-Chapter 32-
Tamaki vs. Kyoya, the Battle between Men!
As fall began to slip away to make way for the winter winds, Music Room #3's doors, however, opened to the winds of the Ryukyu Islands. "Mensore!" Imitating an Okinawa dialect, the hosts greeted the guests who poured into the topical setting of palm trees and hibiscuses with awestruck expressions.
"You look great, Tamaki-sama!" Sora clapped her hands together happily as she observed Tamaki's costume. "What a colourful kimono! It's a bingata, Okinawan dyed clothing, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is, Princess," Tamaki affirmed as he pressed a hand against his chest and onto the light fabric of his costume. "Did you know? The first kanji of bingata - which usually means crimson is used to mean all colours. The Ryuku Island's royalty has worn these garments since ancient times... But no matter how many colours I swathe myself in my heart yearns to be dyed in your special colour alone." He flashed a charming smile, slipping a hand under the girl's chin.
"Oh, Master Tamaki!" Sora swooned.
"Miki-chan," Spotting the strawberry blonde still tending to some of the decorations in her bingata, Sumire waved as she hurried over to meet up with her friend. "I hear today's theme was chosen by Hikaru and Kaoru, did you enjoy creating it?" She asked sweetly.
Nodding enthusiastically, Miki spun around on her heel. "That's right, Sumire-chan, your family's from Okinawa, aren't they?" Remembering that crucial piece of information from peaking into Kyoya's guest logs, she giggled. "What do you think? I drew lots of inspiration from many different pamphlets and photographs. I hope it's accurate enough."
"Are you kidding?" Sumire's dark brown eyes sparkled at the tropical setting. "This is amazing, Miki-chan." She praised as she knelt down to touch a few of the hibiscus flowers. Her eyes crinkled as she gingerly stroked the smooth surface of the petals with her fingers. "You really do have a talent for production design, it feels like I'm once again back home. It makes me feel a little sense of nostalgia." Tilting her head to the side, the beautiful girl let out a huff of air as she subconsciously began to hum a folksong from home.
Miki's hazel eyes brightened as she saw such a tranquil expression on her friend's face. An unspeakable amount of pride quelled within her, nodded curtly to herself, confirming that she would send the drafts of the Ryukyu Islands as one of the portfolio submissions.
"Sumire-chan!" Sora, who was standing on the other side of the room waved as the two girls glanced in her direction.
"I guess I should go then," Standing up gracefully, Sumire quickly dust off the specs of dirt that had stuck to her soft yellow school uniform. "I'll see you around, Miki-chan!"
"See you!" Waving with a bright smile, Miki's large hazel eyes wandered around the room, landing on Haruhi who was staring down something in her hand without moving a single muscle. Pacing over, she peeked over her underclassman's shoulder. "Haruhi, what are you doing- Oh!" She blinked, covering her mouth as she spotted the pink, slightly prickly looking fruit in her hands. "What is that thing?" Leaning in closer, she furrowed her brows.
"It's called a dragonfruit, Miki-senpai." Still not peeling her eyes away from the fruit, Haruhi hummed. "It's actually my first time seeing one too. I was wondering how to eat it." She admitted. "Can you eat a dragonfruit, skin and all?"
"Eh? This is called a dragonfruit?" Miki tilted her head, as she leaned closer towards the pink fruit in her hands. "It doesn't look very much like a dragon, why would they give it that name?" She questioned, sounding a little disappointed.
"Right now they don't, but when they were flowers, their petals tend to resemble one." Approaching the two girls, Kyoya let out a weary sigh. "And you can't eat the skin. Here, give it to me." He spoke, plucking the fruit out of Haruhi's hands.
"Oh, Kyoya-senpai, you don't need to peel it for me-"
"No, Mori-senpai will do it." Not even let her finish her sentence, Kyoya placed the pink fruit into Mori's hands as the silent giant sweatdropped. "Stop worrying about the fruit and served the customers." He reminded.
I should've known Kyoya-senpai wouldn't peel it himself... Haruhi deadpanned. She turned her head to the side, watching as Mori took the fruit to a table, and with swift and precise movements began to chop and skin the dragon fruit.
"Haru-chan," A colourful assortment of fruits appeared in the brunette's vision as she peered down curiously, spotting Honey hidden under the overflowing bowl. "You can take home the centrepiece if you'd like." The lolita beamed brightly at her, dropping the platter in her hands.
"May I? That would be great." With an adorable flush of joy appearing on her cheeks, Haruhi smiled down at the collection of fruits she received as a gift.
"Isn't this wonderful, Haruhi?" Miki chided airily. "Now you can even have some at home."
"I want dad and Mei to have some too," Haruhi added, nodding happily.
"Mei? Who is that?" Miki blinked, searching through her mind for a face that matched the name.
"Oh, she's a friend that from time to time, visits dad and I from Karuizawa," Haruhi explained in a relaxed manner as she sorted through her gift. "She's Misuzu-san's daughter. She's very dedicated to fashion designing, so I think you'll get along with her quite well."
"Really?" Hearing those words, the strawberry blonde's eyes sparkled. "I'll look forward to that then." She chirped.
"She's another commoner then," Shrugging; the twins turned to each other with a sigh. "That's right, commoners don't usually get these kinds of fruits, do they? How sad."
"Don't be rude, you two!" Pointing a finger at the two, Tamaki shouted over-dramatically. "While we are on the topic of commoners, I learnt something interesting yesterday as I was researching about their poor lifestyles."
"Speaking of rude..." Haruhi mumbled under her breath as she felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
Running a hand through his hair, Tamaki turned around with closed eyes as he began to ramble on flamboyantly. Opening his arms, he grinned proudly. "Don't be surprised everyone, but it seems that around this time of year, there's a school event for young common folk known as a 'Sports Festival' and..."
Leaving the blond to his theatrics, Kyoya approached Miki who was the only one of the hosts still listening to him. "It's done." He offered her a large glass plate, scattered with pieces of white fruit with little black seeds.
