Author's Notes: Ayee~ I've got another chapter for you guys! (Honestly, it's just been sitting in my documents waiting for me to revise it, but that's neither here nor there...) Hope everyone's summer is going well. I'll get back to replying to messages/reviews starting with this chapter and getting more art up on my Deviantart now that I've got more time. So, now that we're a little caught up...
Enjoy!
"But Haruhi, you have to come!" The twins insisted.
Haruhi turned around to look at the three persistent boys. The twins were pouting while Tamaki was pleadingly gazing at her. The three of them had begun pestering her ever since she stepped foot inside the club room and, at this point, their desperate attempts were more annoying than persuasive. She could feel her patience running scarily thin.
"I don't want to." She blatantly told them.
"But it'll be fun!" Hikaru continued to prod.
"We never do things together." His brother huffed.
"Because you always pick dumb stuff like this." Haruhi muttered under her breath.
Tamaki took the movie case out of the twin's hands and held the front up in an effort to entice her. "But we researched all day to find the most popular movie among commoners right now!" He said, hoping she'd be impressed by their efforts.
The front cover was of a creepy and excessively bloody clown mask. Its eerie toothy smile was raised above its cheeks, reaching up towards its black soulless eyes. The illustration was all too realistic for Haruhi's taste.
"The Masked Man?" Haruhi read aloud, unimpressed. She'd heard about it before but found no interest in the genre.
"Yeah!" The twins nodded. "It's about a man who kidnaps a group of people and puts them through all of these trials so-"
"I know what it's about." Haruhi stopped them. "I just don't see the appeal behind horror movies."
"But it'll be fun with all of us together!" Tamaki said in a last ditch effort to convince her.
She rolled her eyes. "You say that but have you even checked with everyone else to see if they were interested in doing this?"
Hikaru smirked. "Oh, we already got that planned out."
"We asked Kyoya and he insisted we do it in the club room." Kaoru added.
Alarms immediately began ringing away in her subconscious. Kyoya was giving them permission to do this and insisted they do it here? It was worryingly out-of-character for him. No doubt he had something up his sleeve, only more of a reason to decline this "hang-out session."
"Right." She said, now uneasy. "And the others?"
The twins wickedly grinned and pointed off to the side. "We've taken care of that too."
She looked in their direction and immediately felt pity for the silent host that was sitting with two way more relentless people than the twins.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Kagome and Honey were both tightly clutched around Mori's torso. Kagome on his left and Honey on his right.
"Pleaseee~"
He closed his eyes in exhaustion. "...I don't think-"
"PLEASSEEEEE~" They begged again, cutting him off.
Mori had no idea what had come over the two but they'd suddenly attached themselves to him, refused to let go and kept ranting on about watching some movie with the other hosts. He had no idea idea how they had continued to argue for this long. Even he was getting tired just by listening to their unending advances.
Normally, he would have allowed them to drag him along on whatever venture that had interested them that day, but he really needed to catch up on his studies. Juggling two clubs at once wasn't as easy as he made it seem and it was important that he, especially as a third year, pass the last round of exams.
Looking back at them, he couldn't help but slightly shake his head at the thought of all this wasted energy to get him to agree to watch a movie with everyone.
"Does Takashi not like us anymore?" Honey sniffled, his small nose turning red.
Kagome paused, causing Mori's eyes to turn curious at her sudden docilness. She let go of his arm and dramatically turned away. With one hand, she dejectedly covered her mouth.
"I guess…Takashi doesn't care about us." She closed her eyes, doing her best to sound distraught. "He….hates us."
Honey climbed over Mori's lap and jumped into Kagome's arms. "No! It can't be!" He cried.
'...!' Mori silently sat in shock, looking at the two hosts who were attempting to guilt trip him. And damn, it was working.
He sighed in reluctance. "Fine."
Their attitudes immediately changed, smiles brightening up their faces. They both hugged him around his neck as they gave successful shouts.
"See? That wasn't so hard to do, right Takashi?" Kagome said.
Double-teaming him like that was cheating. And, by the swift glance that he caught the both of them exchange with each other, they fully understood the power they had over him. It became all too clear that he needed to harden the soft spot he had for the two or there'd be no telling what he'd agree to next.
"We love you!" The two of them happily said.
