CHAPTER SIX
The High School Hosts are the Exclusive Type!
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Despite the lack of clocks, Kaoru deduces that it is sometime past 8 but not yet past 9 in the morning when he first wakes up. This is because a glance around the beds reveals that the occupants are himself, Kyouya and Hikaru – since Mori traditionally wakes at 5:30 am, Tamaki at 6, Haruhi and Honey at 7-8, Hikaru and Kaoru at 9-10, it stands to reason that the time can be estimated fairly accurately from their habits.
Mori is also with them, albeit awake and leaning against the headboard, the fingers of his left hand tangled in a messy spill of red hair belonging to the head that is comfortably using his thigh as a pillow. Kaoru feels a grin deep within himself at his senior's consideration. It's obvious to him that Mori had decided to climb back in between Hikaru and Kyouya, as the consequences of hitting Kyouya in his sleep do not bear thinking about. He has a little booklight clipped onto his novel – Kaoru notes with awe that his senior is reading A Tale of Two Cities in the original English – and all in all he is as silent and unobtrusive as a statue save the occasional flipping of a page.
Kaoru closes his eyes, exhales, and opens them again.
He wriggles across the distance where Honey had lain and pauses several inches away from Kyouya, feeling utterly dismal about yesterday's events. He can understand if Kyouya is angry, and he accepts that it was his fault, it's just… he hopes that he hasn't alienated his senior, he doesn't know how to make things better and he's afraid to find out how long Kyouya can keep this up; his senior has an incredible stamina that outlasts most common mortals.
Tentatively, he reaches up to touch Kyouya's face. He looks incredibly defenceless when asleep, which amplifies the protective ache in Kaoru's heart.
Inquiringly, Mori turns to him and raises his eyebrows.
Kaoru smiles weakly in response and resolves to get up to start his day. No point lying down and brooding – with his overactive imagination, nothing good can come of it.
.
.
"Oh, Kao-chan," Honey lifts his head from his notes, "You're up early!"
"I couldn't sleep without you by my side, Honey-senpai," Kaoru replies cheekily, sitting down beside him. Switching on his laptop, he checks the club email before checking his own inbox. There's a message from Haruhi that he reads eagerly – she tells him how glad she is that they will be spending Christmas together and the guilt just about obliterates him. Since the rest do not yet know about it, he marks the email as unread and leaves it for the time being. He can always compose a suitable reply later.
Pushing it out of his mind, he pulls out a couple of the mock exam papers from Kiyomi and they refocus on their studying. The weekend so far has been gratifyingly domestic, and Kaoru almost cannot believe how much he's loved it. The idea of doing nothing together sounds terrific. He has no need to find activities to engage in or topics to talk about – it's just about being in each other's company, and in their company he is content to remain forever.
Hours later, Tamaki asks in confirmation, "We're going out for dinner tonight, right? When are we going to give Kyouya his presents? Before or after?"
A bit nervous, Kaoru frowns worriedly. "I dunno, Tono – I don't actually physically have Kyouya-senpai's presents with me yet."
Tamaki goggles at him. "Kaoru!"
"I know, I know!" Kaoru flails back at him. "It's under control, okay?!"
"Why aren't they here yet?! Are your tailors having trouble? Even Haruhi's gift has arrived!"
Distracted, Kaoru asks, "Oooh let me see!" Tamaki hands a wrapped package to him, and he checks it out like a child on Christmas Eve. "What's inside!"
"Haruhi didn't say," Mori answers as he comes through the door with Hikaru.
Astutely, Hikaru probes, "But do you actually know what's inside, Mori-senpai? You do, don't you?" He flops onto the sofa and gazes at Mori expectantly.
"Not fair!" Tamaki wails in distress.
"Ah," Mori says, waiting for rescue.
"Takashi guessed!" Honey beats Kaoru to it. "Takashi is a very good guesser, and that's why Chika-chan never likes to play against Takashi."
He nods, and hauls Hikaru up to tutor him. Hikaru sighs heavily for a reason known only to a few of them, and Kaoru adds with sympathetic amusement, "Poor Chika sounds like he's never won a game in his life."