There was a small moment of silence as Miki just stared down at the fruit in his hands awkwardly. Raising an eyebrow, Kyoya broke the stillness between them. "What are you doing? Didn't you want to try one?" He asked.
"I do, but..." Miki blinked a few times as she tilted her head. "Why does it have so many seeds? Can you eat them?"
"Of course you can," Letting out a sigh, Kyoya picked up a small piece with a fork. "Have some; I don't like them very much." He told her, bringing the fork to her lips with a small teasing smirk.
Without reservation or a hint of shyness, Miki opened her mouth and plucked the fruit right off the tip of the fork. Kaoru tore his gaze away from his brother, who was eagerly stuffing different tropical fruits into Haruhi's basket, catching the exchange between the two. He stood frozen for a few moments, as a small devilish grin curled onto his lips.
"It's not sweet or sour, tart or refreshing," Miki remarked, covering her lips as her brows drew close. "It tastes... strange. I don't like it very much."
"I see," Slightly disappointed as he didn't get a bashful reaction out of her, Kyoya's eyes turned half-lidded as he averted them.
"I'm sure Haruhi would like to try some though." As usual, Miki, who was completely oblivious to his advances suggested with a lifted finger. Spinning on her heel, she called the brunette over. "Haruhi! Would you like to try some dragonfruit?"
Taking a small bite out of the fruit, Haruhi indulged in the flavour. "Hm... The taste is hard to describe, but it's not bad." She reported to her two upperclassmen.
"What do you mean 'not bad'?" Kyoya questioned with deadpanned eyes as he huffed out a breath. "I don't understand; what's the point of eating it if it doesn't suit your taste perfectly?"
"Heh, don't make me laugh Ootori Kyoya!" With a loud and over the announcement of his presence, a familiar voice filled the air. The hosts quickly turned around to spot the president of the football club, Kuze standing at the doorway with a signature Orange in his hands. "I thought I smelled tropical fruits and look what I found! You're hardly qualified to talk about fruit." He accused with a crooked grin. "Listen here, Kyoya. You may not see the point of eating dragonfruit, but it's rich in protein vitamins and minerals. And that skin you said was inedible is delicious if pickled!" Smirking victoriously, he narrowed his eyes. "Your ignorance is appalling, Kyoya!"
"Kuze-senpai, how long have you been standing there to have heard all of that?" Miki cocked her head to the side.
Jolting at Miki's words, Kuze averted his eyes with a click of his tongue, trying his best not to give away how he stood in the halls, practicing his flashy entrance for almost ten minutes. "I-It's none of your business, woman."
"I already told you, my name isn't 'woman,' it's Miki." She looked up with a straight face. How could he not remember her name?
The corner of Kuze's smile twitched as his grip tightened on the orange. "I swear, you and Ootori are always trying to make me look bad." He grumbled.
"Well, you definitely could use a wardrobe change," Tapping her chin, Miki admitted as she scanned him up and down. "May I suggest the Hitachiin's fashion company for some new outfits?" Lifting a finger, she suggested with a sparkling smile.
The orange in Kuze's hands finally broke under pressure as fresh juice came splashing out. At that moment, Kuze realized. Unlike Kyoya, this girl wasn't taking sarcastic jabs at him.
She was being genuine.
"You-"
"Kuze..." Kyoya muttered, subconsciously shielding Miki behind his back. "You make a good point. Here are the skins, enjoy." Then with a pair of tongs, he dumped the skins of the dragon fruit Mori had peeled straight into Kuze's bare hands, who in turn let out a loud shriek at the sticky juice that ran down his skin and dripped to the ground.
"You idiot! Not in my hands! Get a container!" He shouted.
"Is this okay?" Haruhi sweatdropped at the absurdity as she offered a clear plastic container.
"Yes! It'll be fine! Give it here!"
After stuffing the sticky dragonfruit peels into the container, Kuze snapped it close with twitching eyebrows. The veins on his forehead were visible, almost popping out with rage. "Aren't you acting a little childish? Could it be that I hurt your pride?" He provoked with a dry laugh.
"No, no, not at all!" Waving his hands with an unbalanced smile curled on his lips, Kyoya retorted. "I was merely voicing my opinion of its taste. In addition to the benefits you just mentioned, I should point out that dragonfruit is rich in phosphorus, calcium, and iron, thereby contributing to decreased cholesterol and blood-sugar levels." Picking up an unpeeled dragonfruit, he turned to the guests. "It's low in calories and helps prevent anemia. It's highly recommended for women." He concluded as the girls fangirled over his intellects.
"I knew all that! I was gonna say that!" Kuze yelled, quickly defending himself. His grip tightened around the container until that cracked in his hands, once again turning his hands sticky.
"Oh, there you are, Takeshi." At this point, another slimmer and much smaller figure appeared at the doorway. "The ground is all sticky from the orange you squeezed."
"It's Princess Matsuyama, welcome!" The twins casually greeted her.
"Please excuse Takeshi," She giggled, covering her lips gently. "He's quite foolish and doesn't learn."
"Yeah, there's no helping an idiot." Hikaru and Kaoru shrugged in unison, shaking their heads.
"I hope he isn't too much trouble for you as well, Miki-chan. He is persistent in competing with Kyoya, to the point of being an attention hogger. If you'd like him to stop, please call on me." With a close-eyed smile, she brought her hand down and rested it on the lap of her skirt.
"Compete?" Tamaki repeated as his eyes widened slightly.
"Oh, not at all. I don't really mind." Quickly waving her hands, Miki shook her head. She was a little confused as to why Matsuyama would apologize to her of all people.
On the other side of the room, the two tension between the two boys grew thick as the dark aura around them grimaced. "You're so aggravating!" Kuze grunted, still attempting to maintain that shaky smile compared to Kyoya's unwavering one. "How about it then? How about a contest?"
"No, thank you." Kyoya declined. "My father taught me not to enter meaningless battles."
