Greetings as always readers! I'm going to keep this short today, as it's my birthday! Instead of getting something, I'm giving you all another chapter! Sorry it's a bit late, but I've been busy. It's really hard to write when your roommate has his kids over, and you're setting up a swimming pool for them instead of writing. Anyways, thanks as always for your patience, now go ahead and read!
Why did he agree to this?
Kaoru was sick in bed, he got that, but he could have easily just told Haruhi he was sick and couldn't take her out. But instead, he asked his brother, and Hikaru could never say no to Kaoru when he was sick.
Manipulative little brother.
Now, Hikaru was just staring at the weird dress Haruhi was wearing. Who's idea was it to make something like that anyways? She looked straight out of an anime show.
"Is it weird?" Haruhi asked as she looked down at the dress she was wearing.
"King of." Hikaru replied honestly, since he really couldn't look at that outfit without cringing.
After a second, they began to walk down the street together, since Hikaru wasn't too sure of what Haruhi had planned to do today with his brother. Knowing Kaoru, they were probably going to go off and do something exciting, if he had a say in it at least.
They were silent as they walked, Haruhi looking around curiously while Hikaru scowled at most of the surroundings, really not wanting to be here. Especially not after yesterday. But, he made a promise to Kaoru, and that was something he could not break.
Even after everything that happened yesterday. It was bad enough that Haruhi wanted to spend more time with some old classmate more than him, but the fact that Ryo would stick up for him too was just infuriating.
That's why he didn't bother apologizing for what he said to her yesterday. It was true, she was just a clingy brat.
No matter how many times he kept thinking over that and felt a bit bad for it. He would not apologize.
Soon, Haruhi sat down at a bench as he plucked a map from one of the many newspaper stands to see what there was to do around her. "So what do you want to do today, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked as he looked over the map, Haruhi sitting beside him with her hands folded over her little purse.
That outfit was so weird. But...he was starting to get used to it maybe.
"I don't know. Kaoru said he had everything planned, so I hadn't really thought of it." Haruhi replied as Hikaru scowled a little more while looking at the map. Of course she'd have no idea. Kaoru had planned to take her out, so it was no surprise he'd plan things too. "Any ideas?" Haruhi asked as he looked up from the map.
"Well there's nothing that I need to do here." Hikaru said before remembering what Kaoru had told him, scowling a bit more before turning to Haruhi. "I know, why don't we go to that outlet mall near the train station. They've got cheap clothes there." Hikaru offered as Haruhi just looked at him in thought.
"That's cool, but do you need to buy some clothes?" Haruhi asked, confused since she had all the clothes she needed for while she would be at the pension.
"No, there's no way I'd buy my clothes from that place." Hikaru said flatly, either not caring that what he said was rude, or not noticing.
"Then let's skip it." Haruhi said flatly as well, turning away as Hikaru turned the opposite way with an annoyed tick on his forehead and a scowl on his face.
What a pain. This day was bound to be boring and painful. Why did Kaoru have to ask him to do this?
While Haruhi was commenting about the weather, and Hikaru still pouting and scowling at everything, neither even seemed to notice that they were being spied upon.
Hikaru looked up from the map, about to ask Haruhi a question, only to see her gone, looking around rapidly before spotting her. "One ice cream, please." Haruhi said politely to the man in the small shop as he gawked at her for having just gone off alone without a word.
"You shouldn't run off like that, Haruhi." Hikaru reminded the commoner as he walked up behind her, the girl taking an ice cream cone from the man inside the tiny store.
"I heard this place is famous for their ice cream." Haruhi said with a smile before turning to him, holding the cone out to Hikaru. "Here, I'll let you have the first taste." Haruhi said cheerily as Hikaru stared down at the cone.
He never really was one for ice cream. But she was offering. But it was also her cone. She shouldn't just let him have the first taste. But it could also be a horrible flavor. He groaned before reluctantly reaching for the cone.
"Fine, but if it sucks, we're playing a penalty game." Hikaru warned, about to take the first bite when someone's palm suddenly collided with his jaw and forced him backward, still holding the cone.
