"Ask them how long that will take." Kyoya told him. The driver nodded, "Excuse me!"
This time, the middle aged man looked over, "What? Can't you see we're busy?" he asked. The driver nodded, "We're trying to get to a beach. How long will this take?" he asked.
The man looked back at the animals, "We still have animals in the farm. About another hour to get them across and settled."
The driver looked at the group, "About another hour, sir." he answered. Kyoya looked over at them, "I'm sure we can wait until-" but Kyoya stopped mid-sentence when someone ran past him.
"I guess Kaoru can't wait." Kyoya mumbled as Kaoru ran through the animals and down the road.
They shared a look before Tamaki ran after Kaoru. Haruhi and Hikaru were next to follow him, then Mori and Hunny and finally Kyoya gave orders to the driver to wait and then go down to the beach as soon as he can while they run, and he then followed his friends down the road to the beach to find Yumi.
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To be continued…
A/N:
did you like it???? I hope so!
oh! and if you're wondering what Tala and Tino told the hosts before (aka: "Tranquilla stupida!") they just said "Quiet Stupid!" lol. my nephew yelled that at me over the weekend when I was on the phone with my friends and he was watching The Little Einsteins. haha XDD he's so cute
oh and I drew a picture of Yumi with her new haircut and it look GREAT! my parents wanted me to hang it up (they love my art work even tho it sucks. haha) I was gonna scan it onto my comp and put it on my deviantart for everyone to see but my brother was saying some crap about how the scanner was acting weird....hes such a liar. lol but I'll find a way to get it up! don't worry! :D
ok well...remember...REVIEW/alart/fave/all that jazz!
TOOTLES!
~~~Taylor
