~Chapter Thirty-Eight~

Perfection

I Know That You Don't Know It,
But You're Fine, So Fine.
Oh, Girl, I'm Gonna Show You
When You're Mine, Oh Mine.

Treasure; That Is What You Are.
Honey, You're My Golden Star.

You Are My Treasure.

~ Treasure, by Bruno Mars

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

Oddly enough, Akira, who was all about polite gestures, decided that we would have none of that formality and reached forward to hug me. I was surprised by the sudden affection but returned the embrace by wrapping my arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer. My eyes closed slowly, and I breathed in the faint scent of his cologne, remembering all of those childhood memories of riding his shoulders. That time is now over.

Although saddened at the prospect of losing the innocence of childhood, I smiled because a new chapter in my novel would be opened next. The pages were slowly turning from the first part of the story and to the climax, which would likely be filled with different challenges to triumph over. High school would eventually end, then college would follow immediately afterwards, proceeded by marriage and children.

Yes, I would be stepping into the world of adulthood, but I would not be alone.

Sammy would be with me.

Takashi's P.O.V.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, I could breathe in and out properly, like I was supposed to. And I could do so without hyperventilating, too, which I discovered to be nice. I worried for several weeks, almost two months, about approaching Akira. Another week zipped by following that little discussion, but I breathed freely. No longer did I need to worry and fret about my secret romantic relationship – and the eventual engagement – to Sammy.

My father, stern and concerned with the future of the family, still approved of the odd but sweet girl.

Now, I need only to gather my courage and then propose, I silently mused. My black eyebrows furrowed, and I paused in consideration, remembering just who I would be proposing to now. I sweatdropped. Am I really going to propose to Sammy, the weird girl who about passed out when I asked her to be my girlfriend, and expect her to stay conscious, too…?

Yes, I remained skeptical of imminent success, worried about how my sweetheart would take it. My father, however, was so certain that Sammy and I would be engaged within the week that the priceless engagement ring belonging to his mother – Haninozuka Karin – was given to me. The gold and sapphire ring was stunning, and I could not believe that I would be permitted to give it to someone else. It was vintage but still incredibly beautiful, with a golden foundation, crystal white diamond setting, and large sapphire centerpiece. Sammy would love it. The blue gem would perfectly match her eyes, as well.

I smiled softly at the thought of Sammy wearing the beautiful ring, which carried the crest of the Morinozuka Clan, too. The whole world would know who exactly Samantha Steel belonged to – and also know better than to risk the wrath of her husband and his family. The soft smile glued to my mouth instantly morphed into a small but deliriously happy smirk. Husband; I like the sound of that….

The old ring in my pocket remained heavy, a near constant reminder of the nerve wracking question, and possible loss of consciousness on the part of Sammy, to come. I patted the blue silk curled protectively around the hidden bundle, unsurprised that I would feel this nervous now. The final decision – yes or no – would change both her life and mine. My stomach constantly swirled around like the white clouds in the endless skies.

Unlike with Akira, though, this feeling was actually good this time. The persistent butterflies in my stomach remained, obviously, but I did not feel the need to vomit at the thought of the future, which I realized could be labeled with plenty more certainty. Like Satoshi mentioned last night, I probably did not need to worry about her response because Sammy and I loved each other. However, Sammy was rather strange at times, and incredibly hard to predict, too, so –

"Verdammt, I leave for a second to visit Neko-chan and when I get back, I find this!"

A small and decidedly blonde female zipped by, bolting across my eyesight to verbally attack the two redheaded devils that were easily lifting skinny Haruhi between them. She skidded to a stop, pointed her right index finger at the two nonplussed boys, and loudly bellowed, "Quit harassing meine kleine Schwester!" Her chest heaved with the effort of screaming at the top of her lungs.

Speaking of the incredibly strange but adorable devil, I mentally sighed in exasperation, suddenly thinking back to my previous thoughts about the risks of proposing to the unpredictable girl. I subtly shifted to glance down at the small blonde and, like always, sweatdropped at the sight of her strange pose and exaggerated antics.

Per the usual, Sammy was standing in an overly dramatic fashion, with her hands to her curved hips and blue eyes narrowed dangerously at her siblings. My girlfriend apparently barreled to a stop in front of Haruhi and her redheaded captors – and five dozen female mannequins covered with nothing but skimpy bikinis and other (seemingly nonexistent) swimsuits. I paused. What would Sammy look like in that one with the seashells?

My mind did not need much encouragement and started whirring dangerously with that one question, and I began to imagine my girlfriend dressed in several of the cute – and, I swallowed nervously, rather revealing – swimsuits. A fast slideshow of small bikinis, modeled by Sammy, zipped through my mind like lightning. I imagined her wearing the small blue swimsuit in the midst of the collection and blowing kisses at me, which I would catch and hold to my chest. Mitsukuni snickered at my really silly expression, but I paid him no mind, busy with these wonderful daydreams of mine.