"Honey-senpai," Tamaki, defender of the underdogs, predictably launches in, "Wouldn't it be okay for you to let Yasuchika win sometimes?!"
"Ehhh? But Chika-chan always knows it when we let him win, and he gets angry!"
"Isn't it so," Kaoru drawls. "You don't know Chika's personality at all, Tono." From the corner of his eye, he sees Hikaru and Mori conduct a mental conversation. Hikaru gives a small shrug in apology, and everything blows over in an instant.
Kaoru lets out a not-quite-stifled snort. This is crazy.
Then, an alert pings on his desktop and he fights the instinctive urge to jump up excitedly.
Calmly, he locks his laptop and excuses himself, goes down a flight of stairs and heads to the entrance to wait. The servants are surprised to see him there. Due to the precision of his information source, he is right on time – Hacker-san informs him that she had embedded another GPS device into the parcel now resting in the back of the delivery truck that is pulling into the massive driveway of the Hitachiin mansion. Accordingly, Kaoru personally signs for it, dispenses with the usual security checks and carries it into a room in order to examine it in private.
And he laughs in delight. Everything is perfect.
Ironically, the only glitch left in this situation is his newfound hesitance to give these presents to Kyouya. Nonetheless he takes out a gift box, ribbons and decorative tissue that he'd prepared beforehand and begins to finish the project at last, arranging them carefully for strategic purposes.
"… Hnn."
Kaoru whirls around in fright. "Mori-senpai!" he gasps, arm-deep in wrapping paper and entirely horrified to see his way-too-ninja senior standing behind him with one of the presents – a file – in his hands, reading through its contents. That pair of deep, dark eyes are widened with shocked understanding, and the last shadow of doubt falls away for Kaoru is able to perceive clearly that Mori has connected all the dots and he is indeed part of Q.E.D., validating every single one of Kaoru's guesses.
Mori's lips go thin with displeasure. He replaces the file on the table and stalks to the exit.
Oh god, he's seriously angry.
Panicked, Kaoru runs after him and barely manages to grasp his sleeve. I knew it, I knew I shouldn't have! "Mori-senpai!" he pleads, close to cracking. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have meddled, I'm sorry! I'll make amends for it!"
Mori looks at him with an expression that would have been wooden on anyone else but passes as confused astonishment for him. "You aren't the one who has to apologise."
"W-What?" Kaoru stutters, equally lost. "But, but you – !"
"Kyouya promised me he wouldn't involve you or Hikaru," Mori says shortly, still advancing towards the door. Kaoru's grip slackens and he lets him go… until he processes those words and realises the full implications – oh, no!
"Gah!" He throws himself after his senior. "No! Mori-senpai, Kyouya-senpai didn't say anything about this to me! I found out myself!" Mori is dragged to a halt. "Kyouya-senpai doesn't even know that I know – all of this, I did out of my own initiative. Kyouya-senpai is not to blame!"
Kaoru submits himself to be stared at for Mori to ascertain the truth. "I found out myself," he repeats. "And why… Mori-senpai, why shouldn't Hikaru or I be involved? Because of Dad, we're the best placed to buy shares in electronics companies; it doesn't make sense for senpais to discount the benefits of such a hugely convenient avenue? Aren't we friends? Why didn't you approach us for help? Why can't I help?"
A large hand lands on his head, at once silencing and comforting him. "We are not just your friends, Kaoru."
"Then, it was deliberate?" Kaoru questions, annoyed. "You, Honey-senpai and Kyouya-senpai deliberately left us out? Why?"
Mori simply studies him neutrally.
"… We wouldn't be a burden," Kaoru ventures falteringly.
Immediately, Mori gathers him close. "And that's why."
Caught off guard, Kaoru blinks rapidly and shifts a little in the embrace. "I don't need to be protected, Mori-senpai. I can hold my own, really. We could make really valuable contributions, and Mori-senpai wouldn't have to – "
"No."
"Senpai!" Kaoru protests. "I know you must be working yourself to death!"
"You have enough on your plate."
"But Kyouya-senpai's hands are tied, so Mori-senpai basically has to take over Eon Corporation yourself, don't you?"
"I'm fine with it."
"Of course you are, senpai, but I – "
"No."
"Wait, let me – "
"No."
