~Chapter Twenty-Nine~
Past, Present, and Future – Part V
You're Only Broken On The Outside.
You're Shivering, But The Warmth Will Come Back.
It's Hard To See Beyond Hindsight,
When All Regrets Fade In From Black.
If The Years Blow Away
To Just Sand And Rain,
We Will Still Find A Place
'Cause Love Breaks Through.
I Believe In You.
~I Believe In You, by Vertical Horizon
Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.
I sighed in resignation and rubbed two fingers against the bridge of my nose. Two very rich and high maintenance girls were lost in a (manmade, but incredibly realistic) tropical forest. Sammy and Kotoko were surrounded by danger, possibly wounded, and with my manipulative cousin as their sole source of protection. Mitsukuni would be more inclined to search for the nearest snack bar, rather than chasing after either of the pampered girls, even if one of them was the apple of his eye.
Could this situation get any worse?
Takashi's P.O.V.
Finally, I was the trail of my cousin, my girlfriend, and our classmate. The Host Club – the few remaining members of our group, anyway – was now heading towards the southern division of the wading pool. Apparently, Mitsukuni and the girls would have traveled with that huge wave along the entire length of the wading pool before reaching the designated goal point, which was depicted clearly on the map as another pool near the entrance to the tropical retreat.
After seeing that map, though, it had come to my attention that the term 'wading pool' was a very loose term, and a rather misleading one, too. This pool in particular looked like a very long snake, thin and almost rectangular in shape. I'd swear on my honor that it was more similar to a river than anything else, too, since this one pool had to be about eight thousand meters in length, and not a measly eight hundred! In fact, I was beginning to think that it was actually several hundred miles longer than the Nile River.
Exaggerations were not exactly my forte; however, it really did seem as though this river – er, this pool – was never going to end. I rolled a pair of gray eyes heavenwards, exasperated with myself at this point. After all, I was a warrior trained in several forms of martial arts, and this little bit of walking should be next to nothing to me. The truth of the matter was that it would have been much easier for me to travel with the hindrances that call themselves the Host Club.
I loved my friends, but sometimes…
Sometimes, I wish that those idiots would shut up! My left eye twitched spastically for a quick moment. I rubbed a warm hand over the twitching side of my face, telling myself over and over again, "We will find them, we will find them, we will find them…"
We would find them, because there was no other option for us. No one within our club had a very easy time making friends, in spite of the very social nature of the Host Club. Yes, Tamaki, Kyoya, and the rest of us were capable of speaking to our peers, but none of them had ever taken the time to really get to know us. Those students, both male and female, never once glanced behind the exterior and into the secrets that we were all so intent upon hiding.
Tamaki and Kyoya had issues within their families, but neither one of them ever brought it up unless asked directly for that bit of information. The Hitachiin Twins had hidden their adopted older sister and the truth about her past for over eight years, choosing instead to guard that secret with numerous jokes and threats. Haruhi had lost her mother at a very young age, and she still missed her terribly; however, the short brunette continued on with her life to the best of her ability – smiling, crying, and laughing with the rest of us.
Mitsukuni had not been able to receive the respect that he deserved from his family, due to his rather short stature. Not a single one of them had thought to look past the cute exterior, through those bright brown eyes, and into the cunning mind of the extremely powerful ninja within. Big things really did come in small packages, it seemed. My cousin merely made a point of keeping that package tightly shut against their scrutiny. Sneaky bastard.
And I had yet to overcome the need to stand in the shadow of those that were more accustomed to standing in the spotlight. Mitsukuni, Yasuchika, and Satoshi were all boisterous individuals, and the three of them were very good at taking the lead. I had let them get away with it up until this point, too, simply because there hadn't been any need for me to talk over them. My life had always been relatively quiet, simple, and peaceful – nothing for me to complain about. Frankly, I didn't really have anything worth talking about.
Well, I didn't have anything worth talking about until that crazy blonde girl stumbled into my life, anyway. I could not seem to shut up around her, as my cousin had been kind enough to mention – almost daily, in fact. I'd lost count a while back.
My point, however, was this – each and every single one of us was changing, though those new changes were seemingly for the better.
For example, I was talking more often and had less trouble speaking up about my concerns or opinions. Cute Mitsukuni had finally begun displaying the darker side of his personality, even to our friends in the Host Club. Hikaru and Kaoru had decided to start speaking separately, though neither one of them was willing to be separated from the other yet. Even Kyoya appeared to be enjoying himself lately. Then again, it was often rather difficult for me to discern his true emotions behind the polite mask, so that last bit might be wishful thinking on my part.
