Chapter 8, Part 3 – Interventions? and adjustments

I slowly opened the door to the bathroom I was in and poked my head out to look around. I was in a large elegant and luxuriously decorated room, admittedly 'large, elegant and luxuriously decorated' are words that could be used to describe all the rooms within this mansion. As I looked around wondering where I was my eyes were drawn to movement in the center of the room.
"Are you okay?"
My cheeks flushed in a combination of embarrassment and surprise as I noticed a shirtless man drying his hair with a towel sitting in a chair by a large window. I shut my eyes immediately as more heat rose to my cheeks, bowing to the person before me.
"Please forgive me sir. I didn't mean to intrude. I apologize and will leave you now." I stuttered in a rather embarrassed manner and almost found myself squirming in shame.
"Don't be silly Hisoka, It's just me." At those words I looked up and noticed that the person who was sitting in the chair was Kyoya, without his glasses for once and no shirt. He was drying his hair with a small towel and I quickly realised that he must have gotten out of the bath or shower only moments before I ran in here to throw up somewhere other than the floor. Instinctively I felt my blush deepen when I realised the awkwardness that could have occurred from my running into the room a couple of minutes earlier.
I darted my eyes to my left to avoid looking at the bespeckled host. After several moments awkward silence I found myself speaking timidly.
"Kyoya? I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble today. It really wasn't my intention at all. With the guests and the men that attacked us...I'm sorry..." I found myself trailing off and glanced back over to Kyoya. His gaze seemed to be firmly fixed on me, however there was no way of me guessing his thoughts. Thankfully he broke the new silence.
"While I appreciate your attempt at an apology I do have to criticise it. If you were truly sincere then you would at least look at me when you spoke." His voice was firm but betrayed disapproval in his words. With difficulty I raised my eyes slowly to look at him. He hadn't moved from the armchair, his hands resting on the towel now placed on his lap. His expression struck me, there was no humour in it. It reminded me of when he confronted Renge when she arrived at Ouran, serious and ready to teach someone a lesson. I hadn't ever thought I'd see it directed at me. It was making me consider that I really had done something wrong.
"What happened Kyoya?"
"Don't you remember?" He asked inquisitively, "since you denied an examination from the doctor, I called out earlier I assumed you were physically fine. I wasn't aware that your memory of today's events had been affected. If you have a concussion I can always call the doctor back if needed?"
I shook my head, "No...I remember all of that...I meant what happened afterwards when we were returning to your estate and when we got here…I just want to know exactly what troubles my actions caused for everyone."
Kyoya gave a small sigh where he sat in a way that I felt wasn't from exasperation but more to make a point.
"If you are that curious, regarding myself I had to gather all of the girls and arrange their transportation to take them back to their hotel before any more of them became aware of what had happened. Then I called for a doctor to look at you but you then insisted that you needed no medical aid. After that I had to separate Kaoru and Hikaru from beating those two punks to death. Concealing a murder would have been too much hassle..."
A very light tint of humour could be detected in those words but not enough to detract from his very non humorous tone.
"...I then had to reassure your guests that had contact with the two men and send them to the hotel with the insurance of your positive health, arrange our transportation back here and our subsequent stay without the aid of staff to assist us and while here I had to send each of the girls a bouquet of flowers to apologise for interrupting the activities of their day. They've been looking forward to this trip and we don't want to disappoint them."
"I'll pay you back for the flowers Kyoya. Just tell me what to do to make it up to you." I interjected earning a thoughtful look from the host.
He stood up slowly and began to slowly walk towards me, regarding me as he spoke.
"It doesn't take much to see that you want to give in and rush to Tamaki apology in hand and going right back to the way that the two of you usually interact. However, it also doesn't take much to see that Haruhi is the one preventing you from having done so already. She is aiding you in taking a stance in an argument that you are not wholly wrong in..." Kyoya paused for a minute as he stopped a little ways in front of me, "...although that is greatly in part to Tamaki's wording when he first confronted you on the issue."
"Go on, " I urged as his words slowed slightly in their pace.
"There are two parts to Tamaki's argument but I accept that he did not address them properly during your first confrontation so I will understand if you fail to see his side to the argument. Firstly, I should probably tell you that while the words he directed to you at the beach can certainly did convey misogynistic undertones. Its probably important for me to say on that idiot's behalf, that is not the message he was trying to get across to you. He wasn't telling you that you were weak and unable to fight because you're female. Tamaki was worried about you.