"You must compete with him, Kyoya!" Tamaki's sudden proclamation shocked the whole room as they turned to look at him with bewildered eyes.
"Tamaki?" Kyoya raised an eyebrow.
"It's sports!" Spreading his arms, the blond was grinning from ear to ear. "Men must challenge each other through sports! They strengthen their friendship through sweat and clashes of will!"
Seeing things take a wrong turn, Kyoya furrowed his brows and raised his hands in an attempt to calm the blond. "Relax, Tamaki." He sighed. "There's never been any friendship between Kuze and me."
"What did you say?!" Kuze snapped.
"Yes, I see it clearly." Ignoring Kyoya's protests, Tamaki rubbed a hand to his chin. "It's a time for sports! Everything just came together in my mind!" He hummed proudly.
"Huh? No..." Haruhi's hands twitched as a bad feeling brewed in her stomach. "You can't mean..."
"Yes!" Pointing a finger at Kyoya and Kuze, Tamaki's face was practically shimmering. "I hereby propose that we hold the first-ever Ouran Highschool Sports Festival!" He declared, much to Haruhi's dismay.
"Sport's Festival? Sure, I'll give my permission." On a rare day where the chairman happens to be at school, Yuzuru gave his approval without a second thought much to Haruhi's, someone who is useless at sports, dismay. "We've never had one before because parents thought it would be dangerous, but they'll come around if the students request it." Interlacing his fingers, he smiled at the cheering students who have gathered in the office. "However, I am not very familiar with the concept, Miss Fujioka," He turned to Haruhi. "What sort of sports events do regular schools have? How big should the venue be? Should we reserve the Tokyo Dome?"
"School grounds should be fine," Sweatdropping, Haruhi shook her head. "We could play tug-of-rope or have a bread-eating race." She suggested.
Tugging a rope...?
Bread dining...?
Everyone present in the room quickly turned confused due to their lack of knowledge and luxurious upbringings, tilting their heads, they began to imagine people tugging on ropes and eating bread.
"Then there are cheering competitions, relay races and cavalry battles." Haruhi continued.
Cavalry Battle...? From that suggestion, all the wealthy kids in the room could imagine were those fierce cavalry battles that took place in the Edo era, far off from Haruhi's original intent.
"Hmm... I can't make the connection." Yuzuru hummed, resting his chin on his hands. "What's fun about dragging around a piece of rope?" He asked.
"Huh?"
"And a cavalry battle would require at least 50 horses," Kuze muttered to Tarumi.
"Who wins the bread-eating contest?" The twins turned to each other with aloof expressions. "The one who eats with the best manners?"
"Hmm... It sounds like anything goes," Tamaki rubbed his chin as a creative gleam flashed across his ocean blue eyes. Cupping his cheeks, he looked down with a small smile. "I'd like to try candy art," He admitted bashfully, causing Yuzuru to snicker as he held back the urge to bush out in comical tears.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Haruhi questioned, baffled by how the entire room has dropped down to Miki's level of cluelessness. "It's not even a sport."
Snapping out of his shy trance Tamaki raised a finger. "I think we should Hamlet for the cheering competition," He suggested excitedly. "I'll play Hamlet."
"Let's do Romeo and Juliet!" Hikaru proposed. "I'll be Romeo and Kaoru will be Juliet!"
"What about King Lear?" Miki clapped her hands together.
"Don't you guys know Macbeth?!" Kuze yelled.
"Hey! Why would you cheer using Shakespeare?! It's a Sport's Festival." Haruhi mumbled, getting a major headache from this line of conversation. "Besides, those are all tragedies."
Ignoring her, Tamaki turned to the rest of the hosts with a triumphant smile as his hands rested on his hips. "Go to it, men!" He declared. "Put in a request to the student council and establish an executive committee!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Not even a week later, the OU Spot newspapers were flooded with articles about the rivalry between Kyoya and Kuze. It seemed like the regulars and the students weren't as satisfied with the results of the Central Salon race as, in the end, it was Tamaki and Kuze who ended up facing off. Titles such as 'Ouran Plans a Sports Festival: White team General, Ootori Kyoya vs. Red Team General, Kuze Takeshi!' and 'Suoh Tamaki elected as Sports Festival Committee Chairman' has been grabbing everyone's attention, as they rushed to go buy their own copy of the newspaper. Miki was one of those people as she held the crinkling papers in her hand, flipping through them as her legs swung around like a child's under the table. Kyoya was sitting across from her, typing away on his computer as Honey and Mori lounged around on the sofa with Haruhi, playing another round of card games. Hikaru and Kaoru have not arrived yet and Tamaki was still busy with the Sports Festival Committee.
"Everyone is talking about you, Kyoya-kun." Miki giggled, recalling all the whispers and murmurs as the students anticipated the winner of this sports festival. "They seem to be quite excited for your rematch against Kuze-senpai."
"I thought you didn't like Kuze," Kyoya responded, not lifting his eyes from his laptop screen. " What are you getting excited for?"
"I don't," Miki admitted bluntly without a hint of regret on her face. "But I'm excited for the sports festival itself. Once in a while, having a friendly competition like this among friends can be quite de-stressing, wouldn't it?"
Kyoya didn't answer as his fingers continued to dance across his keyboard.
Haruhi blinked at the two's exchange. She had noticed a change in Kyoya's mood ever since that day where Tamaki challenged Kuze in his place. He seemed to have lacked an interest in the topic of the sports festival. "Kyoya-senpai, are you perhaps not good at sports?" She asked him, turning around on the couch and away from the game of cards.
"Not good at sports?" Lifting his greenish-black eyes to meet hers, he spoke in a nonchalant manner. "Don't lump me together with you. I'm just saying I don't see the benefit in competing." He stated simply.
Yes, of course... Haruhi's shoulders slumped as she felt a chilling breeze from his words.
"But Kyo-chan," Honey piped up. "If we do well, we'll get more customers!"