And Tamaki was changing, too. He was able to shift into a more serious tone of voice and demeanor during the appropriate times, which was a vast improvement over his normally loud and obnoxious self. It made dealing with strenuous situations a little easier. Take this little trip into the jungle, for instance…
"This is a very realistic jungle, you know?" Tamaki suddenly declared, leading us through the trees and bushes, all the while strutting across the forest floor like a proud peacock.
Yeah. The King was clearly on a mission, and he was not going to quit walking through this damn jungle until our missing friends had been found.
But, I had to agree with him here. This vast jungle was incredibly realistic, even more so than it had first appeared at our initial arrival at the Tropical Aqua Garden. I had thought that this place merely contained a couple of pools, a set of changing rooms, and a small jungle. That was over three hours ago, though, and we had now traveled through the largest part of the tropical retreat. The Host Club had seen over five saunas, three pairs of changing rooms, two water parks, and ten more pools. Some of those pools had been claimed by the mating crocodiles as their breeding grounds.
"'Realistic' is an understatement, senpai," Haruhi snorted quietly. She stared straight ahead with narrowed brown eyes, both of which were glowing in irritation. "I can hear tons of animal calls, and most of them sound really weird, too."
Hikaru nervously swallowed the lump in his throat, glancing off to the right at the sound of a shrill bird call. He grimaced, then, and gruffly muttered, "Those animal calls…"
"…better not be real, eh?" Kaoru chimed in, before reassuringly linking his fingers with those of his older twin brother. He squeezed the hand belong to the other redhead, and Hikaru smiled down at him, appeased for the moment.
Smirking, I forced myself back to the situation at hand and turned around, towards to the front of the group. Neither one of the redheaded devil boys found the culprit of the loud shriek, an exotic bird that was sitting in the tree branches above us. It would have been rather funny to see their expressions had either of them noticed him, though…
Yes, I just said him. He was a very pretty bird, after all, with black feathers, yellow eyes, and blue plumage. Reminded me of that crazy pervert, Nekozawa.
Kyoya lazily drawled, "I've no idea about that, to be honest with you." His silver glasses glinted eerily, even though the amount of sunlight present on the forest floor was rather small. "But I do know that we pride ourselves in making our resorts as realistic as possible."
I could feel the smirk on my thin lips (both of which were chapped, thanks to my habit of biting them during stressful situations) slowly melting into a small, sour frown. Honestly, I should've known that this facility had been built from the model of a real tropical jungle. Ootori Kyoya and his family were renowned for their dedication, power, and particularity – as well as their extravagance. No expense was ever spared for any of their endeavors.
"Oh, I see…" Haruhi murmured quietly in contemplation, before lifting one of her legs higher in the air than the other. "That was close!"
Had I given it much thought, it would have occurred to me that the younger girl had jumped over a stray banana peel. My attention was obviously elsewhere at that moment, though, so that little detail slipped – no pun intended – through all of my defenses. Hence, I promptly stepped on the evil fruit, lost the center of my balance, and went down like a sack of rice. That stupid banana peel landed on the middle of my forehead, thusly blocking out the incredulous, and somewhat amused, expressions on the faces of the other Hosts. For that, I was immensely thankful.
Kami, I don't think that anything this embarrassing has happened to me in a while…
Haruhi squatted down beside me, removed the slimy banana peel, and whispered, "Are you okay, Mori-senpai?" Her brown eyes stared into my own with obvious concern, having noticed that my attention span was shorter than normal.
I pulled my lanky form forward, rested the tip of my chin in an open palm – one that was sweaty from the heat – and wearily replied, "Ah…" At her doubtful expression, I smiled faintly at the younger girl and added, "I'm not hurt, so yes, everything is fine."
The doubtful expression on her face had quickly morphed into one of disbelief. I could almost practically see the words bad actor and liar falling from her parted lips. Haruhi was known for being blunt, but she was not as insensitive to my feelings as the rest of our friends were at times; thus, she did not speak the words aloud. Instead, Haruhi shook her head, exasperated, and turned to question the Shadow King.
"That thunder seemed to be rather close just now," Haruhi murmured, pulling at a small section of her yellow hoodie with shaking fingers. Obviously, Haruhi was not a big fan of storms. "And I had thought that it couldn't rain in a place like this, senpai…"
The Canadian, Kiki, had been quiet up until this point, biting back the poisonous insults that she was known for. But she chose that exact moment to bitterly mutter, "You shouldn't trust that lying bag of shit, Haruhi-chan." Violet eyes glared at the younger boy in question. "Or his family."