"Why?!" Kaoru exclaims agitatedly. "Why?! I said, I don't need to be protected, senpai! Why won't you believe me?"
Mori makes this gruff noise and covers the top half of his face with his palm. He stays like that for one whole minute, and finally says, "Kaoru, you aren't stupid." Clasping Kaoru's shoulders firmly, he continues with utmost seriousness, "You must know what it means that Kyouya is targeting his mother's company. You must know what it may possibly lead to."
"Yeah, I know," Kaoru says quietly. "No matter what, Eon is half of Kyouya-senpai's heritage even if it is often overshadowed by the enormity of Ootori Group. However, in light of the Slez Syndrome Ootori Pharmaceuticals affair, and after the marriage announcements, don't they all lead to the same conclusion anyway? Whether or not we like it, it's game on."
"Exactly." Mori releases him. "It is not your game, and it is not Hikaru's."
"It wasn't Mori-senpai's or Honey-senpai's either, not until you chose to make it your business! Isn't it that Honey-senpai and Kyouya-senpai agreed to rebuild and probably co-own Eon? Am I right? Honey-senpai wants to manufacture games and toys, and with the resources and old prestige of Eon electronics, you would definitely be able to create something great together?"
"We are Kyouya's senpais," Mori says in a tone that suffers no opposition.
"Being a kouhai doesn't make me useless!" Kaoru retorts heatedly.
"It doesn't." Mori nods. "It only means we want to protect you. Shouldn't Mitsukuni already have taught you that we do it because we love you? It is not a bad thing, Kaoru."
Temporarily stunned at that amazing directness, Kaoru's unexpected temper abates. Why had it flared so suddenly, with such vehemence? Was this how Hikaru had been conquered? Feeling every inch the junior that he is, Kaoru lowers his eyes to the floor sadly. "Then… should I still give these presents to Kyouya-senpai? Or does Mori-senpai want to take them now and deal with them without my interference?"
Mori ponders over it. He goes to crouch over the items and sifts through them, and actually smiles a bit. "It's your effort, your choice."
"Um, well," Kaoru mumbles, "I think Kyouya-senpai won't want to receive them from me, since, you know. And, uh," – he's unhappy with me at the moment – "maybe it's not such a good idea after all."
"Aaa," Mori remarks.
Alerted by the tone, Kaoru asks, "… What, senpai?"
"Don't you know why Kyouya has been trying to distance himself from you since he discovered yesterday that you aren't going to America?"
Gaping and spluttering are the sole options available to him, damn it. He had not known that Mori already knew about New Year's.
"You," he attempts, and it comes out as a squeak instead. Abandoning his faculties of speech, he shakes his head.
Mori nods again, decisively. "Give them to him. He may tell you the reason why."
"O-Okay."
Kaoru rushes to fix them up, and Mori kindly lends his assistance for the rest of the way – even though Kaoru vigorously projects at him: how did you find out, and are you angry, Mori only supplies an answer when they are done and about to depart. "Bath."
Oh, he thinks weakly, Mori-senpai interrogated Kyouya-senpai when they were bathing last night? Unbelievable.
"Come along, Kaoru."
.
.
After, Mori appears to have hit his quota for the day, which leaves Kaoru to formulate excuses about their disappearance.
The Shadow King is resurrected at two in the afternoon, and his team arrives at three thirty.
When the servants surreptitiously summon Kaoru to the waiting room, Kaoru dances in with his digital camera dangling from a strap around his wrist, making some not wholly voluntary "kya, kyaa" noises before he asks, "Where's it where's it where's it!"
"Kaoru-sama!" Hotta greets him enthusiastically, cradling a tiny cloth bundle to himself. At his side, there is a bag of kitten care necessities. Tachibana and Aijima bow politely.
Kaoru gasps anxiously – the cloth bundle and therefore the kitten is way smaller than he'd imagined, and he says it out loud. "Is it the runt of the pack or something?"
"It is an infant, Kaoru-sama," Tachibana explains, "although we cannot exclude that possibility too."
An infant?! "Oh," he breathes in wonder. Whipping himself into a frenzy, he sprints off. "I'll fetch Kyouya-senpai rightaway!"