"And more publicity," Miki added.
"I'm certainly counting on you and Mori-senpai to excel. I'm planning on selling DVDs of the event," Leaning to the side and resting his elbow on the armrest of his chair, he let out a sigh. "But the sports clubs have the advantage. What's more, there aren't the same incentives as there were at the cultural festival. Considering the business hours lost to practices, even if we gain a few customers after the event, we still can't expect a profit."
"Then, why'd you agree?" Tilting her head, Haruhi asked.
"You think it's possible to stop Tamaki when he's like this?" Kyoya retorted.
Haruhi opened her mouth, about to say more when Hikaru entered the room seeming extremely grumpy with Kaoru trailing behind. "Hey! Listen to this! It's ridiculous!" The older twin shouted with a frown. "Teams are decided by student numbers, so Kaoru and I got put on separate teams! Haruhi and I are red, but Kaoru is white!" Stomping further into the room, he slammed his hands onto Kyoya and Miki's table desperately. "Kyoya-senpai, Miki-senpai, tell milord to change the way the teams are divided!" He pled.
"Tell him yourself," Kyoya replied.
"Tamaki-kun is the only one part of the Sports Festival Committee," Miki reminded. "So none of us really have the choice over which team we are in."
"Takashi and I got split up too," Honey told the group. "He's red, and I'm white. What about you three?" He turned to the two second-years in the room.
"Both Kyoya-kun and I are on the white team," Miki tapped her chin recalling the events during the class meeting. "I don't remember which team Tamaki-kun is in though, do you remember?" Glancing to the side, she asked Kyoya.
"I don't know, he's probably red." With disdainful eyes, he grumbled. His weary eyes staring straight ahead in annoyance. "He wanted to make me white in the team divisions, so basing everything on that, down the roster-"
Before Kyoya could finish his sentence, the doors of Music Room #3 once again threw open revealing a grinning Tamaki who held a victorious peace sign along with his wide stance. "I'm chairman of the sports festival executive committee and the vice general of the red team! The red team is sure to win!" He challenged, pointing directly at Kyoya who stared back with uninterested eyes. "Kyoya, you and I are going to fight man to man! And hereby deepen our friendship!"
"You're making me participate in this worthless event in the name of friendship?" Kyoya questioned flatly.
"I-I'm sorry about that," Fidgetting with his thumbs, Tamaki adopted his puppy eyes persona as his lips formed a small pout. "But I thought you'd have fun too."
Standing up without sparing a second glance at him, Kyoya sighed. "Really? To me, it's nothing but nonsense." He said. "I don't like exerting effort without a benefit to me, and I refuse to be white general."
"Kyoya-"
"Tamaki," Cutting the blond off, Kyoya glimpsed over his shoulder as he leaned on the opened doors of the clubroom, bag in hand. "Sorry, but I won't play along. I don't like what you're doing." With that he exited the room, slamming the door closed behind him.
Miki stood up from her seat, torn between her brother and someone who meant a lot to her. Her eyes darted back and forth between the closed birch door and her silent brother.
"Is he really mad?" Hikaru sucked in a harsh breath through his teeth.
"He said there is no benefit to participating, but maybe he really feels like Tama-chan has betrayed him." Honey proposed.
"I wonder if he'll participate at all?" Kaoru hummed.
"Why...?" Tamaki muttered as his eyes turned to a downcast as he glanced at his feet. "I didn't mean... I just... It would be fun to compete against Kyoya. If I won, I could make him keep out his kotatsu all year long." He sniffled wiping away a few tears as he curled up into a pill-bug in his emo-corner.
The hosts sweatdropped at such a trifling reason.
"Agh, he's crouching in the corner again," Hikaru complained. "Kaoru wanted to switch teams with him."
"Well, how about he switch teams with me?" Haruhi offered. "He can be red, and I'll be white. I don't care which team I'm on."
"No!" Almost immediately, Hikaru shut down her idea with a shout. "I want all three of us on the red team!" He pronounced specifically.
Hearing those words, Kaoru and Miki exchanged a quick glance with each other before the ginger spoke slowly. "Hikaru," He uttered. "I'm okay on the white team." He reassured his brother with a pained smile.
Watching them, Miki blinked a few times before returning her attention to the door Kyoya left from. "I'll go talk to him." Biting her bottom lip, she declared.
"Miki-chan?" Honey called after her, watching her turn around with a soft beam.
"It'll be fine," She winked. "I'm sure we can work something out." Then, she closed the door behind her as she dashed out of the music room.
It didn't take Miki long to find Kyoya; in fact, the moment she left the music room, she spotted him at the other end of the Northen hallway. However, before she could call out to him, she heard another voice, hinting that he was in the middle of a conversation with someone.
"Well, that's no surprise, I thought you would. After all, you're just Suoh's toady." It wasn't difficult for her to pinpoint the owner of the voice. It belonged to Kuze, no doubt about it.
Before Kyoya could even leave the north hallway, he ran into the president of the football club of all people. "Can't suck up to him and compete against him at the same time, huh?" Kuze provoked. "But if you surrender and let him win, then his success will reflect on you." His hand tightened on his leather bag as he tuned out the rest of Kuze's rambling and empty taunts. He had already stepped on a deadly mine.
Who... Kyoya crunched his teeth together as he snapped around to glare at Kuze with the demon lord's eyes. Who would surrender to that idiot?!
The hosts' eyes snapped up as they heard the door open once again as Miki hurried back into the room as to not be caught eavesdropping by Kyoya.
"Miki-chan, is everything alright?" Honey tilted his head.
Peering up, the blonde thought back to the conversation between the two rivals before letting out a small chuckle as she remarked that Kuze may not be too bad after all. "Yes," She nodded with a bright smile. "Everything is fine."
"But... Kyoya didn't come back with you right?" Tamaki sniffled as he rubbed his eyes. His best friend's denial to a friendly competition seemed to have really taken a toll on him. "I should apologize. We can wait until winter for the kotatsu..." He wept.