Mori grunted. '...Well, maybe giving in from time to time isn't that bad.'
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
"So~?" The three asked.
Haruhi sighed. "I'll watch the movie." She conceded.
She figured she might as well go with the flow for now. After all, it was only a short film, and Haruhi feared just what the twins were capable of if she refused them. They seemed more ambitious than usual today and she refused to be on the receiving end of whatever scheme they had cooked up.
"Yes!" They zestfully high-fived each other with glee.
'It's only a movie. Nothing to get so excited over.' She thought.
As Haruhi walked away, Tamaki cackled to himself and the twins gave a devilish grin.
"You've really outdone yourselves men. As soon as she watches this horror flick…" He began imagining the ridiculous scenario in his head.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Haruhi gasped, turning away from the screen and clung onto Tamaki's arm.
"Don't worry Haruhi." He lifted her chin up to face him, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip. "I would never let anything bad happen to you."
"Re-really?'" Haruhi stuttered, a glimmer of amazement in her eyes.
"Of course. I'll always be here to protect you." He cheesily said. "After all, you're my little princess."
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Tamaki clasped his hands together with a daydreamy expression. "Oh Tamaki~" He said in a very bad high pitched Haruhi impression.
'The boss really does get too absorbed in his fantasies.' The two brothers thought.
The Next Day, Lunch Time
At the sound of the bell, Kagome packed up her bag and headed outside the classroom door.
A small figure jumped from the side and pounced on her, wrapping her in a hug. "Kaggy!" Honey yelled.
She smiled, not even caught off guard by the sudden shift in motion. "Hey Honey." Kagome pat his head.
Her joy began to fade away as soon as she heard the excited gasps of the girls around them.
Lately, Honey and Mori would wait outside her classroom door for lunchtime. Their teacher would occasionally allow them to leave before the bell so they decided they'd wait by her class whenever they got the chance.
And because of this new pattern in their routine, the girls were ecstatic to see more interaction between the three of them. Their constant presence around her was beginning to annoy her. There was only so much gawking a person could take after all before they snapped.
"Let's go get lunch and meet by the tree!" Honey beamed.
"Sure." Kagome quickly said, wanting to get away from their onlookers as soon as possible.
"Not so fast."
Before Kagome could turn around to look at the people who had just rudely interjected, two familiar identical arms hooked around her neck.
"Kagome's coming with us." The Hitachiin twins proclaimed. There were gasps and whispers from their female audience.
"I am?"
"He is?" The crowd added.
"You are!" The twins confirmed.
"But…" Honey trailed off, a sad expression forming on his face.
Mori didn't say anything. Instead, he let his actions speak for themselves as he took Kagome by the arm and gently pulled her away from the twins' hold. He protectively put his arm around Kagome's waist and held him to her.
It took a second for Kagome to fully process the position she was in but it didn't take long for the embarrassment to pinken her cheeks. The firm grasp he had around her forced her body into his.
'And he says I'm the one who does embarrassing things?' Kagome thought to herself.
Although, she had to admit, she didn't hate it.
"Oh my gosh!"
"Mori-senpai is acting forward again."
"He's asserting his claim over Kagome!"
Immediately, Kagome felt the urge to glare at their watchers, causing the embarrassment she'd previously felt to completely vanish. She wasn't some toy for children to throw a tantrum over. And last she checked, no where on her body did she have the name 'Takashi' written on her.
Kagome could feel Mori's body grow hot as he quickly let go of her. When she looked up at him with a puzzled look, he coughed awkwardly in his hand and looked away.
"Oh come on~" Hikaru whined.
"We just wanna go to the store."
Kagome looked over at the two brothers. 'The store?' She thought, confused. "Why?"
Kaoru rolled his eyes. "To get the snacks for movie night. Duh."
"We were gonna get them yesterday but-"
They shrugged. "We forgot."
Kagome wasn't surprised at their reasoning. This wasn't anything new for them.
"And we need as many men as possible before we venture into the belly of the beast." Kaoru exclaimed.
'Belly of the beast…' She thought. 'What's that supposed to mean?'
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll go with you but ONLY if you promise you'll be as quick as possible." She told them.
"Deal!" The twins assured her.
"Then…" Honey's cheeks puffed out. "I wanna go too!"
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
They all looked down at the boy who'd suddenly spoken up.