Returning to the lounge room, he tells Kyouya that his team is here. Mildly bewildered, Kyouya rises to his feet compliantly – Mori also gets up, seemingly determined to monitor Kaoru and/or Kyouya. Given that Mori is the undisputed master at all things pets and animals, Kaoru does not object.
On their journey downstairs, Kyouya eyes his camera suspiciously.
The whole time since waking up, Kyouya has practically been ignoring Kaoru and treating him coldly, except – he isn't. That is, Kaoru knows for sure that Kyouya is shutting him out, although Kyouya is so masterful as to appear as though he is treating Kaoru no differently than before.
There is no warmth from him whatsoever, and Kaoru can only sense its absence because he has become accustomed to it. It's agonising.
"What's the matter?" he demands of Tachibana as soon as they enter.
"Happy birthday, Kyouya-sama," the three men say in unison as Kaoru shivers with anticipation on the sidelines, camera at the ready.
Kyouya frowns at him briefly, and returns his attention to his team. He clears his throat. "Thank you. Would it not have been better to leave this to Monday for you to enjoy your days off?"
"Hotta was too excited," Tachibana and Aijima say flatly, and Kaoru stifles his laughter while Hotta reacts with an odd strangled burp.
"I should have known," Kyouya says in the flattest voice of all.
"K-Kyouya-sama!" Poor bullied Hotta presents the bundle, lifting away the cloth. There, curled within the size of only one of Hotta's hands, lies a ball of grey fur.
Everyone stares at it, unmoving.
It wakes up from the jostling, barely able to raise its head before flopping back down helplessly. Its eyes are still shut and its ears are two somewhat-flattened miniature triangles, and Kaoru is speechless from an overload of cuteness.
The two seniors are rooted to the spot – Kyouya is quite unreadable, and Mori is melting.
Cautiously, Kaoru ventures closer for a better view. That's when the kitten's frail body trembles and it emits a sound – a soft squealing squeak that slams directly through the walls of Kaoru's heart, utterly demolishing him and apparently the rest of his fellow human beings. They stood no chance.
Yet another plaintive squeak, and Kyouya tilts his head slightly to the right.
Thus was the battle won.
Never, ever, ever again will Kaoru experience the immense privilege of seeing both Kyouya and Mori simultaneously succumb to any one thing with such dizzying rapidity.
Curious and gentle, Kyouya accepts the bundle from Hotta and spreads out the cloth on the nearby coffee table. The creature is unbearably fragile – its paws are only a fraction bigger than the fingernail of Kyouya's thumb, and there is next to no strength in its limbs at all. When Kyouya strokes its back, it responds and becomes more active, tumbling around within the dimensions of the cloth clumsily and making more and more squeaky squealing noises.
A smile is lurking around Kyouya's lips without his permission… he slides the padded portion of three fingers beneath the kitten's face and props it up, and like a miracle or perhaps it's just destiny, the kitten cracks open one of its eyes for the first time in its young life.
Kaoru senses that: a) this kitten will completely ruin Kyouya's image, and b) Kyouya is dying inside. Of course he would be a cat person. His whole personality points to it, he could never have been a dog person like Tamaki and other pets aren't fitting either.
"8-10 days?" Mori asks the age of the kitten, soothing it with a warm hand.
"Yes, Takashi-sama," Hotta says with an undertone of admiration.
"It's a boy," Mori notes, conducting an inspection. "It's skinny. Food, warmth, waste, vet?"
Hotta snaps to attention, dutifully reporting that, "I found it in a box near a garbage bin, there was no sign of any of its relatives. It was almost dead and I rushed it to the vet; it almost didn't survive but the vet managed to stabilise it and it still needs intensive care. I have been feeding it regularly with cat formula," – he indicates the other presents – "and there is also an electric blanket that we've been using to keep it warm although we used a hot water bottle during the ride here. I've been using a damp towel to help it to relieve its waste so there are no problems with toxicity."
Mori's approval is evident in his body language. "We can handle it from here."
"Waaa, Hotta! You must have been an awesome nurse!" Kaoru cheers, and misses the fleeting shock from Kyouya. At the compliment, Hotta does that embarrassed gesture of rubbing his bald head. "And Mori-senpai, you're a genius! How many species of animals do you know how to care for, senpai? Will you be teaching Kyouya-senpai how to care for the kitten? Can I learn too?"