"Tamaki-kun..." Taking pity on her brother, Miki moved forward to explain when the doors burst open behind, startling her.
"Hey!" Everyone in the room whipped around to see Kyoya breathing heavily at the doorway. Judging by appearances, he seemed to have sprinted back. "If red wins, I'll leave out the kotatsu all year!" He announced, loosening his tie.
"Kyo-"
"Miki, do we have the team roster?" Not letting Tamaki speak, Kyoya paced back into the room.
Going along with him, Miki beamed cheerfully. "We do, I can ask Kobayashi-sensei for it if you'd like."
"That would be great," Throwing his bag down onto the table, Kyoya then turned to Honey. "Honey-senpai, would you start coaching practice tomorrow? I'll devise a strategy based on data analysis of each player's strengths."
"Yes! I'll coach!" The lolita almost immediately agreed.
"Kaoru, you will assist me."
"Yes, sir!" Peeling away from his flabbergasted brother, Kaoru saluted.
"Kyoya! My friend!" Jumping up for joy, Tamaki extended his arms. "You changed your mind! Now we can fight man to man!"
"No, this is merely a way to vent my anger." Pushing up his glasses as his three teammates exchanged an encouraging fistbump behind him, Kyoya stared down the blond and his teammates with a dark expression. "I'll crush both you and Kuze!" He announced, crossing his arms as the three remaining members of the white team gathered around him. If he was the White General, they would be his three lieutenants.
"Victory belongs to the white team!" He made a declaration of war as the aura around them grew sinister despite the confident grins they all wore. "But you can try to scrape by on friendship and enthusiasm."
"Our first task is to examine the student data for both red and white team." In ConferenceRoom #1, the white team was holding their executive meeting with Kyoya sitting at the head of the table. "I see a necessity for researching not only each individual's athletic ability index, but also their personality, social interactions, and hierarchical relationships in regards to their extracurricular activities."
"Ootori-kun," Matsudaira, the weak-stomached student council president who was the official lieutenant of the white team for some reason, spoke up. "What's the connection between social interactions and our team events?"
"Excuse me, President?" Lifting her glasses, the prim and proper Ayame appeared with her curly hair. "I did a quick analysis of data, and unfortunately it looks like the red team has a slight advantage in athletic ability." She informed. "Isn't Ootori-san taking everything into consideration and creating a strategy that covers psychological as well as physical?" She questioned.
"Exactly, we are going to attack the enemy's weak points." Kaoru hummed nonchalantly as he typed away on his laptop.
"Oh my, that sounds like our diabolic Ootori." Matsuyama chuckled elegantly.
"Haninozuka-senpai," Sitting in between Miki and Honey, Reiko gently tugged on the lolita's sleeve as she slid a charm book towards him. "I found a spell that reduces the enemy's will to fight by half."
"Thanks, Rei-chan!" Honey nodded enthusiastically. "That might come in handy if we find ourselves in a pinch."
"I can help out with the spell too," Miki cheered. "We're gonna hit them with everything we got!" She winked at the emotionless girl, earning a small nod in gratitude.
Eyes scanning over the data, Kyoya flipped through a few pieces of paper. "We'll concentrate on the early events and the final relay race to earn points." He concluded. "We'll also do well with the events right after the cheering competition midway through. In particular, right after the cheering competition, if we chose our players well, it will be a perfect opportunity to accumulate points and trounce the red team."
"What should we do for the cheering competition, Kyoya-senpai?" Kaoru asked, peering over his shoulder at the numbers on the screen.
"We have videotaped source material from commoner schools, so we'll review that," Kyoya replied. "The cheering competition doesn't count toward the point total, so we'll have the most unathletic students participate in that event."
"I could help with the choreography with it," Miki offered, tilting her head when she saw Kyoya cast her a quick glance before shaking his head.
"There will be a few artistic based competitions thanks to that fool's meddling," His eyebrows furrowed deeper at that thought of the flamboyant blond. "I will need you to participate in those," He told her.
Nodding curtly, Miki held her hands in two fists. "I'll do my best!" She giggled.
"Um... Ootori..." One of the concerned students spoke up hesitantly. "Are we being too conservative in our approach? The other team has Suoh on their side. They'll put on a flashy show for sure." He theorized.
"I'm counting on it," Kyoya affirmed, closing his eyes as his lips curled into an asymmetrical smile. "The red team will waste a great deal of energy on the cheering competition. They won't know how to pace themselves and be too tired to do well in subsequent events." Closing his eyes, the aura around him grew dark as the grin on his lips widened. "Let's teach that fool he'll never win as long as he never does anything he doesn't like, right?" He suggested in a chillingly calm manner.
As the brainiacs worked away to devise a tactical strategy for the white team, the actual athletic club members sat silently at the end of the tables, wondering what they were exactly there for.
"Why do we have a thinking tank leading the white team?" The Vice Captain of the Soccer Team, Chitosebara Ren muttered to no one in particular. "What's our position as sportsmen?"
"It's... intimidating." The Vice Captain of the Basketball Team, Futenma Itsuki replied, sweatdropping at the amount of research that was taking place.
Suddenly, a little set of bunny ears popped up from behind the table, startling the two as they jumped back in shock when the bunny ears moved to the side to reveal the boy lolita. "What's wrong? You two look sad. Do you want some cake?" He offered with a sweet and curious head tilt.
"H-Haninozuka!" Itsuki shrieked.
"Cake? But we're in a meeting." Ren pointed out respectfully.
Humming for a moment, Honey then thrust the pink stuffed bunny towards the two. "Then, do you want to hold Usa-chan?" He presented.
"No, I don't want a stuffed rabbit either..."
Bangs casting a shadow over his eyes, Honey hummed. "Then, shall we start training now?" The aura around him turning grim, a horrifying gleam flashed across his eyes. "All you guys just sitting there - 50 laps around the track!"
"EEEK!"