"What a pretty young lady! Here's another one for you, on the house!" A different man was now holding out an ice cream cone to Haruhi from the little store as Hikaru scowled in annoyance, the man's hand still in his face.
What a pain.
"Thank you very much." Haruhi thanked before taking the first lick. "Delicious." Haruhi said with a smile at the ice cream.
Hikaru reluctantly took a bite of his own. "You're right, it is good." Hikaru replied, genuinely surprised since he was expecting it to be disgusting. And he was looking forward to the penalty game.
The pair walked away from the ice cream store as they continued eating before hearing a pair of familiar voices. A tick appeared over Hikaru's forehead again, having thought he was going to be alone with Haruhi all day.
Not have a pair of midgets around.
Turning slightly to spot them, Hikaru spied the pair of shorter yet older teens a bit away eating ice cream together and making a mess of themselves with it.
Really? What, did Kaoru send these two to watch them or something? They were just getting ice cream.
Hikaru was about to walk over and ask what they were doing here when he watched Honey-senpai step closer to Ren, a different look in his eyes.
A second later, he caught Ren's chin in his hand and had her look up at him. A second later, Hikaru's jaw dropped as he watched Honey-senpai lean down and lick ice cream off of Ren and finish with a kiss on her nose. What the...were they...
Hikaru looked over at Haruhi to see if she understood what was going on, but she was more focused on her ice cream. Of course she wouldn't have seen that.
Looking back at the pair of shorter hosts, Hikaru nudged Haruhi in the side. "Is that Honey-senpai and Ren?" Hikaru asked, motioning towards them just to be sure he saw what he just did.
There was no way that Honey-senpai would ever do that to Ren. Never in a million years. Yeah, the guy was around her a lot, but he'd never ever gotten close with her like that. Let alone kiss her! Albeit on the nose.
"Yeah, they must just be on one of their outings like they usually do. They like to get out alone together sometimes." Haruhi said upon spying the two, raising an eyebrow upon seeing the way both the shorter teens cheeks were a bright red, Mitsukuni smiling shyly at Ren even before taking her hand and leading her off.
Well, that was a bit strange.
"I think they're on a date." Hikaru said bluntly before taking another bite of his own ice cream.
Hikaru scowled at how Haruhi burst out laughing at his words, turning his glare on her. "I'm sorry...it's just...Ren and Honey-senpai aren't dating. They're not interested in each other that way. They just go off together to have some fun." Haruhi advised Hikaru upon stopping laughing at his wrong observation.
"If they weren't on a date, then Honey-senpai wouldn't have just kissed Ren on the nose." Hikaru advised, staring her down in annoyance still when she looked at him in confusion. "He licked ice cream off her nose and then kissed her nose after. That's not something friends do." Hikaru reminded before throwing his cone in to a nearby trash can, finished with it and not wanting the cone.
Haruhi didn't question him this time on what he was talking about, as they continued walking to see what else there was to do in Karuizawa. Either way, Hikaru was still thoroughly bored, even after the whole finding Honey-senpai and Ren on a date thing.
His mind kept drifting back to his brother, or on the very rare occasion to Ryo as they walked and Haruhi looked around at all the stalls. He was still thinking about Kaoru when Haruhi was looking at some pickled foods. "Come on, pickled food is so lame. Who'd want to eat that crap?" Hikaru asked, obviously still annoyed before Haruhi held out apiece of pickled yam to him.
"Try it." Haruhi said, still smiling happily as she held the pickled yam out to him.
Reluctantly, Hikaru took the bite of yam., grumbling slightly. "It's not that bad." Hikaru mumbled, looking away as he chewed.
"I'll take two bags of these please." Haruhi said to the stall owner as Hikaru looked back down at her like she was a child.
"You're not supposed to buy souvenirs until the last day of your trip. You're going to be in Karuizawa for a while, right?" Hikaru asked as he looked down at her as the lady handed Haruhi a bag with the pickled yams.
"These are a gift. I'm getting them for Kaoru." Haruhi revealed as Hikaru's eyes widened in surprise at her generosity towards his brother. "Hey listen, do you think the others would be up for souvenir shopping tonight? We could always come back to these shops later and pick out more gifts for Kaoru." Haruhi offered to the boy who she knew deep down had been thinking about Kaoru all day.