Kagome slightly bent down to his level. "Going to the store will probably take longer than lunch break." She told him. "Most people do their shopping while school is in session so I wouldn't be surprised if it's packed."
"But I wanna go with you guys!" Honey insisted.
"But you might miss class." Kagome calmly tried to reason.
She made the mistake of looking into his big sad eyes that she always fell victim to and, by the look of it, Honey was determined to get his way and sighed. "I guess if we shop quickly enough then we'll only miss a few minutes of class…" She mumbled.
Honey's eyes sparkled. "So I can go?!"
The two looked at each other then simultaneously locked eyes with Mori.
"Takashi!" Honey hugged him. "Please let me go!"
As he opened his mouth to answer, Kagome could sense the hardy "No." he was about to say and immediately cut him off. "Aw. Come on." She said. "We'll only miss a little of class if we hurry. Nothing would go wrong."
They looked up at him with entreating eyes. "Please~"
Mori's eye twitched. "...Fine."
He regretted his answer as fast as he'd said it.
'...Did I just say it was fine?' He thought.
It was, in fact, not fine. Letting Honey skip class wasn't something he'd ever willingly let happen.
"Really!" Honey asked.
"Yes." He said. 'No. No, it's not okay!'
"Well, if you say so." Kagome shrugged smugly.
"Yay!" Honey happily shouted.
Mori stood there silently, not sure what had just happened. He fell for their begging. Again. And they'd barely tried convincing him this time!
He couldn't let this continue.
"So this is-" Hikaru started.
"A grocery store." His brother finished.
They introduced it as if they were unveiling a new discovery.
"Uh. Yeah. This is a store." Kagome weirdly looked at them. They were acting even stranger than usual.
"I've heard Haruhi talk about them before but...I've never seen a commoner store in person." Tamaki, who had also joined them on their snack quest, awed.
"We've been with Haruhi to this one to get instant coffee before but…" They took in a deep breath. "We don't have the help of a commoner to help guide us this time."
"Right…" Kagome shook her head at them. They were taking this way too seriously. For God's sake, it was just a grocery store!
"Ok men, here's the plan." Tamaki told them, huddling them up. "Before we go in there we need to make sure-" He saw a trail of black hair zoom past in his peripheral vision, causing him to look up.
Kagome calmly walked through the automatic doors. The doors made a soft chink sound as they closed.
His eyes grew in shock. "No! You'll get lost in the abyss without a plan Kagome!" Tamaki yelled, stretching his arm out towards the door from their huddle, as if it would help.
"Wow. Kaggy's so brave."
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
'I swear. They can be so ridiculous at times.' She scoffed. They couldn't go a minute without blowing something out of proportion.
She wondered whether if it hadn't been for the secret she had to keep if she'd have ever become friends with them in the first place.
Behind her, she could hear someone who was desperately out of breath approaching her.
"Huff Kagome huff."
She turned around to see the twins heavily breathing and bent over in exhaustion.
"We've been looking everywhere for you." Hikaru said.
She'd literally taken six steps away from the door. There was no plausible reason for them to be panting nor "searching" for her.
"Where are the others?" She asked, irritated. Something told her that this venture was going to be anything but fast and easy.
"We got split up at the entrance."
Kagome decided not to comment on the fact that she could still clearly see the doors in front of her. There was no way they could have gotten split up so quickly.
Suddenly, there was a scream from the aisle next to them.
"That sounded like…" Kagome said.
They rushed over and peeked around the corner to see a shopping cart rush by and Tamaki sitting shakily on the ground.
The twins ran over to him. "We forgot to tell you about the shopping carts."
"I...I can't go on soldiers." He told them. "Please. Leave me."
"No! We won't leave you here alone, sir!"
Kagome had no clue how to describe what she was watching. Somehow, this had turned into the lamest war story she'd ever had the displeasure of seeing.
She sharply groaned. On the ground beside her, there was a lone empty shopping basket. She picked it up and walked off, leaving the three hosts to their own devices.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Mori walked over to the open produce. He'd parted ways with Honey when he realized he wouldn't be leaving the bakery section anytime soon. He smiled, remembering Honey's face as it was pressed against the glass cover that shielded the cakes.
Suddenly, the sprinklers over the vegetables went off, causing him to step back.
"Hey, Takashi."