Unlike the white team, the red team, much like Kyoya had predicted, placed their emphasis on teamwork and passion. With Kuze down and out from the shock of what he called 'the dark lord,' Tamaki was now leading the red team as a second in command. Students were allowed to chose whichever events they were to compete in. And even when Mori made the same demands for the students to run 50 laps around the track, they seemed actually fired up to follow the workout plan, dashing out of Conference Room #2 faster than the speed of light itself.
"The beanbag toss and tug-of-war will be good events for slow runners; I guess I'll sign up for those." Haruhi hummed as she went down the list of events for the sports festival. "What about you, Hikaru?" The brunette turned around with a soft smile only to find the older of the twins, sulking with a hand to his cheek.
"The three-legged race... would've been fun with Kaoru..." He grumbled, moping deepening into the darkness of his depression.
"Ah..." Haruhi sweatdropped. "Cheer up, Hikaru. You two will be apart only one or two hours after school until the sports festival." She attempted to console him.
"Kaoru said the same thing," Hikaru muttered.
"Besides, you can have fun telling each other what happened behind the scenes afterwards." Haruhi tried again.
"He said that too." Letting out a sigh, Hikaru closed his eyes as he thought what his twin could possibly be doing. "I know what's done is done, but Kaoru didn't seem to mind at all." His brows drew closer. "He's been acting a bit strange lately; sometimes I don't know what he's thinking."
"Hikaru..."
"Haruhi!" Before the brunette could manage any more comforting words, Tamaki popped out with the biggest grin on his face as he appeared behind the two conversing first-years. "Have you chose your event yet?" He asked. "How about it? Maybe the bread-tasting contest? Daddy's been thinking of sneaking in a nice piece of giant tuna in the bread during that! I'll call it the 'giant tuna sandwich'!"
"Um... I'm not sure about that." Haruhi commented with a wry sigh.
"Haruhi and I will do the three-legged race together." Hikaru waved his hands dismissively, trying to make a decision for the brunette who raised an eyebrow.
"That will never work," She reminded with a deadpanned expression. "Your legs are longer than mine, and I'll trip."
"I see! Hikaru wants to be in the three-legged race! I'll be your partner!" With a brighter grin than usual, Tamaki began to noogie the ginger excitedly, ignoring his squirms for him to stop. Instead of that, however, he slung his arm around the boy and gave him for a side hug with a wink. "Dadd's super excited! Go ahead! Enter as many events as you like!" He declared with a brighter sparkle to his aura as his free hand formed a peace sign.
"Enough! You're even giddier than usual," Hikaru growled. "Get off me!"
Haruhi blinked for a moment, wondering what could have the blond so happy when she gasped in realization. "Did you make up with Kyoya-senpai?" She asked with a relieved smile, only for the energy and joy to be drained out of Tamaki's face as he retreated into his moping corner, curled up like a pillbug and covered in his pool of tears.
"O-Oh..." Haruhi and Hikaru sweatdropped, realizing what was going on.
"What? He's been ignoring you in class?" Hikaru crouched down with a sigh. "And Miki-senpai has been avoiding hanging out in your room? There, there." He shook a baby rattle that popped out of nowhere ruffling the blond's hair as he tried to calm him down from the emotional breakdown he was having.
"So you've been putting on a brave front to hide your hurt feelings..." Haruhi deduced, holding Kuma-chan out for Tamaki, finally gaining an understanding of what Miki meant by, 'I can't comfort him, so this is the best I can do.' when she handed the bear to her earlier in the morning. "Why didn't you just get Miki-senpai onto the red team if you wanted to be with her so much?"
"The teams are sorted by Student Numbers," Tamaki sniffled as he wiped away a few drops of tears at the corner of his eyes. "Because of our shared last name her number is directly after mine, I couldn't get her onto our team no matter what method sorting method I proposed." As the thought came bubbling back to him, he teared up even more.
Resting an elbow on his knee, Hikaru huffed out a weary breath. "Even if Milord is at fault, doesn't it seem like Kyoya-senpai going a little overboard? I mean getting his sister to avoid him and all." He complained. "Milord's silly complacency is nothing new. Using Kyoya-senpai to hold a festival was pathetic but... you mean no harm."
As Tamaki took his favourite Kuma-chan from Haruhi, he felt arrows of pain pierce through his heart with every one of Hikaru's points. "It's probably more than that..." He muttered with his ocean-like eyes in a downcast. "He knew I was sticking my nose into his business."
"What?" Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"Senpai..." Haruhi's beady eyes widened as she finally understood something. "Did you perhaps propose this festival to stop Kuze-senpai from picking fights with Kyoya-senpai?" She questioned. "You wanted them to compete and settle things once and for all?"
"Yeah..." Finally calming down from his sniffles, Tamaki took in a deep breath. "And there's one other thing." The corner of his lips curled gently as his gaze remained glued to the tiled ground. "Hey, you two. What word would you use to describe Kyoya?" He asked the two underclassmen.
"Umm... I'd say, 'cool' or 'detached.'" Haruhi suggested.
"'Scheming,' probably." Hikaru chimed.
Can't help but let out a small laugh, Tamaki agreed with the two. "You're both right; I asked Miki the same question a while back. And she said, she thought Kyoya was 'possible.'"
Haruhi cocked her head to the side. "What about you, senpai?" She asked. "How would you describe Kyoya-senpai?"
Averting his eyes, he wore a far-off look as he admitted. "I think, Kyoya is passionate."
Pacing down the whisper-filled hallways with the newest issue of OU-Spot in his hand, Kaoru's eyebrow twitched at the headlining article. He was on his way back to the conference room as Miki headed towards the Resource Room to grab their cheering competition footage. However, the great commotion caused by these papers were hard to avoid.
"Host Club Leaders BATTLE! White Team, Ootori Kyoya vs. Red Team, Suoh Tamaki."
"Have you heard? Tamaki-sama and Kyoya-senpai won't even look at each other." He heard one of the girls mutter.