Dear Kami. I paused suddenly and then groaned, stunned at this automatic reaction, and twitched faintly when realization hit. I sounded like Tamaki just then. My nose scrunched upwards, and I barely refrained from rolling both gray eyes in annoyance. Damn hormones…

"Hikaru and I are doing nothing of the sort, Onee-chan!" Kaoru stubbornly insisted, closing his golden eyes to keep the blonde female from seeing the obvious glow of mischief in his gaze. He probably realized that it would not do to piss his older sister off before stuffing her into a suit of her own. Sammy would fight less if feeling safe and unthreatened at the possibility of being displayed like a piece of fresh meat.

"We are merely attempting to embellish her little A-Cup breasts," Hikaru calmly explained to his sister – and the rest of the Hosts. He then rudely pointed to the rather flat portion of her torso, where most girls curved outwards. "A regular swimsuit would emphasize her flat chest and bring everyone to tears!"

"…what?" The Hosts, Kaoru included, immediately raised incredulous eyebrows at this rude but highly intelligent declaration from the normally brash and somewhat dense Hitachiin Hikaru. No one said anything about the strangely smart explanation coming out of his mouth, uninterested in the extra vocabulary words, and instead zoned out again to stare at the swimsuits.

What could I really say?

We were men.

"Takashi-kun!" I gave in to temptation and smiled stupidly at the granite tiles. So I ignored the ramblings of the Host Club, preoccupied with the images in my inner mind theatre. My musings were also fueled by the hormones running rampant in my mind. "Kiss me, please, Takashi-kun." Sammy leaned forward and placed her hands to my shoulders, moving to place her lips to mine, and –

Hikaru placed his classmate to her steady feet, ignoring that the brunette stalked off whilst darkly muttering about those stupid rich bastards, and then walked forward to meet Sammy. The two siblings stared blankly at one another, and then – Hikaru brazenly poked her breasts. He paid little attention to the stunned silence and continued, "You, on the other hand…"

He… My mouth dropped wide open in blatant disbelief and, if I could be honest, another bout of bright red jealousy. Yes, Hikaru might be her brother, but the two were not related by blood; it would not be incest if the two became romantically involved. …touched her breasts?

Her left eyebrow lifted in confusion, but Sammy just blinked at him and nodded slowly at this change in topics, as if unconcerned with this invasion of her privacy. Sammy yawned into her hand and easily inquired, "What's your point, Hika-chan?" She was apparently accustomed to this treatment – and thoroughly bored to boot.

"Your C-Cups need to be displayed maturely and securely in a cute bikini!" Hikaru declared, pointing first to her breasts and then to the skimpy bikinis behind him. "You need to look pretty, but not too pretty." He frowned in thought, looking through the collection for the perfect piece that would showcase his cute sister but not appeal to men. Touch choice, that one…

Nodding in agreement, Kaoru gestured to her chest and shoulders, the latter of which would help hold the bikini up. "We would not want it falling off because of the extra weight in that half of the top, either," Kaoru cheerfully piped with his infamous mischievous smile, "hence the need for secure wrappings!"

I twitched and hesitantly glanced at the blonde American, picturing her breasts first with, and then without, the thin material of the bikini covering the pale skin. It would not surprise me in the least if Sammy, my every clumsy girlfriend, managed to trip and fall, break the supposedly secure straps that tied the bikini top together, and flash me. My mind easily provided the uncensored images of what I imagined could happen.

Blood slowly welled and trickled down from my nose, but I ignored the strange sensation in favor of staring off into thin air, lost in my own wonderful world. Oh, Kami…

"Right, Kaoru!" Hikaru exclaimed with excitement, pounding his right fist into the palm of his other hand in thought. A grin flashed to life, the epiphany coming to mind, and then Kaoru thoughtfully added, "You need something with lace, strings, buttons – and cushion!"

My naïve girlfriend stared at the redheaded boys. "Why do I need extra cushion?" Sammy then stared down at her breasts, which remained hidden beneath her white baseball tee, and cocked her head to the side in confusion. She squished the mountains of flesh together with her tiny hands, obviously forgetting that the Hosts and I were still there, too. "I'm big enough at the moment, right?"

Crimson blood continued to trickle from within my nose, almost gushing with the intensity of the nosebleed that I suffered then. My wide gray eyes were now practically the size of large dinner plates – and glued to her breasts. Curse the world for giving me an open-minded American girlfriend who does not think twice about doing…that…in public!

"Takashi!" Mitsukuni hissed in my ears, panicked, and pointed to the river of blood leaking from my nostrils. The handkerchief in the front pocket of his blazer disappeared and suddenly reappeared in my open palm. He worriedly glanced at the crimson mess again and needlessly explained, "You're bleeding!"