Kagome appeared by his side.
"Find something you want?" She asked.
He grunted in response.
"Aw, come on Takashi. You might as well find something you want to eat during the movie since we already came all the way here."
She turned around to the fruit displays.
"It doesn't have to be unhealthy if that's what you're worried about. You can pick something small from this section. Like a pear." Kagome suggested, picking up a shiny red apple. "Or an apple."
Mori gave an uncomfortable 'hm' and turned away. There was no way he could ever look at an apple again without thinking about their day out.
Kagome turned the fruit around in her hand and inspected it. "If you're not really hungry, we could just share something. Like-"
His brain focused in on the beginning of her proposition and failed to hear anything else.
"No!"
"-a bag of..." Kagome stopped and looked at him, surprised by his sudden shout.
He quickly looked back at her, shocked at himself as well. 'That...came out harsher than I meant.' Mori realized.
"...popcorn or something." Kagome finally finished.
"...uh…" He said, not knowing how to respond.
She tossed the apple over to him which he easily caught.
"Wait-" He tried to say but Kagome was already silently walking away.
He couldn't see the face Kagome was making, but he guessed there must have been a hint of outrage. After all, he'd just yelled at him for no reason.
He looked down at the apple that now seemed to be tauntingly shining at him.
"Damn it."
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
In the Host Club
Haruhi's eyes surveyed the unlively room. Other than her, the only person in the club room was Kyoya, silently sitting on his couch, writing down who knows what in his notebook. "Where is everyone?"
"Tamaki said they're getting snacks." Kyoya answered.
"Snacks...but I thought they left during lunch." She said aloud.
She'd noticed they hadn't returned to class after leaving but she assumed they'd have come back by now. 'What's taking them so long?'
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Mori pulled Honey from behind the pastry counter but the baker continued to yell at them.
"Mitsukuni, you can't jump over the counter and eat their merchandise."
Honey whined. "But I'm hungry~"
"Tamaki, get ahold of yourself!" Kagome yelled at him, holding the disoriented blonde up by his shoulders.
"So much...blood." He muttered out.
"If you can't handle the sight of blood you shouldn't have come over to the deli aisle! Of course there's some blood in the packaging!"
"Hey lady! You can't just hit my brother with your shopping cart and expect to get away with it." Hikaru shouted at the woman.
"Ow! Ah!" Kaoru cried out in pain as he sat on the floor cradling his injured foot.
"I already said I was sorry. Besides, you two were the ones who sprinted out of the aisle so recklessly!" The customer yelled.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
"They better not be causing trouble like usual." Haruhi mumbled.
Kyoya didn't even look up from his work. "I'm sure they'll be here soon."
She looked back at the calculating man. "Kyoya-senpai...can I ask you something?"
When he took the time to quietly look her in the eyes she took it as a signal and continued. "Why did you insist we watch the movie here? You even canceled club today."
He gave a fake smile. "Is it wrong for me to do that? I thought this might help us bond and become closer with one another. Aren't clubs supposed to be built around teamwork and companionship?"
She could feel the knot in her stomach grow at his obviously pre-written response. Now Haruhi definitely knew he had something planned.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
"You know Kagome-"
"You're really good at this whole shopping thing." The twins said.
Kagome tried not to sound sarcastic. "Thanks."
"And you even know what's in each aisle."
Kagome stopped walking and looked at them with confused eyes. She pointed up above their heads. "There are signs over each lane that say what they have."
"Woah~" They looked up at the signs with amazement.
Kagome slowly shook her head in disbelief. She never thought about it before but their reactions at the simplest things painfully showed the differences in their life styles.
At long last, they eventually made it back to the club room.
Kagome opened the door and the relief that came over her was indescribable. 'I will never. Go to the store with them. Ever. Again.'
"Oh, you're back." Haruhi walked up to her.
Kagome dropped the bags and immediately pulled the stunned brunette into a hug.
"Uh…" She awkwardly pat her back. "Kagome?"
"How?" Kagome asked. "How in the world were you able to put up with them when you got coffee?"
Haruhi immediately knew what she meant and had a good inkling of what Kagome must have been through. "It...was an experience. That's for sure."
Kagome let go, taking in a breath as she brushed back her bangs.
"Glad to see you survived the journey." Haruhi joked.