Tucking the baby kitten back into the cloth snugly, Kyouya stands. "I am aware of how to care for a kitten. Presumably you brought all the supplies I will need?"
"Yes, Kyouya-sama," they chorus.
"Well done," Kyouya says. "However, I'm afraid that you are not yet free from your responsibilities as we will be heading out for dinner tonight."
"Kaoru-sama has arranged for me to remain until you return, Kyouya-sama," Hotta says, "and tomorrow morning we will be here to remove the kitten safely to your home."
Kyouya nods, satisfied. "Tachibana, Aijima, you're dismissed." Hugging the bundle, he turns and walks off. "Hotta, prepare the formula and bring it up along with your records of his feeding journal."
.
.
As the rest crowd over the tiny new addition to their host club family, Kaoru sits himself down in a nice corner to flick through the photos that he'd managed to capture, feeling mightily proud of himself. If he was Kyouya, an announcement for an upcoming auction would already have gone out on the club website.
But, Kaoru thinks he wants to hoard these pictures for himself, especially when Kyouya is showing some adorable signs of overprotectiveness by refusing to let anybody else handle the little cloth bundle. The Hitachiin twins have never been good at sharing, anyway.
Hotta brings the bottle of lukewarm milk, and without needing to be instructed, Kyouya is able to feed the kitten in the correct position, which is to have it resting on its stomach. Tamaki and Hikaru had thought that the kitten should be lying down on its back, and Mori had explained that it's dangerous because the kitten might inhale rather than swallow the formula that way.
"Okaaay," Hikaru says slowly with a cocked eyebrow, "it makes sense that Mori-senpai will know lots of stuff about animal care, but why does Kyouya-senpai know so much?"
"Kyouya knows everything," Tamaki provides the easy answer, burbling and aww-ing at the kitten together with Honey. Mori is off installing the heated pad and setting up a suitable nesting box.
A vaguely evil grin spreads across Hikaru's face at the sight of Kyouya holding the kitten upright with its tummy against his shoulder to pat it gently until it burps. "Looks more like Renge was right about senpai."
Too conspicuously, everyone sucks in a breath and holds it, and Kyouya automatically glares at them. "It is only appropriate that I properly care for gifts that have been given to me as a consequence of affection and concern from other people. Or would you like me to tell my servants that it is all right to have your previous presents thrown in the washing machine for tumble drying?"
Hikaru whimpers in horror and excuses himself to where Mori is.
"Kyouya," Tamaki says with disapproving amusement and trails after Hikaru, evidently of the opinion that his presence will help to improve Hikaru's mood.
"Is Kyou-chan really going to adopt this kitten?" Honey chirps, retrieving a stuffed toy from the bag and waggling it in front of the still-blind creature. It seems that there is a bell embedded inside the toy, as a soft clinking ring is heard. "Maybe Kyou-chan should think about getting another kitten to keep this one company? Takashi told me that some animals, like kittens and puppies, have so much energy that it is difficult for us humans to keep up with them sometimes, and Kyou-chan is so busy."
Kyouya ponders over it for a while. "That will double the work, though."
I'll help, Kaoru thinks immediately, but before he can volunteer, Kyouya makes up his mind. "No, I will make time for it. Besides, I have experience caring for hyperactive inquisitive creatures who require plenty of attention, constantly poke around my things and play too much until they collapse onto my bed in exhaustion."
Really? Since when? Kaoru wants to ask, but Honey smiles knowingly and Kyouya nods matter-of-factly and it appears that this is yet another situation where he is left out of the loop. Determined not to cause a fuss, he obediently rises to his feet to fetch a supply of cotton balls and napkins for his senior when asked.
Then, he watches as Kyouya helps the kitten to eliminate, and finally he has to comment, "Hikaru's right – this level of knowledge isn't exactly common or incidental, Kyouya-senpai."
Kyouya stills his hands for a few seconds. "I read a wide variety of books."
You wanted one as a child, didn't you? What happened to your toy? Kaoru almost asks, and thankfully does not. Instead he says, "I've always wanted one as a kid." When the seniors look at him, he shrugs. "Our aunt thought that Hikaru and I shouldn't be trusted with pets."