"It can't be! What about Miki-chan-senpai?" Her friend asked. "Those three were always together!"
"She has taken sides with the white team," Another girl, who Kaoru immediately recognized as Sora told the first-years. "She still talks to him, but it's quite clear there is tension between the two."
"I think this all started because Suoh set up a competition between Kuze-senpai and Ootori." One of the boys muttered. "But instead of being neutral, he became second in command of the red team."
"I miss seeing the three of them together," Cupping the side of her face, another guest sighed. "Two handsome boys walking together, a sweet girl between them as if they were her accompanying white knights. They make such a lovely picture." She sighed dreamily.
"I might have withdrawal symptoms..." Her friend agreed, peering down at her phone. "Oh, look!" She gasped, covering her lips with her fingers. "Somebody uploaded an old photo of the three hanging out on the host club website."
"It's one I've never seen before."
"I think the sold-out host club photo book has been reprinted as well."
.
.
.
As he reached the doors of Conference Room #1, Kaoru sweatdropped as he watched the host club's regulars rush off somewhere with determined gleams their eyes, more than likely rushing off to buy the new prints and photos. He laughed uneasily before opening the spruce door to the mostly empty room. "There's a huge commotion out there, Kyoya-senpai." He informed. "Ootori vs. Kuze has now become Ootori vs. Suoh."
"Kaoru..." Kyoya's eyes drew up from his laptop screen, acknowledging the boy's entry.
"Traffic to the host club's website has suddenly doubled too. Plus, for some reason, the photo book in print again."
"Is it selling well?" Kyoya questioned nonchalantly, focusing back onto his laptop screen.
Kaoru's eyebrow twitched.
"I knew it, did you pick a fight with milord with this in mind all along?" He grumbled, laying the newspaper out in front of Kyoya who shrugged.
"What a rude assumption," He lifted his glasses, not even looking up. "What happened actually angers me, but I saw an opportunity, so I decided to drag out our dight and make a profit."
"Aren't you being a bit cruel to milord?" Kaoru demurred, subconsciously leaning forward from his seat. "I don't even understand why you got angry in the first place. The rumour that you're upset because he became the red team's second-in-command is false, right?" He pointed out. "Milord's silly complacency is nothing new."
"I know," Kyoya replied.
The ginger continued, unknowingly raising his voice. "Using you as a pretext to hold the festival was pathetic, but-"
"I know,"
"And I think milord was tired of Kuze-senpai trying to pick fights with you, so he wanted to put an end to it by holding a competition, so-"
"I know."
"Huh?" Blinking, Kaoru's shoulders slumped as he calmed down. "You knew that? I was just saying whatever came to mind in the heat of the moment."
"Regardless, you are correct about Tamaki's motives," Kyoya affirmed.
"Then why are you angry?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.
Kyoya's eyes turned to a downcast as his typing stopped. "Because he's sticking his nose into my business. I don't care what Kuze thinks of me, but it's quite annoying being dragged into a competition that is of no benefit to me. He ought to leave things between Kuze and myself," Heaving a sigh, his brown-ish green eyes turned dull. "I believe that as long as the people we care about understand us, the other stuff doesn't matter. Don't you agree?"
Watching his upperclassman speak, Kaoru hummed. Taking a seat back down, he propped his arm up as he leaned to the side. "What about Miki-senpai then?" He asked. "Does she understand you?"
That's just how you are, Kyoya-kun.
Hearing that question, Kyoya's eyes automatically wandered to his right hand. The one that still lingered with the warmth of her gentle kiss on the night of the school festival. His eyes crinkled slightly as he shifted his head.
"Yes," He replied, reverting his attention back to his laptop as he began to type once again. "Yes, she does."
"What's going on between you two anyway?" Humming, Kaoru thought back to their interactions in the clubroom when Miki ate off of his fork without even the slightest bit of hesitation. "You two have been acting awfully couple-like. Did she finally confess to you?"
"Subconsciously, yes," Kyoya answered without a change in his voice or mood.
.
.
.
"WHAT?!" Kaoru jumped out of his seat again, nearly choking on his own saliva. "What do you mean by subconsciously?" He quickly followed up, a little confused.
"She unknowingly admitted her feelings towards me," Closing his eyes, Kyoya elaborated.
Taking a step back to think, the ginger's brows drew close in confusion. How could someone 'unknowingly admitted their feelings'? However, knowing that dense yet blunt upperclassman of his, it somehow seemed possible. "So then? What happened?" He pursued. "Did you explain to her? You always explain everything, right?"
His fingers froze as he thought back to that afternoon in the club room, that day when she spelled out loud and clear 'I need you.' "No," He said. "This is one thing I don't believe I can explain to her."
"What? Why?" Kaoru cocked his head to the side. "Come on, Kyoya-senpai. Hikaru and I have bets on when you two are going to get together, why didn't you explain to her the weight of what she said?" He urged.
"Kaoru," Kyoya didn't move. "I don't appreciate you two placing bets on my private life."
"S-Sorry..."
Averting his eyes out the conference room window, Kyoya took a small breath. "I don't believe this is something I should explain to her, as it's a topic she should discover for herself." He revealed. "As someone who has been devoid any of these new emotions, she doesn't have the ability nor knowledge to process her feelings if I were to tell her now. She would simply accept my words out of blind trust, not even bothering to think about herself and her own emotions." His eyes dulled at that thought. "That is the last thing I want from her."
"So in other words, you are refraining from telling her because she currently isn't capable of understanding love." Kaoru rephrased. "And even if you were to explain, she would become something like a puppet without a clear mind in the relationship." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sounds complicated."
"I will give her a push if I see it as necessary. However, there is one thing about her. I still can't conceive of understanding." Kyoya said as he turned back to his laptop. "When I told her she was a benefit to me, she smiled." His eyes dulling slightly, remembering those defining moments. "I was so baffled by her response, I didn't take the time to ask myself why her response would be like such. It was a rather strange response no matter how one looks at it, isn't it?"