"I don't understand. How can you tell that I'm upset about Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, tone a little nicer than it's been all day as he looked away.
"I just can." Haruhi said simply as Hikaru stared at her in surprise, wanting to know but knowing she wouldn't tell. "Well, let's go." Haruhi began to lead the way this time as Hikaru looked after her, in thought for a second before smiling slightly.
Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad.
They continued on, Hikaru a bit happier now than he's been all day, his bad mood finally lifted much to Haruhi's enjoyment since it meant it would be a lot easier to spend the day with him.
Next they came to stop at a clothing store, Haruhi looking around silently as Hikaru followed, eyes catching on a white fedora on a table, mind flickering back to the girl who usually wore one of those when at her mansion.
Hikaru scowled at the sight and turned away to look at something else.
Haruhi spotted the fedora and smiled slightly, picking it up and looking it over. "This looks like something Ryo would like." Haruhi mused as she ran a finger over the black felt stripe going around the hat.
"Who cares." Hikaru grumbled, still unwilling to forgive or think about the girl who didn't pay him much attention since he's been in Karuizawa. As far as he cared, she could stay hiding in her room like she supposedly was all last night from what he overheard.
"I think she'd like it." Haruhi said before walking off with the hat, leaving Hikaru to gape after her in question as to why she would buy some spoiled girl like Ryo a measly little hat.
"Why are you getting her that? She's probably got hundreds." Hikaru reminded, scowling again since she probably had hundreds of other friends too that she could be talking to right now instead of him.
"She's our friend. I know she's upset right now, so it might help her feel better to get something that reminds her of home. She deserves a gift just as much as Kaoru." Haruhi said simply as she paid the shop owner, taking the bag the man put the hat in.
Remind her of home? Who cares, she's got hundreds of those stupid white fedoras just as Ren has hundreds of black ones for her to use too.
"She has hundreds of those white ones, it's just a waste of your money." Hikaru said flatly, not really angry at Haruhi though for wanting to get her a gift. He just knew she wouldn't really appreciate it the way Kaoru would appreciate getting something from Haruhi.
"She only had one. And you ruined it a week before summer vacation, remember." Haruhi reminded Hikaru as he remembered the day in particular. It was just some prank. How was he to know she would slip and her hat would fly in to the pool with her? "That was a gift for her from the last time she and Ren were back in Russia. She wore it when she wanted to be reminded of home. Weren't you wondering why she's been upset with you since then?" Haruhi asked as Hikaru frowned a little, beginning to realize that it has been since about then that Ryo had been ignoring him more.
Which in turn caused him to get angry because he liked having his toy around. She was his friend, he didn't like it when she pushed him away and ignored him.
Though, he did push her back yesterday. But that was her own fault! How could she just try to stop him from leaving and expect him not to yell at her. But...he did feel bad still about it slightly.
Hikaru looked away from Haruhi, face a mixture of emotions as she pushed the bag in to his hands, watching him frown at it in confusion. "All she wanted to do yesterday was help you. It hurt her that you pushed her away like that Hikaru. And I know you're upset about it too. You give her this, it should help." Haruhi said with a small smile as he continued to look at her in confusion as to how she could just let him take credit for something she had bought for Ryo.
"I don't get how you know all this." Hikaru grumbled, letting the bag fall to his side, still holding it in one hand.
"I just do." Haruhi said simply again as he was left to gawk at her before she began to walk away again, leaving him to stare before following after her.
Haruhi sure was something else, wasn't she?
Unfortunate for the two, the girl in question hadn't even been present for the talk with them, as she had been watching a different pair.
Haruhi and Hikaru continued looking around at all the different stores, stopping at one point for a break as they both wanted something to eat, deciding on a little noodle stall and sitting on a bench together to eat.
They were silent as they ate, Hikaru's foot bumping against the bag at his feet as his thoughts were brought back to yesterday once more.
He had shoved her. He forgot about that until Haruhi had mentioned it. After snapping at her, he shoved her backwards and in to her sister before running off. He'd never done that to her before.