"He was worried?"
The bespeckeled host nodded.
"His anger stems from worry, and while he may have come across as condescending, I can speak from experience that he did not intend it that way. I also want you know that nothing of what I say or do in this situation are intended to come across as condescending and patronising either."
I nodded expressing my intent for him to continue.
"You confronted two men, both older and physically stronger than you. Being rather limited in the effectiveness of the aid you could have provided to the guests in need, your choice to confront these men aware of the disparities in your physical abilities and the fact that you were outnumbered was incredibly reckless. You acted without regard for your own safety, something that as you can see has effected all of us, not just yourself."
I opened my mouth to interject but the sharpe look I received in response told me that my 'lesson' was far from over.
"Your reckless actions resulted in you being overpowered and pushed off of a cliff, but also resulted in injury to your head and already damaged eye. This all happened when they believed you to be male. What is they discovered that you're female? I highly doubt they would suddenly grow a conscience and leave both you and the guests alone after that."
At those words I had to drift my eyes away from his, the seriousness felt so intense. Like it was burning.
"Kyoya…I…"
Sudden pressure clamped around my wrist, my body tensing as my eyes drifted to my wrist. Kyoya's hand grasped my own smaller one. The next thing I knew my body was lurched towards him. I heard myself gasp as I found myself pinned down; my back pressed against the sheets of the bed that was now under me. My eyes were fixed squarely above me. I could feel Kyoya against my skin as he straddled me, his hands pinning down my arms, as he leaned in closer to me. When he was close enough, I could feel the heat from his breath I found myself flinching.
"I want to know, are you truly naïve enough to believe that your sex doesn't matter? The disparities in our strength have left you completely defenceless against me. I can overpower you, just like the men you confronted earlier. You tense whenever someone touches you, you freeze, your reactions are frozen. You can barely react."
As he spoke, I could feel my body shaking. Every breath was a shudder, but I couldn't look away from him.
"You're completely open."
I'd felt scared more times than I could count. I felt uneasy when touched. But this, being pinned down, unable to move, unable to fight back, this…
"I can do whatever I want to you."
…This was fear.
I let out one more terrified shaky breath and was very aware of just how much the rest of my body was shaking.
"Please," I stammered with as much conviction as I could, "Please Kyoya please, get off me,." My pleads met a slightly bemused expression from the person above.
"Please, say whatever you want, lecture me scold me, shout at me, just…just please let go of me."
The silence that hung in the air after my words lasted an eternity longer than the few seconds that passed before he gave a small nod. Immediately the pressure holding my wrists in place was released and he climbed off me, opting to move and sit at the bottom edge of his bed.
I just lay there staring at his form as he reached for his glasses, placing them back on. I slowly began to move my fingers, almost as to check whether they still worked, then I moved my wrists, in small circular motions. At almost a snail paste I pushed myself up to sit in the middle of the bed. As I moved to get off of the bed I found myself shaking again, pulling my legs to the centre of my body, wrapping my arms around myself, almost as if I was attempting to hold myself together.
My eyes found their way to the floor in front of me. I didn't move from where I sat. I wasn't sure if I could.
After a moment I could hear the rustling of bedsheets and flinched when I heard Kyoya stand. But he didn't walk towards me. His footsteps retreated until they were all but entirely faded. I wasn't aware of where he'd gone until I heard his footsteps gradually grow louder. A clink of glass summoned my eyes to the source of the sound. The placing of a glass filled with water on the table next to the bed. My eyes didn't follow Kyoya as me moved to reach behind me, but I felt my body tense as I heard more ruffling. A muffled sound of surprise caught in my throat as I felt something soft being draped over my shoulders, I glanced to my shoulder to recognise the blanket that had been sprawled across the bed now sprawled over me. I glanced up at Kyoya who met my eyes before tearing his eyes away. He pulled the blanket closer to me, almost wrapping me up in it before letting his hands fall slowly to his sides. Softly he spoke, "I'm sorry for frightening you to this degree, it was not my intention"
With that he moved back to his position at the end of the bed and sat there, facing the other side of the room, where I was not in his line of sight.