Kagome snorted. "Well, it had its ups and downs." She said admittedly.
Mori picked up the bags Kagome had dropped and began setting up with the others.
"You should have seen their faces when I explained microwavable popcorn." Kagome laughed. "What?! You mean that much popcorn comes out of such a small bag?" She mocked.
Tamaki blushed. "Hey! I've never seen it before so it was surprising, ok!?"
Kagome waved him off, still chuckling to herself. "A part of me wants to take you guys to 'commoner' stores more often. The products would blow your mind if you can't even grasp the concept of microwaveable popcorn." She snickered even louder.
"I can see them saying that." Haruhi agreed, to Tamaki's dismay.
"They picked the rest of the snacks." She told Haruhi. "Actually, I'm impressed. They bought pretty decent choices."
The twins smiled smugly to themselves.
Honey frowned. "Is it movie time yet?" He asked impatiently.
"Yeah, let's put this bad boy in!" Kaoru said.
Hikaru turned the lights off, signalling everyone to sit down.
The twins, Tamaki and Haruhi sat together on one of the front couches. Kyoya established his claim over the second couch beside them, taking it all for himself. The other three sat on the couch behind both of them.
"How come we got stuck with the farthest couch? We were the ones who moved them to face the tv. And carried the bags here." Kagome complained.
"Is no one going to ask where this big screen tv came from in the first place?" Haruhi brought up.
"Shhh." The twins shushed them. "We're about to start the movie!"
She tsked in annoyance and picked up the bag she'd placed in front of the couch. "Don't expect help the next time you walk into a store." Kagome grumbled quietly. Her hand reached down into the plastic bag and pulled out a burgundy blanket.
Mori looked over at her. "You bought that?"
She unfolded it and draped it around herself. "I don't know...I thought it looked cute." She mumbled.
He turned away and decided not to mention how child-like she'd sounded.
"AHHH!" Honey screamed as the rusted chainsaw cut the man's torso in half, his blood and guts spilling out onto the kitchen tile. He jumped into Kagome's arms and began sobbing into her chest. "Make it go away Kaggy!"
"But I thought you wanted to watch the movie." Kagome said, gently stroking the sobbing boy's head. She had thought it was weird Honey wanted to watch a horror movie, but she didn't want to assume anything. Maybe Honey was actually really into them, but according to her now tear-wettened shirt, she'd thought wrong.
"I thought we were watching a funny magical wizard movie!" He yelled.
Kagome's eyebrows furrowed. "Who in the world told you that?" She asked.
"Hika-chan and Kao-chan!" He yelled.
Kagome glared at the backs of their heads as she held Honey closer to her. She smirked when she saw the two devil twins nervously shift in their seats.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Mori watched as Kagome consoled the frightened boy.
"I promise that everything in this movie is fake. There isn't really a Masked Man." Kagome said.
Honey sniffled. "Re-really?"
She nodded.
"Hey Kaoru." Hikaru casually walked over to the two of them along with his brother. "Have you heard the legend behind this movie?" Hikaru asked.
"What legend?" His brother questioned.
"They say while this movie was being made a bunch of the staff members died on set from mysterious accidents. Apparently the producers and director were too cheap to make sure the set building was up to code."
"But they continued to do the movie?" Kaoru fake gasped as his fellow twin nodded.
They both crouched down to Honey's level.
"They say that their souls still live on in some copies of this movie." His brother continued.
"You don't think..." Kaoru directed to Hikaru.
He shrugged. "I don't know. But I heard if you hear the faint sounds of a chainsaw as you're watching the movie it's a sure sign that your copy is haunted."
"Enhh~" Honey whimpered, clinging to Kagome's shirt even more.
They moved over and whispered in his ear. "And their restless souls will climb out of the screen...AND KILL YOU!"
The violent mechanical sounds of a chainsaw being revved escaped from the tv speaker.
Honey gave an ear-splitting scream and buried his face into Kagome.
"You guys are assholes." Kagome frowned as the twins began laughing hysterically.
She looked down at the boy. After all the progress she'd made, the twins just had to come over and ruin it.
"Here." Kagome pulled the sides of the blanket so it encased him inside as well. "I would never let some dumb ghosts hurt you."
He looked up at her with wet eyes. "You wo-wouldn't?"