Kyoya frowned at the older girl, appearing to be bothered with her words for once. He had an incredibly thick skin, one that didn't break under stress, threats, or insults. Thus, I'd believed that it was pretty difficult to get under that skin because he was so adept at hiding his thoughts and feelings. Kiki had just proven that to be false, though, seeing as she had managed to upset the rich heir with only a few vulgar words. The Shadow King was apparently just as much of a human being as the rest of us, if not more so.
The Ootori heir returned his attention to his wrist and tapped the shiny glass on the front of his brand new watch, an expensive Hublot Black Caviar Bang. He finally responded, "Oh, it seems to be squall time right now."
My nose twitched at the faint smell of rain and, sure enough, the first drops began falling from the tops of the trees. Our friends were still missing, however, and none of us wanted to stop searching for them, even though it had started raining. A few drops of rain were nothing to concern ourselves over, anyway. I mean, really, the worst that scenario involved one of us catching a cold – or pneumonia.
Nothing too terrible, right?
"If my calculations are correct, the bottom is about to drop out in exactly…" Kyoya paused for a moment, examining the three separate hands on his watch. "…one second."
Kyoya was indeed correct, but that was to be expected of the omnipotent Shadow King. The amount of rain increased drastically within that second, so the people within our group darted towards the refuge of a nearby gazebo, as suggested by our hyper leader, Tamaki.
I leaned against the wooden railing, thinking that it would be nice to stand here with Mitsukuni and Sammy, the three of us staring out at the rain. My gray eyes watched longingly as all of the others huddled closer together, seeking warmth from the chilly rain that was pounding heavily against the roof of the small hut – oh, excuse me, the gazebo. Said gazebo had several spider monkeys hanging upside down in the rafters and a collection of mushrooms in the corner, the latter of which may or may not have been produced by the depressed Host King.
Again, the Ootori family had decided to be authentic in his depiction of a manmade jungle and its corresponding inhabitants. Only natives lived in the wilderness, or, in my opinion, crazy people.
Speaking of crazy people… Slowly, I turned the focus of my attention to dark forest, which was teeming with life, in spite of the torrential downpour. …I really miss my cousin and girlfriend.
A quiet snort interrupted my musing, thusly ending the conversation about my past, as well. I turned back around to see that this sarcastic sound was made by Haruhi. The short brunette was staring up at me through those brown eyes, observing my facial expressions with faint interest. Now, I'd thought that it would be hard for a person to sift through my thoughts, since the one expression on my face was carefully blank. Haruhi had apparently noticed something – and something important, at that – lingering along the straight lines of my lips.
"You're really worried about Sammy-chan, aren't you?" Haruhi asked, sadly, and with a pair of tawny eyes that seemed to be staring straight into my soul. Down into the depths of despair.
"Ah…" I readily agreed, not feeling the need to hide that part of the truth. "And I am worried about Kotoko-san and Mitsukuni, too." My gray eyes darted back to the jungle, watching closely for any sign of movement that might indicate the three of them were alive and well – anything at all.
Those tawny eyes continued perusing the nuances of my soul, making me squirm under the scrutiny of their observant owner. Haruhi surveyed the expression on my face once more and murmured, "You do not need to feel that guilty about this, you know…"
I visibly startled at this, surprised that the younger girl could read me so easily, even though the freshman was an observant and blunt individual. "I'm not…"
You know, Haruhi reminded me of the Venus flytrap plant. It was a pretty, unobtrusive, and seemingly innocent plant – until the monster opened its mouth and swallowed the unsuspecting victim whole, anyway. The aforementioned carnivorous freshman narrowed her brown eyes in speculation, coming to the conclusion that those words were void of truth. I glanced away and swallowed nervously at the glimmer of dark anger in that gaze, thinking that the prey would never stand a chance against the predator in this instance. Flies should beware.
"Well, I wasn't watching my cousin," I finally admitted with a sigh. My mouth twisted upwards into a sour grimace at having to mention this embarrassing mistake. "All of my attention was focused on speaking with Sammy-chan."
"Honey-senpai is a big boy…" Haruhi paused, blinked at the wording in that sentence, and sweatdropped. "I mean, Honey-senpai is the oldest person in our club, and he actually uses his brain." Her lips twitched faintly with amusement as she muttered, "Unlike some people that we know…"
Yeah, I dryly thought. Like Tamaki, the blonde chatterbox that spewed details about my family background. Damn Frenchman.