My gaze however was locked onto him, I wasn't glaring, I wasn't staring. I'm not sure I even knew how I was looking at him just that he was in my line of vision.
Moonlight crept through the large windows of the room outlining his form, every breath he took I could see, without realising it, my breathing began to mirror his.
And that was how we stayed, both of us sitting in silence, thinking, possibly even going through the events of what had just happened in our heads. At least I certainly was.
Minutes passed, 5? 10? 15? I wasn't entirely sure.
But with every passing moment I felt myself calming, it probably had something to do with copying Kyoya's much more regulated breathing pattern. As I calmed I found myself thinking over Kyoya's words, there was something about them that was bothering me: 'I'm sorry for frightening you to this degree, it was not my intention.' The more I thought over his words the less sense they made to me. What did he mean 'to this degree'? Why did he intend to frighten me? What was his 'intention'? And what did he do that fell out of plan of these intentions?
The more I sat and thought about it the more I realised that I would need to speak to the host by me. And as I sat there it bothered me more and more. Eventually I heard my voice break the long-held silence between us.
"Kyoya?"
I received a 'hum' of acknowledgement.
"What exactly were you trying to prove to me?"
Silence was my answer. Therefore, I viewed it as time I addressed him.
"Your actions, dragging me over, throwing me onto your bed and pinning me down certainly make a bold statement. And to put it frankly, you scared the hell out of me and when I'm finished speaking I want you to tell me why you did it. And I want you to tell me the whole truth, otherwise I'm not sure how safe I can feel around you anymore."
He nodded, not looking back at me.
"I've been thinking about it, and the way I'm choosing to view it is that you are trying to ensure, with no uncertainty that I understand Tamaki's stance in this argument. You've already clearly stated that there are physical differences between men and women. And it is an undisputable fact that there are men who will exert this power over others, especially women. And given the actions undertaken by those assholes at the beach earlier they are those types of men. From what I can guess…and tell me if I'm wrong…you were demonstrating how easy it would be for someone to take advantage of me if they so desired and assault me or even rape me, especially given how I react to sudden physical contact."
He did not react, even to my use of the word 'rape', which from my experience many would deem as an unnecessary word regardless of it's relevance due to the seriousness of the act that the word represented.
I sighed before I continued, "However, looking at all of my interactions with you and the fact that I've actually let myself relax and feel safe around you…I'd like to believe that you'd never do such a thing. And from my experiences from you I've seen you be calculated, I've seen you weigh all your options before carrying one of them out, deciding which one will merit you best. And forcing yourself on me…I uh...well there is no credible merit in that. If rape had been your intention then the act itself, one solely perpetrated to exert violence and power over another person would be reason enough. But bringing in the concept of merit, what you appear to base all your decisions and actions on, such an act…well you wouldn't have gained anything from it. More accurately, while you'd have nothing to gain from it, you'd have everything to lose. Regardless of the differences in our social positions doing such a thing would tarnish your reputation, never mind possibly irreparably damage your relationships with the rest of our friends. Therefore, it wouldn't be worth it to you. From what I've gathered you care more about them then you tend to let on, and you would never deliberately do something that would damage those relationships to such a degree. If you had truly intended to force yourself on me it would mean that you didn't care for their opinions and the relationships you have with them. Besides that, doing something not only so forceful but also doing something without giving the consequences of your actions their full consideration kind of seems rather out of character for you…at least from what I know of you. So tell me, were you trying to prove Tamaki's point or do I have a reason to be scared of you now?"
With my question I wrapped by thoughts up. I noted that in the silence I could hear my heart beating violently and wondered if I was really that nervous. Eventually he answered.
"You certainly are a fascinating young woman Hisoka. You're right."
"About what?"
"I wanted to demonstrate Tamaki's point in action, although I didn't entirely anticipate the degree to which my actions would affect you."
I nodded slowly.
"You'd do things to make a point that Tamaki wouldn't consider, you can be a nice guy but in the grand scheme of things morality is dependent on what suits you best, is that it?"
At this Kyoya turned back to face me, a hint of a small smile prevalent on his features. His glasses glinting in the moonlight as he faced the window.
"If that's how you want to phrase it I don't entirely disagree."