Without pausing in his task, Kyouya hums in agreement.
They descend into awkward silence again, and now it's frankly obvious that something went wrong between the two of them. Honey gets this sharp, unhappy glint in his caramel eyes, and Kaoru quickly says, "Honey-senpai, just because Kyouya-senpai has decided to follow Renge's description doesn't mean you have to as well."
Naturally, Honey takes on a 'Nothing's funny about this, Kao-chan' aura, and Kaoru scrambles up to make his escape. He feels like he has done nothing but apologise for the weekend thus far, and he has no idea what he's doing that's pissing them off to such an extent. Sacrifices have to be made – it's not like they don't know this – so why is it only ever a problem when the sacrifice comes from him? He won't demand some form of repayment from them years down the track, and this isn't some favour that is meant to put them in his debt or whatever. He will never hold it against them!
"Stay where you are, Kao-chan."
He winces, and rubs a hand over his eyes. Then he turns around and says conversationally, "Actually, I guess Renge's characterisations aren't correct after all, you know. I mean," – he scoffs – "she portrayed me as the seme! Oh, and Haruhi was a poor bullied honours student, but we all know that Haruhi doesn't put up with shit from anyone, right? Remember how she – "
"Kao-chan – "
" – pinched Tono's cheeks when Tono was trying to – "
"I said, Kao-chan – "
" – be a heroic fool instead of going to see Anne-Sophie-sama? And anyone who can treat a Suou like that must be a force to be reckoned with – "
"Kao – "
"Anyway Hikaru's calling me probably cos Tono's being a pain again, so I'll go and help him 'kay senpai?"
He makes it out with a speed that he had not known himself capable of, and closes the door on them before running away to a place where he can hopefully escape that trapped, claustrophobic feeling in his chest.
.
.
Kaoru knows where and how to hide so that even Hikaru will not be able to find him, but…
Now what?
His worst nightmare is to have the five of them gather in one room and discuss him and the wrong things he's done. As such, he really wants to go back, if only to plant himself in the middle as a deterrent. At the same time he's terrified about returning, and his anxiety is snowballing into something huge and unmanageable.
He crumples to the floor and hugs his knees.
It could have been so simple. It should have been that uncomplicated. They were never meant to know about it until the day that they were to leave for America. He should have been more careful with his words. He should have been better at showing them that everything was fine and is fine and will remain just fine.
"Now what." Kaoru mutters to himself miserably. Honey won't have spared Kyouya the questioning, which means that everybody except Tamaki now knows about it. If the other four then decide to tell him, everything will have been for nothing.
Ugh, he reaches out a hand and strokes the sheer fabric of the ribbon atop the giftbox, if only Mori-senpai had not discovered the gifts, then I could have chosen not to give them and continue working on them in secret instead.
Kaoru needs to learn how to be subtler. In the future, he promises himself, he will fully consider the consequences before taking action. He will say nothing at all, and he will endeavour to always be perfectly fine. No more will he increase their worries.
With his newfound resolve, he decides to go back to stop them from telling the last person who is still unaware.
.
.
And he makes it just in time.
Kaoru squeezes himself in between Tamaki, Hikaru and Mori, who have taken all of one step into their designated study room. Instantly he senses that Honey is extremely upset, which is why he had brought along a handful of servants with him, including Hotta, ostensibly for the purpose of cleaning up the room and bringing in afternoon tea but whose real purpose is to act as Kaoru's shield.
It doesn't take long for Honey and Kyouya to figure out that he is trying to stop them from telling Tamaki, and Mori predictably observes everything, and Hikaru eventually picks up on it.
Of course Kaoru had known that he's running the risk of making everything worse. He's not trying to be difficult at all; he only intends to prevent their informing Tamaki. It had been important to him that they not know, and so long as there is at least one person who still doesn't know, Kaoru will cling to it till the end.
"All of you can go," Hikaru dismisses the servants, overriding Kaoru's orders.
"Wait," he contradicts his twin. "The tea is too bland; redo it."