"Of course not." She assured him. "I won't let anyone hurt my Honey."
She wrapped her arms around him which seemed to calm the boy down to Kagome's delight.
Mori had to admit, Kagome was exceptionally good at calming Honey down. He was surprisingly nurturing, something he'd noticed in their first run-in. It was the primary reason he entrusted Honey with Kagome when he was busy. It was interesting to watch from the perspective of their customers.
"Hey! Stop hogging the popcorn!" Hikaru yelled at Tamaki.
Tamaki hugged the bowl towards him. "It's not my fault you ate your share already. The movie's only begun!"
"You're being selfish!" They told him.
"I am not!"
Mori grunted aggravatedly. After all the begging he'd failed to endure, they wouldn't even be able to watch it with their yelling. He waited for Kagome to say something to silence them like he usually does. Something like "Will you shut up already!?" promptly accompanied by a creative threat that would put everyone in a state of uneasiness.
But he didn't say anything. Such an out of character move for him...
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kagome protectively slide her legs under her body. Her face looked stressed as she pulled the sides of the blanket closer to her.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Kagome tried to shrink back into the soft cushion of the couch. Watching the pitch black spiders run across the terrified girl's face gave her goosebumps and she swore she felt the tingling sensation of little legs crawling on her own arms. 'Ugh. Why do they have to be real?' She winced.
Something hooked around her, slightly turning her to the side, and her surroundings went dark as her line of sight was covered.
"You don't have to watch."
She froze. 'Takashi?' She looked up at him.
She could see him glance down at her but promptly turned away. If Kagome didn't know any better, it seemed like he was trying not to look at her.
His arm shifted a number of times, refusing to settle down in one spot. She guessed he was debating which position was most comfortable for her. Kagome held in a laugh as he continued on in his moment of unsureness.
She took one of her hands out from the safety of the blanket that surrounded her and grasped onto his jittery hand. He looked down at her, surprised. Getting the embarrassed reaction she'd wanted out of him, she decided to take it a step further.
She placed his hand on top of her covered head and put her arms around his waist. "I like this position." Kagome told him, resting her forehead on the side of his chest.
She couldn't see his face, but by the raise in his body temperature, she guessed she'd sufficiently embarrassed the living daylights out of him. Kagome held in an amused laugh.
"Wow. That's definitely realistic, right Haruhi?" Tamaki said, gesturing to the silent horrors depicted on the screen.
She shrugged. "I guess you could say that."
"Maybe it's even a bit...scary?" The twins egged on.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say scary. But it does look realistic."
The three boys grumbled something under their breath and snuck away from the couch before Haruhi could notice.
"I thought you two said this would work!" Tamaki loudly whispered. "I should have known not to listen to the both of you. She wasn't scared of the things we did at the beach." He aggravatedly scratched his head. "I was foolish to think this would work."
Tamaki sulked, the image of a frightened Haruhi cutely clinging onto his arm was swiftly evaporating before his very eyes.
"Don't try to put all the blame on us!" They told him.
"We told you it might not work-"
"And we even brought up the beach situation too!"
"Not our fault you have selective hearing."
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
The spider scene had disappeared a while ago and yet Kagome found herself still under a certain someone's arm. While she was grateful for his efforts to comfort her, the position she'd forced upon the both of them was trapping in a lot of warmth. The sound of her breathing was deafening and the heat building up in the blanket was beginning to feel suffocating.
However, the arm hooked around her had found its way from her head to her shoulders and, by his tight grip, didn't seem like it was going to let up easily.
'Damn it.' Kagome slightly tugged at her shirt collar in an effort to let more air through. After loosening it a bit and unfastening the first few buttons on her shirt, she began to feel the prickling sensation on her skin begin to lessen. But, it was still extremely uncomfortable.
'Ugh. Screw it.' She thought and tugged at the back of Mori's blazer.
.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`.`
Mori wondered why the others had wanted to watch this movie so badly. They were half-way through and he was officially disinterested in the plot.
He felt a tug on his jacket. Knowing who it probably was, he looked over to Kagome but as soon as they locked eyes his body went still.
O~O
Kagome's face was flushed pink with pleading eyes.
'What's he...doing?' He thought to himself. The situation was unexpectedly overwhelming and he quickly figured out he had no idea how to react.