Instead of responding, the ginger remained silent as he observed Kyoya who peered up when he noticed him staring. "Why are you making that face?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Um, yeah... I agree." Hand trailing down the back of his neck, Kaoru muttered awkwardly. "You know, I just realized for the first time that you can be really cute. I can see why Miki-senpai was drawn towards you in the first place; I heard tsundere characters are all the rage now."
"I see, so you really want to run in the marathon. I'll be sure to enter you in that event."
"No! I take it back!"
On the broad fields of Ouran Academy, the red and white teams were running on the tracks as Honey and Mori led them, keeping pace with one another.
"Ah, youth..." Honey huffed as his warm breath collided with the cold air outside, evaporating into mist. "But, I don't really understand what's going on. Kyo-chan is stubborn, and Tama-chan hides his true feelings. Maybe it's good for them to have it out."
"Yeah." Mori agreed, running alongside the lolita.
"But the white team is going to win." Honey quickly justified.
"You mean red." The giant disagreed.
"Wanna bet? I'll wager a three-month supply of cake."
"Then I'll wager a three-month supply of chicken feed."
Holding the DVD of their 'cheering competition footage,' Miki was rounding the corner of the South wing, about to head back to Conference Room #1 when she ran into Kaoru who was just on his way to go look for her.
"Oh, Miki-senpai." He greeted the strawberry blonde. "We don't need the footage anymore; the president said he can handle it himself."
"Is that so?" Covering her mouth with an edge of the disk case, Miki's eyes widened. "Alright, I'll go return this to the resource room." She beamed.
"I'll come with you," Kaoru stated with a small smile, he began walking with a hand in his pocket. "I need to pick up a few papers from the printer, then-" He stopped mid-sentence as his attention was quickly drawn away by the sound of talking down the hallway. Miki glanced up as well, just in time to see Haruhi and Hikaru in their red tracksuits, walking briskly together through the hallway almost bordering a light jog.
"Hikaru? Haruhi?" Kaoru called out to the two, catching their attention.
"Oh, it's Kaoru and Miki-senpai." Haruhi hummed.
"Kaoru!" Hikaru's eyes widened as he veered off track and lunged at his twin for a hug.
"I missed you so for an hour since school let out!" They squealed as they embraced one another in a tight hug, causing Miki to giggled.
Haruhi however, seeing as they were going to take a while, continued walking with a nonchalant wave. "All right, I'll see you later-"
"Ah! Wait up, Haruhi!" Peeling away from his brother, Hikaru hastily called after her. "Sorry, Kaoru. I have to practice with the red team. Don't leave without me!"
"Oh... okay." Taken off guard by his twin's sudden enthusiasm, Kaoru murmured. "Why're you into the competition all of a sudden?" He questioned.
Chuckling, the older of the two pressed a finger. "It's a secret." He laughed almost in a child-like manner. "The red team is going to win for sure!" He declared with Haruhi at his side.
Kaoru's eyes rounded.
"You mean the white team," Miki retorted.
"Nu-uh!" Hikaru played along with his upperclassman, turning on his heel as he and Haruhi remained determined to keep up the pace of their little drills.
"Hurry, Haruhi, let's get to the track!"
"Ah... I can't go any faster."
"Bye, bye!" Miki waved with a beaming smile before noticing the stillness that was Kaoru. Her eyes flickered up to see the ginger with half-lidded, thoughtful eyes as he watched the two red spots vanish at the end of the hallway. "Kaoru?" She tapped his shoulder, leaning into his peripheral vision and snapping him back into reality. "Is something the matter? You're being so quiet."
Kaoru glanced down at the blonde's questioning eyes before returning his attention to the end of the hall with a distant gaze. "Miki-senpai..." He muttered. "What do you think I should do... If Hikaru and I like the same thing?"
"Huh?" Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Miki straightened her body. "Well, it's like you said." She hummed. "'Do what you can do' for him." She recited with a closed-eye smile. "He's your precious brother, right?"
Kaoru was silent.
Sensing more uneasiness, Miki opened her eyes to observe him. Kaoru's pale face was slightly darkened with the shadow of his bangs, and his brows were knitted together as if he were in pain. He looked extremely conflicted over something, leaving Miki to deduce by herself what exactly had him looking so tortured. Following his unmoving gaze, she turned to look down the hallway at Hikaru, then at Haruhi. Suddenly, she remembered a conclusion she arrived at a while back.
Hikaru has feelings for Haruhi.
"Kaoru, are you in love with Haruhi?"
Hearing his thoughts being spelt out in such a straightforward manner, Kaoru whipped his head around to her innocently curious expression. His lips parted slightly as he attempted to form an answer.
"Yes," After a few moments, he finally found the words at the back of his throat. "I realized it some time ago, but I thought I was hiding it." He admitted. "I like the way things are now in the host club, and Hikaru is important to me, but... I don't know what to do anymore."
"Well," Tilting her head to the side, Miki hummed. "It's our job as a younger sibling to worry, however..." Glancing up at him, her eyes crinkled softly. "But, sometimes we also need to relax and focus on something else for a while." She reminded, grabbing him by the arm and began to drag him down the halls confidently, raising a fist in the air. "Victory for the white team!" She cheered energetically.
Watching her radiant smile sparkle in the afternoon light that seeped into the halls, Kaoru couldn't help but let his momentary frown and tightly knitted brows to loosen into a small smile. "Yeah!" He raised a fist in the air weakly as he followed her slowly.
"Miki-senpai."
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
"Of course."
A/N: Sorry, sorry! Another festival arc?! I know! But please remember that I'm trying to stick to a timeline here, and Japanese sports festivals usually take place in the autumn. Sooo, here we are!
And oh my gosh, would you look at that new cover?! I'm getting better at this whole book cover thing, aren't I? Thank you to one of my good friends Mr. R for giving me feedback during the making process of this cover.
Have a great day!
XOXO,
Astra