Now he was really beginning to feel bad about yesterday, instead of just ignore the feeling and focus on his anger towards Ryo.
He was supposed to be her friend. Friends don't shove each other like that, or call them clingy brats. How could he call himself her friend after that? Or more so, would she even want to be? He got angry so easily these days.
Hikaru set his food down, his appetite gone as he looked down at the little bag that held a gift for the girl who he couldn't get out of his thoughts.
He was only upset because she had been ignoring him recently. And then that kid who came in to the pension, she stood up for him when she barely knew him. How is that fair?! How could she stand up for a stranger over him?
He was supposed to be her friend. She was his toy. His friend, not some strangers!
His friend that had been upset with him for almost two weeks before he even knew why. He never knew that hat meant anything to her. He never knew she was even still upset with him.
He just thought she was pulling away from him again, and he didn't know why. He didn't want to lose his friend, but she didn't seem to want to be around him and that was infuriating!
But now...she's upset with him for completely different reasons. She just wanted to help him yesterday, he didn't know that. He thought she just wanted to keep him from running away, not try to help him. And what did he do?
He shoved her away.
Was he the real reason why Ryo pulled away? Was it really all his fault? He just wanted to be her friend. He just wanted her to be HIS!
But what kind of a friend almost hurts their own friend over something so stupid as a misunderstanding? He wasn't her friend. He couldn't be, not after that, not with how he treated her.
No wonder she pushed away, and Haruhi wanted other friends.
"Hikaru." Hikaru looked up from the bag at Haruhi's voice, seeing her staring at him. "You know, she may be upset, but you could fix it." Haruhi reminded as Hikaru just stared at her in wonder as to how she always knew what was going on in his head.
"I'm not a good friend to her. How could I? I'd just make things worse." Hikaru mumbled gloomily, looking away to throw his leftover food in to the trash can behind their bench.
"You are a good friend. You just need to learn to understand what other people are feeling, and to tell them how you feel." Haruhi advised as he looked back at her, feeling like he was with his own brother at the moment. She sounded exactly like him right there, since he said the same exact thing to him that morning.
"But...what if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore?" Hikaru asked, that his main fear. He could handle Ryo yelling at him, or ignoring him just a little longer, but the thought of her wanting nothing more to do with him sent a sharp pain to his chest that made him feel even worse for how he treated his supposed friend.
"She wouldn't want that. She's a lot like you, she may not say it, but she genuinely does like being your friend. If she didn't, she wouldn't have put up with you to this point." Haruhi explained as Hikaru looked back down at the bag at his feet, reaching down and plucking it up.
"I still don't understand how you know all of this about us." Hikaru muttered as Haruhi finished her noodles.
"I just do." Haruhi repeated the same thing as last time he asked how she knew, before standing up and throwing out her empty plate. "Let's look around some more." Haruhi offered as Hikaru stood up, following her when she began to walk off once more to see what else they could find.
They continued looking around shops until, as they were looking through some store windows, he felt his phone vibrate, frowning since he was enjoying spending time alone with Haruhi.
His frown immediately vanished upon seeing it was just Kaoru though. He couldn't be angry at his brother. "Are you two coming back soon?" Strange. Why would Kaoru be wanting to know when they would be coming back.
"Soon, why?" Hikaru replied quickly before looking back at the store window and the china plate and picture frames on display in the window.
"Did...you just hear something?" Haruhi's voice broke him from looking at the display in the window, looking over at her as he felt his phone vibrate again.
"What? No, I didn't hear anything." Hikaru said before opening the new message from Kaoru.
"It's going to storm soon, we were all hoping you'd be back before then." Why is Kaoru being so weird. It's just a little rain. They don't have to leave just because it's going to rain.
But, Haruhi seemed worried about something. "Think we should head back?" Hikaru asked as Haruhi looked towards the darkening skies before back at him.
"Probably." Haruhi said with a nod of her head at the idea.
"Then, let's head to the street and hail a cab, okay?" Hikaru offered, before another, highly infuriating voice suddenly cut his thoughts from behind him.