Hikaru stares at him, and suffers the servant to do as Kaoru had commanded. Again he tries to send them away, and again Kaoru calls them back. "It's too rich now; brew it again."
Are you mad? Hikaru yells at him mentally.
I just don't like the tea, Kaoru tells him, keeping his gaze down.
Sufficiently weirded out, Tamaki asks, "Wh-What's going on?"
Frustrated, Hikaru exhales violently. "Kaoru is – "
"Hotta, make tea for me."
Hikaru laughs and apparently chooses to withdraw, shaking his head as he throws himself onto the sofa. He is clearly waiting for one of the seniors to engage Kaoru.
Slightly nervously, Hotta does as requested, and Kaoru makes him rearrange the sweets as well.
"Kaoru!" Tamaki scolds. "Stop bullying the servants!"
Nobody else intervenes, and Kaoru continues to get his way. He'd known, from what Mori had said earlier, that Kyouya is attempting to distance himself – as usual, Mori's information proves to be accurate, and if Tamaki had been hoping for Kyouya to stop Kaoru from ordering Hotta around, he is sorely mistaken. The people who are most likely to end this farce are the two oldest seniors, and it will take them a while to get around to it because they will want Kyouya to do it first.
Kyouya is tending to his baby pet, Kaoru is tending to his tea, and neither of them is acknowledging the other.
Tamaki is absolutely apoplectic. "What's going on?! Explain yourself, Kaoru!"
"Sit down and have some food, Tono." He pats the ground beside him.
"Enough," Mori and Honey say simultaneously. Aha, Kaoru thinks ruefully. "Thank you, you may go now," Mori tells the servants, who look incredibly relieved to be able to leave. Hotta turns around one last time at the door, casting a worried glance Kaoru's way.
"Finally," Hikaru grumbles, straightening up. "For fuck's sake, Kaoru, you – "
"So," Kaoru interrupts brightly, "I think we should present our gifts now! This will ensure that we've got time to dress up before dinner, and we all know how long Hikaru and I typically take."
At this, Kyouya flicks his gaze to him dispassionately. "Fine by me."
… It hurt.
It really hurt.
Abruptly, Kaoru realises that somewhere along the way he'd become furious himself despite his best intentions, and he doesn't know why. He's not sure he has the right to. Maybe it's because no matter what, he would prefer to have Kyouya feel something towards him than to feel nothing at all, and if he was to be honest with himself, he too was hoping that Kyouya would get fed up and rebuke him for trying to use such a tactic against them, or to at least react in some way, and –
Kaoru is scared.
Oh, oh no, he reels in sudden awareness, appalled at himself. He totally acted out just now even though it is somebody else's special day, even though that somebody is the person that he had most wanted to protect and to make happy.
Tamaki and Hikaru are in the process of voicing their protests loudly, both of them insisting that everybody needs to stop being stupid and be friends once more.
"N-No," Kaoru stammers blankly, causing them to go quiet. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. Honey-senpai, I'm sorry I walked out on you just now. You – you can tell him if you want. All of you can get angry if you want. I won't – I won't anymore." He gasps painfully, shocked at his irrationality in trying to provoke Kyouya. Why did he behave that way? Why had he so needed a response? "Please forgive me; I shouldn't have."
Just what had he wanted from Kyouya?
They blink at him.
"Thank god," Hikaru wails with great relief. "I thought you'd lost your mind!"
I – I did, Kaoru admits to himself. "I'm sorry."
Honey sighs, and brushes Kaoru's cheek. "Kao-chan, you've been so silly."
"Somebody tell me what's going on!" Tamaki clamours. "Why is everyone being so secretive?! Hikaru, you never tell me things!"
"I was waiting for Kyouya-senpai to tell you!" Hikaru rails back.
"Actually," Mori interjects gravely, causing everyone to focus on him, "I agree that we should present our gifts now."
"Eh?"
He directs a thoughtful look at Kyouya. "Yes, we should."
Uncomfortably put on guard, Kyouya scrutinises the taciturn senior for additional hints.
Faithfully trusting Mori's judgement, Honey and Hikaru second the motion without delay. "Yay! Presents, presents!"
"Hey, wait!" Tamaki rushes out after them, engulfed in more confusion than ever before.