Automatically, I raised both hands to pinch my nose, using the slender fingers and borrowed handkerchief like tourniquets to help with clotting and to quell the bleeding, as well. I used the ends of the (previously white) material to wipe away some of the blood from my nose and mouth. "Ah…"

"You don't usually have nosebleeds unless you're training…" Mitsukuni stated, before turning to observe me. The proverbial light bulb flickered to life behind his wide gaze. He mechanically turned to stare at Sammy, who was still pushing her breasts together in confusion. My cousin blinked at the strange sight, shifted back around, and slowly smirked at me, amused. "Oh…"

I blushed furiously at the knowing look in his honey brown eyes and silently cursed his feigned innocence; in all reality, Mitsukuni was very mature and likely considered steamy situations like this more often than I. My displeased frown immediately vanished from view, however, when I remembered that Kotoko would be coming to the beach with the rest of the Hosts. I could push the two together! While I did feel marginally bad for sticking the kind girl with the deranged ninja, I sensed that it would do her – and him – some good.

Added benefit? I cheerfully mused while attempting to stare blankly – or rather, innocently – at the suspicious ninja in question. Not only would Mitsukuni have a girlfriend and possible future bride, but it would distract him from my relationship with Sammy-chan, too…

"First, though, Haruhi needs to try this particular selection on!" Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed with identically wide smiles. The Twins darted forward to bring the mannequin with the white and pink frilly bikini to her attention and helpfully added, "This bikini will successfully cover any problems with frills!" Kaoru pointed to the frills, while Hikaru gestured to his chest.

The short brunette was seated in her chair at the small table but moved around to examine the frilly bikini with critical brown eyes, silently checking if the swimsuit would meet her criteria or not. "Thanks, but I would not be caught dead wearing that monstrosity," Haruhi darkly muttered and turned around to continue studying, thus ignoring her pouting classmates with ease.

Seeing the supposed pain burning in her brown eyes, Tamaki whirled around and, in his patented banshee voice, screeched, "How dare you?" The Host King snarled protectively at his enemies and smacked the redheaded boys with his baseball bat, sending the two devils flying backwards, into the air, and under the table. "Listen to Big Sister and quit sexually harassing my precious Baby Girl!"

"That's rather interesting." Sammy slowly turned from her personal dilemma, released her chest, and observed blonde male with mischief, much like Kyoya would do in this situation. My smart girlfriend chuckled darkly and smirked at the underclassman with glee. "You've progressed from calling Haruhi-chan daughter and to calling her baby girl, Tamaki-san…"

The Host King lowered the metal baseball bat and leaned to the side, using the sports equipment like a cane. With this incredibly confused expression plastered to his perfect face, Tamaki hummed in thought and asked, "What do you mean, Sammy-senpai?" His question, while stupid, remained innocent and sincere.

"Are you Sirius?" Sammy croaked loudly and gaped at him, completely stunned that her friend could be that oblivious. She cleared her throat, apparently thinking better of the situation, and waved her delicate right hand at him in a rather dismissive manner. "Never mind…"

The Twins appeared from beneath the edge of the table at which Haruhi studied, clearly thinking it safe enough to leave the protection of the expensive furniture. The redheads crawled upwards, like ruby snakes emerging from an urn, and curiously peeked at him through brown eyelashes. Hikaru and Kaoru pouted at the Host King and whined, "We're not going to the beach, then?"

"We planned to visit the beach, right?" Tamaki dismissively inquired, resting his black baseball bat against his shoulder and closing his violet eyes. His pink lips turned upwards into a grin, and Tamaki winked at Sammy, who bumped her small shoulder into his forearm and smiled brightly back at him. "As Host King, I must always keep my promises!"

"Oh!" Hikaru and Kaoru exclaimed in happiness, both flashing upwards and nearly knocking the vase of ruby red flowers from the tabletop in the process. Golden gazes winked brightly in laughter, amused with the mutual mistake, and the Twins cheered, "You do want to go!"

Immediately, Mitsukuni dropped the issue with the nosebleed to focus upon our classmates. He reverted back to his childish personality; his pink stuffed rabbit appeared out of thin air and filled his arms. The manipulative and bright gleam in his chocolate brown eyes vanished within that instant, too, and Mitsukuni practically begged, "Can Usa-chan come, too?"

Oddly enough, Sammy leaned forward before I could respond and hugged her classmate around his small waist, squeezing him tightly to her side. Her hip bumped into his, making the two nearly fall into the collection of mannequins. "You should definitely bring him with you, Mitsukuni-kun!" Bright blue eyes glittered with honest joy, and Sammy giggled at him.