A soft smile crawled across the lower portion of her face. "You might have a duty to protect your cousin," Haruhi gently insisted, "but you also have a duty to take care of your girlfriend, Mori-senpai."
My eyes widened, almost to the size of saucers, and the silver irises within them gleamed with disbelief. About two weeks ago, Kaoru had figured out that there was something strange going on between his sister and me. She had promised to tell him – and his more protective brother – the truth about our relationship. Sammy and I had been courting each other for a little under a month.
And Sammy must have told her younger brothers the truth, since the two boys were now intent upon pranking me to death. My locker had exploded over seven times in the last two weeks, the wheels on my limo had been painted pink, and over two dozen boxes of chocolate had been sent to a very happy and hyper Mitsukuni. So, I had assumed that this secret was only known by a select few, meaning that Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya knew about our relationship. No one else appeared to know, or so it had seemed, but…
Apparently, Sammy had given in to temptation and told her blunt best friend, as well. Dammit.
Haruhi chuckled at the annoyed expression on my face and pointed out, "Honey-senpai can take care of himself, and he will more than likely take care of the others, too." She placed the palm of her hand over my upper arm. "Sammy-chan and Kotoko-senpai are in good hands, ne?"
Nodding my head in agreement always seemed to satisfy her, so it was the best course of action to take. Privately, I thought to myself – Those hands might be too busy stuffing his face full of fruits, though. And speaking of fruits…
At the exact moment, I forcibly resumed the cursing of that stupid banana, because it was the cause of all my misery. A black depression was now looming over my head like a violent thundercloud. That dark cloud would soon be emitting thunder and lightning, too, if the weatherman ranting in my head was to be believed.
Happily, Haruhi continued with her strange form of comforting, going so far as to add, "And if anybody is hungry, there are lots of bananas around for them to munch on…"
Which I would like to mention was the least of my worries. Starvation was not the leading cause of death in the wilderness – it was hypothermia. Still, I knew that this was a nice gesture, so a small smile began working its way into existence, pulling at the corners of my lips. It grew at the sight of the adorable confusion sparking in her eyes.
"Ah…"I mumbled, before ruffling a handful of her brown hair in thanks.
However, I really hate bananas, thanks to that one evil fruit sitting on the most inconvenient bit of sidewalk in the entire world…
Kaoru effectively ended that train of thought, however, when he stamped his foot on the ground and stupidly kicked one of the hard benches with his bare feet. The redhead winced at the initial contact, but still continued beating the wooden seats, seemingly to relieve some frustration. I'd be the first o admit that it was strange to see this side of the younger Hitachiin Twin. As a rule, Kaoru tried to be the more mature of the two, and he had a sweeter disposition, too. Hikaru, on the other hand, had been labeled the firecracker.
"Oh, Kaoru," Hikaru murmured, and with a sad smile upon his lips. He attempted to make a joke out of the situation, something that had probably been copied from his older sister. "I wouldn't do that, or you might ruin your new pedicure…"
His Twin whirled around, threw his hands up in the air, and exclaimed, "I know, Hikaru! It's just…" The hands were slowly lowered, as though he expected to be chastised for acting in such a manner. "I…"
"Sammy-chan…" The older redhead glanced thoughtfully at the rest of us, sensing that we were curious, and hesitantly muttered, "You're worried about her, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am." Kaoru sighed forlornly and stared down at his bruised feet with a scowl. "I feel bad for onee-chan, because…!" He hesitated, exactly as his brother had, and began worrying the bottom of his lower lip with his straight teeth. "She really hates the water, remember?"
Bitterly, Hikaru smiled at the younger boy and responded, "How could I forget?" The redheaded boy laughed, though it was not a humorous sound, and snorted in derision. He sighed. "We would never have met our sister had that accident not happened."
That certainly caught my attention. Sammy was very secretive about her past, often going to such great lengths to hide the details that she effectively buried herself beneath a mountain of corny jokes. The Shadow King hadn't even been able to find anything regarding her life in the United States of America. It was as though the mysterious girl had simply vanished from their systems, even though that was surely impossible. Governments had a tendency to keep records on all of their people, especially the minors, orphans, and wards of the state. A country had to protect their assets, and children were the future of the world.
None of us were overly concerned with the secrecy, though, as the small blonde was always such a bright and cheerful person. We left the young woman to her own devises, as requested, since the girl often seemed happy. Happiness was an indication that everything was fine, right?