I loosened the blanket that he had wrapped around me slightly, reaching over for the glass of water to my side. As I picked it up the glass was cool, nipping the tips of my fingers ever so slightly. I took a sip of the liquid refreshment as Kyoya continued.
"Neither myself, Tamaki or the rest of the club are going to tell you that you should allow us to protect you as you're too weak to be able to fend for yourself, because none of us truthfully believe something that untrue, regardless of Tamaki's ill-considered phrasing earlier today." I sighed and raised my hand to interject a point. Kyoya stopped and gestured for me to speak.
"I'm aware of a lot of this Kyoya. Besides, I don't believe that differences in strength between men and women are irrelevant, and I'm not ignorant enough to believe that I could overpower 2 men when I can barely stand to be touched by someone I don't trust and feel safe with. But, just how many of you are stopping to consider my position in this? I was simply doing what I felt I had to. Our guests were in trouble and I did the best I could to help them, the same I would for anyone in danger, whether they be Haruhi, my little sister or even a stranger. In an emergency like that you don't waste time thinking about the consequences you do what you can to help and hope that what you do is enough. I just feel like my side of this argument is being dismissed. I'm used to having no-one but Haruhi and her father to depend on. I recognise now that I have you guys that I can ask for help but I'm still not used to it. In an emergency I'm dependent on either myself or her. It hasn't entirely dawned on me that I have other people I can ask for help from now, so I didn't consider it. I'm not an idiot and I'm not naive, I'm just not used to having more than 1 or 2 options and neither is Haruhi which is mostly likely the reason she defended me to the extent that she has. I'd like to assume that you can understand that, from what I can also tell from my experiences from you, you're also not one who depends on a vast number of people, making you dependent almost solely on yourself."
This time Kyoya raised his hand to interject, so I silenced myself for the time being so that he could speak.
"There is always more than one side to every argument. I must confess that I while I understand Tamaki's point of view I was also curious to hear your perceptions on the matter."
"And now you have." I pointed out to him, taking another sip of water as I did so.
"I admit I can understand your perspective. It does take time to realise that you can depend on someone other than yourself, a lesson I rather admittedly had to experience regarding a certain bumbling French buffoon."
Despite myself I let out a small giggle at such a fact.
"Part of the point that Tamaki rather ineffectively attempted to make was that while self-sufficiency is something everyone needs to function as an independent being, it is important to know when to stand your ground and when to ask for help. By not asking us for help even when it was available in a situation where you were clearly out matched makes us perceive your actions as reckless. Asking for help doesn't mean that you're weak and helpless, and your gender certainly doesn't determine such attributes either. You should have made better use of the resources you have, and you didn't. As I stated before, Tamaki's state of anger and frustration earlier stems from worry towards you and the behaviour you demonstrated today. I certainly can also recognise that the others, while they may not harbour anger and frustration towards you, they did worry about you. And therefore, I feel that it would be in your best interests to apologize to them additionally. No party is entirely wrong in their thinking's, maybe just their phrasing of such opinions…"
"AKA Tamaki." I exclaimed earning a nod from Kyoya.
"Mostly Tamaki, although I feel it would probably be more beneficial for Tamaki and Haruhi to work out these differences in perspective with each other rather than you try and be a bridge. She got involved in this argument to defend you and your stepping in to dissolve it may be perceived as giving in."
It was my turn to nod this time around.
" I do believe that you're right."
I took another sip of water and began to feel considerably more content in the pleasant silence that washed over the two of us.
I held out my glass of water as an offer for Kyoya to drink but he merely shook his head and stood up from the bed, walking over to where he had left his own water bottle before taking a drink of water himself.
Despite what had happened since I had rushed into this room in order to throw up the delicious dinner I'd consumed, strangely I felt rather content. That was until a low rumbling followed by a distinctive 'CRACK!' shot and echoed throughout the room. I froze in fear, but for once it wasn't my own.
"Oh my God, Haruhi!" I breathed and snapped my head round to look outside the window. The moonlight was now barely visible through the mass of black clouds that had obscured the sky. The only clear light that permeated through was the sudden flash of lightning that streaked its way through the sky. An ominous rumble following the flash immediately afterwards.
"Are you okay Hisoka?" Kyoya asked curiously walking back over towards me, sitting back down on the bed. Another flash of light broke me out of the trance I had found myself in and I jumped into action.