"Is that you, Fujioka?" Arai asked, standing a few feet behind Hikaru hefting a few boxes as Haruhi looked over at him, unaware of the slowly souring look on Hikaru's face. "What're you up to?" Arai asked nonchalantly as Haruhi stepped past Hikaru.
"Hey Arai, I didn't expect to see you out here." Haruhi commented as she walked up to him, Hikaru's back still to the guy that infuriated him.
"Well this is my uncles store. You guys out doing some shopping?" Arai asked upon noticing the bag that Hikaru was holding and the few that Haruhi had as well.
"We were, but now we're about to leave." Haruhi advised as Hikaru slowly turned to face the two old friends with a sour look on his face.
"Yeah? We've got a car that can take you back. Just let me ask my uncle." Arai said with a warm smile at Haruhi as Hikaru glared at him from his peripheral vision, not wanting to look straight at the stupid kid ruining what was supposed to be his day alone with Haruhi.
"Uh, well I don't want to be a bother..."
"It's no problem. I wouldn't want you to get caught in the rain." Arai said before Hikaru fully turned to face the two supposedly old friends.
"Don't worry about it, we're getting a taxi." Hikaru said roughly, eyes closed so he wouldn't have to look at the kid in front of Haruhi.
"Come on, don't waste your money on a taxi." Arai reasoned as Hikaru's bad mood only seemed to worsen, showing on his face as he glared at Arai.
Haruhi looked over at Hikaru in surprise to his sudden change in temper before a crack of thunder sounded, gasping slightly as she looked up at the quickly darkening sky, before turning to Hikaru with a small smile. "Hey, why don't we accept his offer. The sooner we get home the better." Haruhi reminded, cheeks a light pink as well as Hikaru only seemed to get even more angry by her words, stepping back slightly as he glared at the two old friends that were closer than he was to Haruhi.
Hikaru looked away as a light pink rose to his own cheeks as well. "Well, I guess you'll be riding home alone then." Hikaru advised, his hair falling to cover his eyes.
"But Hikaru..." Haruhi was cut off by Hikaru this time.
"Just do whatever you want okay?! You guys can reminisce and catch up but leave me out of it!" Hikaru snapped angrily, before turning and running off down the street, Haruhi calling to him but he continued running.
"Not again." Arai murmured as they watched Hikaru run off, leaving them behind. "Why's he so upset about you hanging out with an old friend? I mean, surely he's got some of his own, right?" Arai asked, looking sad over how Hikaru had run off again just because he was talking with Haruhi.
Haruhi looked down at the ground before remembering how Hikaru had said that he and Kaoru had never really needed any other friends. That was why he was getting so upset by her talking with Arai.
Hikaru had still been running when it suddenly started raining, taking refuge under a tree and pulling his headphones up over his ears as thunder rumbled and the dark clouds lit up with lightening above, signaling that the rain wouldn't let up anytime soon.
He was hoping he'd be able to hail a cab too. So much for that. Guess he's going to be stuck waiting out this rain.
His phone vibrated in his pocket again, pulling it out to find another message from Kaoru. "Have you seen Ryo while you've been out today? She's somewhere in town and no one can get a hold of her. If you see her, bring her back when you and Haruhi come back." Ryo? Why would he have seen Ryo?
More specifically, why the hell is Ryo out and about in town alone? She has a cell too, so why was no one able to get a hold of her?
What does he care? Right now, Haruhi's probably reminiscing with Arai while she gets a ride back to the pension while he's stuck out here in the rain. If Ryo's out here alone, she'll know how to hail a cab and get back to the pension on her own before the rain picks up anymore.
They're not his problem right now. Besides, they've got better friends than him to help them out.
Like right now Haruhi's getting cozy with Arai when she had been having more fun with him today than that kid could ever give to her. He was her friend, not Arai. Arai hadn't even talked to her since they graduated middle school. What kind of friend is that?
He's actually been talking to her since he met her. He's been there for her when she needed him. But he's not going to just stand and watch as she gets all buddy buddy with some kid that's got a crush on her.
Hikaru had still been listening to his music and staying out of the rain when he felt his phone vibrating again, pulling his headphones down to be met with the boss's ringtone. Well that's a surprise. The boss hasn't bothered him all day.