Haruhi was the first of us to speak up, choosing that moment to curiously ask, "Why does she hate the water so much, anyway?" Her tawny eyes were narrowed in thought. "Although I'm guessing that it has something to do with her birth family."
Hikaru and Kaoru whirled around to face the younger girl, each of them glaring at her with angry golden eyes. "How is that any of your business, Ha-ru-hi~?" The Twins chorused together, clearly annoyed at this nosy question.
"I am not going to tell anyone, guys," Haruhi quietly said. At the sight of their wary eyes, the brunette softened her stubborn demeanor, smiled, and gently added, "I'm her friend, too, you know."
The Twins immediately deflated, lowering their golden eyes to the ground once more. "We know, Haruhi…"
With a sigh, Hikaru turned to her and murmured, "The two of us are accustomed to protecting our onee-chan." To which Kaoru sheepishly added, "She always smiled and played with us when we were little kids, even during times that the two of us were really mean to her."
We all stared at them in surprise, since it had always seemed to us that the three of them were nigh inseparable, thanks to their strong sibling bond. Sammy was a part of the puzzle that was the mischievous and secretive Hitachiin Brothers. She understood the unique workings of their relationship, and the two of them relished the attention that the older girl lavished upon them. Hikaru and Kaoru loved her. And for all intents and purposes, Sammy was a member of the esteemed Hitachiin family.
The Twins fiddled with their respective swim trunks and sadly chorused, "We constantly made fun of the fact that she didn't have a family anymore. No one wanted her, we said, because she was ugly, and stupid, and useless."
No one interrupted them during this startling revelation, so the older redheaded devil continued onwards, quietly whispering, "Sammy-chan and her family – well, her birth family – were in a terrible accident back in the States." His voice drifted into nothingness, then, as the boy lost control of his emotions.
"It happened eight years ago this November." Kaoru bravely chose to continue with the story, doing his best to keep his emotions under control, unlike his older brother. "The Steel family had driven downtown for the evening, so that the four of them could celebrate the birthday of their youngest daughter."
The Host King finally found his voice, which had been lost in the shock of the moment. "I did not know that Sammy-senpai had any siblings before moving to Japan," Tamaki solemnly said, sitting down on a bench and placing his head in his hands. "Otherwise, I would not have started calling her 'Big Sister.'" He grimaced. "Not even in jest."
Kaoru shrugged the words away, before leaning across the wooden bench and patting the older male on the shoulder, offering him some comfort. "Our onee-chan has many secrets, some of which are still being hidden, even from Hikaru and me."
"How old…?" Tamaki couldn't finish the question, seemingly choking on the words, though the question was obvious – How old were the two girls?
"Sammy-nee-chan was almost eleven at the time, and her little sister was celebrating her seventh birthday that day," Kaoru gently answered and stared into the dark forest, taking that moment to collect himself, too. "You know, Sarah had blonde hair and blue eyes, just like her big sister…"
Haruhi and Kiki exchanged looks, obviously having been left in the dark about the childhood of their older friend. Neither had known that the small blonde girl was afraid of water. Neither of them had known that her father was a soldier, that her mother had been rich heiress before her family disowned her for marrying a commoner, or that she had once been an older sister to an adorable little girl named Sarah. Neither one of them had heard about the accident that ended with the entire family driving through the guardrail on an icy bridge and falling into the cold river that rushed over them without mercy.
But I could say nothing about their ignorance, because not a single one of us had been privy to the pain, guilt, and shame that were burning deep within her heart. Not even me.
***Author's Note***
Shadowsammy: Alright, peeps! The "Past, Present, and Future Arc" has been completed!
Hikaru and Kaoru: It's about damn time!
Shadowsammy: *Ignores Twins* And I will be resubmitting the chapter that was taken down to fix this arc. I will do so in about two or three days, and then, another chapter will be posted next Sunday. :)
Hikaru and Kaoru: Are you actually going to save our big sister in the next two chapters?
Shadowsammy: Yep! ;D And then, I will post the chapters with the date for Takashi and Sammy!
Hikaru and Kaoru: Oh, that's nice... *Strange Pause* Hey! Wait just a damn minute...!
Shadowsammy: Would you look at that! It's dinner time! Later, guys!
Hikaru and Kaoru: Hey! Come back here...!
Shadowsammy: Not a chance in Hell! :D
P.S. Please review, guys! I've updated all of my stories, but no one seems to be reviewing. So review, please? *Puppy Dog Eyes*
Around 266 reviews would be nice. Hint, hint.