Mori tucks an arm around Kaoru to guide him out. "Let's go and fetch yours, Kaoru."
.
.
Halfway, Kaoru swivels around uneasily. "Mori-senpai, I really think I shouldn't – "
"You should." Mori is giving off the impression that he will watch Kaoru like a hawk to ensure that Kaoru does not swap the contents of the gift.
"Mori-senpai!" Kaoru objects desperately. "Why? Wouldn't it be the same if you take it and use it for that business? You saw him just now, he hates me – he's going to kill me if he knows what I've done."
"He does not hate you; you hurt him," Mori explains patiently, steering Kaoru firmly. "Like he hurt you."
"H-Huh?" Kaoru resists his senior, fingers clasping his muscular arms.
"It was his intention to distance himself from you, although he was so angry at what you did that I suspect a part of him ended up trying to punish you for it – the same way it was your intention to stop us from telling Tamaki, but a part of you was so hurt by Kyouya that you ended up lashing out at him."
"Are you omniscient?!" Kaoru cries, letting Mori march him forward. His senior is emitting some hn-hn-hn sounds of amusement.
When they arrive at the room containing the present, Mori sets him down gently. Kaoru picks up the box, gazing at it sadly.
"Listen, Kaoru," Mori advises, placing his hands on Kaoru's shoulders, "It will be all right to give it to Kyouya. Your gift will show him that it is impossible for him to distance himself from you, and once he understands this, he will also know what is the right thing to do."
"… The right thing?"
"Yes."
"What if he – "
"Kyouya is very smart," Mori asserts with a shadow of a smile. "He will understand."
Reluctantly, Kaoru says, "He didn't understand before."
"He understood," Mori replies confidently. "He was simply afraid of what it would mean for him, and so he tried to undo it."
Kaoru shakes his head. "I don't want to. Please just take it, Mori-senpai."
Benignly, Mori ignores him.
.
.
Notes
(a) Baby kittens are extremely fragile. Orphaned kittens may not survive even when given the best care possible. There are many things contributing to this: infant kittens cannot produce/regulate their own heat, so they require an external heat source to keep them warm. This is usually the mother cat, although humans generally keep the kittens warm using electric blankets and hot water bottles. Therefore, when rescuing abandoned or orphaned newborn kittens, they must not be fed until their body temperature has been brought up to a suitable degree (often the abandoned/orphaned kittens will already be in the process of freezing to death).
Baby kittens are also born blind and deaf. Their eyes are jammed shut, and their little ears are folded down. They truly are incredibly helpless. Their umbilical cords also should not be messed with – these will fall off on their own after a couple of days. They all have blue eyes as kittens, and the colour of the eyes will change to their adult colour as they grow. Because of these many indicators, it is possible to determine the age of an abandoned or orphaned kitten with fairly close precision.
If you want to get a proper idea of how Kyouya's kitten is like, you may view some YouTube videos. Be warned, however, that the kitten videos section of YouTube is like a merciless black hole that will suck you in and destroy your soul.
Here are my personal favourites, made better by the fact that the kitten in question is grey like Kyouya's Noel (the title between the inverted commas is the title of the actual youtube video, so you can search if the links provided are less than ideal) :
1. A two day old tabby kitten: "Tabby Kitten 2 Days old" watch?v=Snk6oGAfcp8
2. Same tabby kitten, 1 week old: "Tabby Kitten 1 Week Old" watch?v=0RIJ49lbd4I
3. Given that Kyouya's Noel is around 9 days old now, this video shows you the size/mobility/state of 9-day-old kittens: "9-day-old kittens" watch?v=UslE99fhZ1E
4. Have a glimpse into Noel's future; at 4 weeks, it will be as irresistibly cute as this: "4 week old kitten learns how to walk!" watch?v=P1UTWgRFfxg
5. Watch the entire playlist from kootra, who documented the growth of his cats' 2 newborn kittens until the kittens head off to a new home. DEVASTATINGLY CUTE. A good place to start watching is from the video titled "Newborn Kittehs! :)" playlist?list=PL766A145C810D8619&feature=view_all
(b) Honey is correct when he said that it is better for kittens to have a sibling/friend. However the special chapter shows that Kyouya only has one, so.