"Hey, what's up boss? You've got perfect timing. Think you can send a cab to get me? I haven't had any luck hailing one." Hikaru asked as he looked out at the pouring rain.
"You idiot!" Tamaki's voice was filled with anger surprisingly. "I want you to turn around and start looking for Haruhi and Ryo right now!" Tamaki screamed at him as Hikaru wondered how the boss knew he had left Haruhi with Arai.
And why was he telling him to search for Ryo? He had no idea she was out here until Kaoru texted him.
"What kind of a jerk would leave a girl out in a thunderstorm by herself?! Now you listen to me," Tamaki's voice dropped to an angry hiss at that point. "Haruhi is terrified of thunder! Whenever she hears it, she gets so scared she can't even move! Why don't you spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once!" Tamaki barked before suddenly hanging up on him, his phone vibrating a second later with another text from Kaoru that left him gaping at the phone screen.
"Ryo is terrified of the rain! Find both of them and bring them back!"
Hikaru looked down at the ground for a second, numb with shock before his fists suddenly clenched. "What does he mean by that? How the hell was I supposed to know if they never told me?" Hikaru asked aloud, staring down at the ground as he stood up from leaning against the tree.
Thinking on it, some of Haruhi's behaviors from today now suddenly made sense as he groaned before standing up straight. "There's no way I could have figured that out!" Hikaru snapped to himself before taking off running in to the rain.
But he would have never known with Ryo! He never saw her when it was raining. She usually...stayed back at her mansion or inside of the school. Dammit!
Hikaru slowed for a second as he realized he had to focus on one girl at a time. But...how could he do that? Both girls were basically afraid of the same exact thing, and he hadn't seen Ryo all day while he's been in town.
Clenching his jaw in frustration, Hikaru continued running. He would focus on Haruhi first. She was the one he was with today, he couldn't just leave her to herself like this.
Hikaru ran all over where they had been walking today, asking anyone he could if they saw her and checking inside some of the stores they had been to even as well.
But there was no sign of her anywhere.
Hikaru stopped running for a second, hunching over to catch his breath before lightning illuminated the sky, a shadow casting over him from the light before he looked up to see a large cross a top a church, which the doors were slightly open to.
Taking a slow breath, Hikaru headed towards the church in hopes of finding at least one of the girls.
The floor was slick with rain water as a crack of thunder sounded, hearing a gasp across the room. "Haruhi?" Hikaru called, looking around carefully as he was reminded of his brother's words.
"And remember, whenever you care a lot for someone Hikaru, it's important you pay attention to any subtle little hints they drop."
That's how she's known all day how he's felt. And now, here she was huddled under an alter hiding with tears in her eyes.
Hikaru pulled the cloth off the alter and threw it over Haruhi, putting his headphones over her ears as he sat down beside her, pulling her against him as the storm raged outside, the bag he had been carrying all day dropped beside the alter.
"Sorry." Hikaru murmured quietly. "I'm sorry for running off and leaving you. And for the things I said, about your friend Arai. I'm so sorry." Hikaru murmured quietly, Haruhi huddled beside him.
"Thanks, Hikaru. I forgive you." Haruhi murmured over the music of the headphones.
A few tears slipped down Hikaru's face as Haruhi huddled against him, glad he was finally able to do something right for once. He just hoped that there wasn't anything he had forgotte...
Ryo!
Well, he got one thing right, huh? Of course, you have to choose in this situation though. So really, was he right or was he wrong? It's more in your eyes if he made the right or wrong choice here. Anyways, sorry for the filler. I felt bad last chapter because we didn't see much of these two except through the eyes of the love birds. I promise though, next chapter is what you were all waiting for. I just wanted to break even and make chapter 30 the big climax of this episode.
So, look forward to that! I probably won't get much writing in today, since it's my birthday and I'm planning on swimming for a while before going off to celebrate with my family. I know, you're all excited for the next chapter, but I gotta celebrate with my family for a little while. But I promise, I'll make sure the next chapter is out as quick as you can write a review.
So, go ahead and scroll down and review then. Please? For my birthday present from all of you?