"Takashi…" Kagome's voice was shaky as she called his name.
He wanted to say something, anything, but be found himself tongue-tied and anxiously waited for her to continue. It was hard to ignore the tight feeling in his chest. Nothing about this should be stressful so- 'Why am I...panicking?'
"it's really...hot." She finished.
'Hot…'
It took a moment for his muddled mind to clear enough for him to realize his arm was still strongly draped around her. Immediately, he took his arm away, pulling back the top of the cover from her head.
He could see relief gradually come over her. Instinctively, he touched her face to gauge how warm she was. Her skin was definitely hot to the touch. Kagome should have just told him to let go sooner rather than trying to endure.
He began to move his hand away from her cheek until Kagome grasped onto his hand again and placed it back. She relaxed her head into his cold hand with a blissful look.
Mori swallowed hard at Kagome's recent gesture. Kagome had to be...doing these types of things on purpose. There's no way she could be so unaware. Correction, there was no way a person could be unconsciously adorable 24/7 like this.
'Or rather,' He looked away in the opposite direction, scratching the back of his head. 'I shouldn't find things like this cute…' He scolded himself.
Although, he couldn't argue that doing things like this for Kagome didn't feel nice. In fact, he almost laughed at the thought, 'It's almost as if I like Kag-'
A soft cough escaped between the two of them. They looked down and saw a squished and worn out Honey trapped between them.
"Honey?!" Kagome loudly whispered. She let the blanket completely drop off of her and brought Honey back to the surface. "I'm so sorry." She apologized. "I completely forgot you were in my lap."
No wonder it was so hot. The collective temperature of three people and a blanket probably wasn't a good idea to begin with.
Honey coughed into his hand again. "Sorry."
They both looked at him confused.
"Sorry for what?" Kagome asked.
He looked at the two of them, a smile appearing on his face. "Ah it's nothing. Nevermind."
A Few Days Later
The host's movie night was definitely an….experience for everyone. Not to mention, everyone learned something that night. Tamaki learned that fantasy doesn't always translate well to reality. Honey learned you should always look at the summary on the back cover of a movie before you watch it. Mori and Kagome realized that squishing a small boy to death between their bodies isn't okay. Haruhi no longer trusts everyone's movie tastes. And Kyoya learned that these "hang out sessions" are a great way for Amana to take exclusive pictures of the Host Club without them realizing she's there. But the most important lesson was what the twins learned.
"Hikaru and Kaoru really freaked out after watching that movie. They've been tense the last couple days." Haruhi told Kagome as they walked out of the school gates.
"Oh. I haven't noticed." Kagome said.
"Haven't noticed? How could you not? They jump at the slightest sounds now."
Kagome shrugged. "It's like I said Haruhi, they've seemed normal to me."
"Hm." Haruhi dropped the subject since she could tell it was going nowhere. "Hey, didn't you borrow my notes for class the day you were at the store?" She mentioned.
"Oh yeah." Kagome remembered. "I think I have them somewhere in here." She stopped walking and crouched down on the sidewalk, rummaging through her bag.
"Ah, here it is." As she pulled out a notebook, something that had been stuck to the bottom of it fell off. As it landed face up, its flat bottom vibrated on the ground before settling down.
"..."
They looked at each other.
"..."
"Kagome."
Kagome blinked at her. "Yes?"
"Why is there a clown mask in your bag?"
She looked down at the mask on the cement. "Oh wow! How'd that get in there…?" She trailed off.
Haruhi gave her a look that told her she wasn't buying it. "What. Did. You. Do." Haruhi asked, sterner this time.
Kagome silently picked the mask up off of the ground. The red substance she'd covered it in was still wet to the touch. She turned her head back to Haruhi, no sign of regret on her face. "I needed to teach the twins you don't mess with my Honey." She sinisterly said. "That's all."
Author's Notes: I'm thinking of doing mini chapters that are a few small stories put into one chapter/format. I'd do this from time to time so there won't be such a long wait for me to post. I've already planned out quite a few ideas but I haven't implemented them because they were too short. I might bring this up again or post a few mini chapters and see what the response will be from you guys. If you like it, I'll continue to do them but if it gets negative reviews I'll put that compromise to the side and think of something else.
I'm not sure which direction I'll be going with the next chapter so we'll just have to wait and find out!
See you next time.