My expression softened at this interaction between my cousin and girlfriend, both of whom rarely displayed the honest and carefree sides of their complex personalities to the outside world, fearing rejection. Mitsukuni preferred to act cute and buried his dark side deep within the brick walls blocked around his heart; likewise, Sammy marched forward in life with that fake smile plastered to her lips, blue eyes empty and calling for help. The two endlessly searched for happiness but would eventually be pulled into yet another cruel whirlwind of societal expectations – no stuffed animals, sweets, humor, references, laughter, fun, or joy.

Neither seemed to like the other much when I first introduced the pair, either, but the relationship between the two continued to develop and mature with each passing day. My stubborn girlfriend continually smashed through the thick brick walls around his heart like the figurative wrecking ball. My cousin chipped through the ice surrounding hers much the same way. Thanks to the incident at the Tropical Aqua Garden, Sammy and Mitsukuni were much closer and also considered each other as close friends.

Kyoya snorted softly in amusement, but I merely crossed both arms and smirked. Friends will stick together and defend each other, too.

Darkly, Sammy glared at the chuckling Shadow King and moved to place her fingers in the hand twitching furiously at her side. My girlfriend lightly squeezed his fingers in comfort, waiting for Mitsukuni to calm, and shifted to stick her tongue out at the opposition. "I'll bring Padfoot, too!" Sammy proclaimed with her typical dramatic flair.

Mitsukuni gasped in genuine delight at this declaration and sweetly asked, "You have a cute stuffed animal, Sammy-chan?" He leaned forward to pull lightly at her leg of her blue skinny jeans in question. His smile widened and filled with happiness at the possibility of another eighteen year old student having stuffed animals.

"Several, actually, but I really love this one in particular," Sammy laughed, the admission not bothering her in the least, regardless of the fact that Kyoya continued to document each word in his notebook. She smiled faintly and explained, "My Mutti and Sarah gifted him to me on my seventh birthday, right before…the accident."

My girlfriend did not seem sad, however, when her sapphire eyes softened in remembrance of her deceased mother and little sister. In fact, Sammy appeared rather cheerful at the thought of bringing the treasured stuffed animal with her to the beach, like this could be the chance to relax and share bits of her past with us. Mitsukuni also noticed this positive change in her emotions and smiled encouragingly at the other teenager. My cousin wanted her to be happy. And I appreciated this beyond words.

He slowly bounced forward to rest his head against her shoulder, not wanting to frighten her, and leaned into her hand when Sammy brushed her fingers through his hair. Mitsukuni nuzzled into her shirt and mumbled, "What kind of stuffed animal is Padfoot, Sammy-chan?"

"Padfoot is a puppy," Sammy cheerfully responded and grinned down at the other senior, her expression amused, happy, and somewhat sheepish, too. "Actually, I named him for one of the two best characters in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." My girlfriend glanced at me and shyly said, "Your cousin and I watched the movie last weekend, two days before visiting Ueno Zoo." To which I smiled.

In a rare moment of honest affection, Mitsukuni squealed with delight at the adorable picture presented by the blushing girl and sweetly cooed, "You're so cute, Sammy-chan!" My cousin, as a small leech in a ninja costume, glomped the bemused American and practically glued himself to her left leg.

My girlfriend sweatdropped and patted his head, laughing nervously all the while. "Yeah, I love compliments," Sammy muttered beneath her breath, shuffling awkwardly to accommodate the extra weight attached to her lower limbs and succeeding only in falling to the ground with a small thud. Mitsukuni giggled at her misfortune and Sammy wearily groaned, "Warum?"

The Shadow King spared the unlikely pair of blonde teenagers an amused smirk, his rimmed glasses flashing brightly in the sunlight that poured in from the closed windows. "There are no objections then, I take it?" Kyoya inquired while continually scribbling mysterious notes in his black notebook.

Honestly, I could not find harm in visiting the beach, provided that Sammy and Haruhi did not step into the ocean water. "No," I plainly said, shrugging both shoulders in a careless fashion to emphasize this decision while the rest of the Hosts – with the exception of Haruhi, of course – chimed in with various statements of affirmation.

"The Host Club," Tamaki smiled at the unanimous answer and childishly pumped his right fist in the air, "is going to the beach!"

***Author's Note***

Shadowsammy: Several people requested lots more chapters in Takashi's POV! So here you go!

Audience: Yay! Where is Takashi/Mori/The Sexy Beast?

Shadowsammy: There! *Points to Takashi* See?

Takashi: *Smiles* ...seashells... *Smiles Wider*

Shadowsammy: ...right. -_-;

Haruhi: What is going on?

Shadowsammy: Takashi's a pervert! :D

Takashi and Haruhi: ... ... ... ... ...

Shadowsammy: What?

Haruhi: *Sigh* Read and review, please! *Walks Off*

Shadowsammy: *Stares* Was it something I said? O_o