"I need to go find Haruhi, she's really going to need someone right now."
My words earned me a raised eyebrow from Kyoya but I mostly ignored it. I pulled myself towards the edges of the bed and attempted to swing my legs round so I could stand. However, forgetting my entanglement with my comfort blanket from earlier I felt a tug around my knee and found myself losing balance, falling to the floor.
The next thing I felt was two hands holding me in place by the edge of the bed, I tensed and as the world stopped spinning I saw Kyoya's hands grasping my arms keeping me in place and preventing my fall.
"Thanks," I managed to force out.
It was then I became very aware of a notable dampness and cold up my front. I looked down and noticed I was soaking wet, having spilled the remnants of my glass of water over myself as I lost balance.
"I'm going to put you down now." Kyoya told me and began to release the force on my arms, all the while pushing me back slightly, so I immediately didn't topple off the edge of the bed again. As soon as I was sure I wouldn't fall forwards again I let gravity consume me and fell back onto my butt again. I could feel my now cold and damp closes sticking to me uncomfortably and looked down at myself, thankfully I hadn't ruined the dress my little sister loved me in, I'd only given it a light soaking.
"I just keep finding way of embarrassing myself don't I?" I joked to Kyoya looking up at him.
"That would most certainly appear to be the case." He replied matter of factly, reaching beside me to pick up the glass that has been dropped onto his bed. He paused a moment to make sure he didn't touch my leg as he picked up the glass and such a small act of consideration after all of the unpleasantness earlier was something I greatly appreciated.
"What on earth are the two of you doing in here?!"
I trailed my gaze over the source of the loud exclamation to see Tamaki standing in the doorway staring at us both.
The blond host's eyes were wide and darted between both me and Kyoya.
Before either of us I could respond another clap of thunder resounded through the room and I remembered what was really important.
"I have to go!" I announced, drawing the attention of both hosts towards me. I manged to stand up, without tripping this time, and tried to make my way towards to door.
"You're going to want to change Hisoka, if you keep your wet clothes on for too much longer you may get ill." Kyoya recommended as I walked. I turned my head round to give him a quick nod to signal that I'd heard his words. His gaze however was fixated on Tamaki.
"You bastard, what were the two of you up to?"
Tamaki's words sounded almost angry but they weren't direct at me they were directed to his best friend. I paused on my way to the door and looked between the two of them. Tamaki was wanting context for what he'd walked in on, probably why I was on Kyoya's bed which was all messed up in addition to being rather wet. Confusion was evident across his features, but his eyes looked almost hurt as he stared at Kyoya. Kyoya on the other hand was coolly glancing at the host king, his face betraying nothing. It almost felt like Tamaki was going to start shouting at him, and I must admit, such a thought kind of unnerved me. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to leave the two of them alone…but then I again I was sure as hell that I didn't want to leave Haruhi by herself right now either. I didn't even know where in the building she was.
I tried to move my foot but regardless of my will it wouldn't move. I grit my teeth and almost hesitantly I reached out for Tamaki's arm. My fingers clenched themselves in the soft fabric of his shirt and I felt him turn his head to look to me.
"I know you said you weren't going to speak to me until I admitted my mistakes, but I need you to do something for me Tamaki. Please?"
My words were soft but even as I spoke, I felt a soft determination behind them. I looked up into the host king's eyes asking. His seemed to soften almost instantly.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I'd like you to go find Haruhi for me. She shouldn't be alone right now. She needs someone with her but she won't ask them. It isn't an option for her. At this moment she'll be terrified and scared out of her mind. And well…I'm not sure I'm the best person to comfort her right now, I'm not even sure where she even is now but she'll most likely be in her room. Besides I'd probably get lost trying to find it." I chuckled to myself lightly as I said that last part, "I know we have some things we really need to talk out and I promise you we will, but right now I'm asking you to help me help my best friend."
Slowly Tamaki nodded and I let go of his sleeve.
"Why is Haruhi so scared?" His asked and I looked towards the window to the sky.
"Here's your answer to the game you were all playing earlier, Haruhi's weakness is Thunder and Lightning. I've never seen her more petrified of anything, so please go to her."
"Okay. I will."
With those words I let go of Tamaki's sleeve.
"How about we meet in the kitchen later, we can talk things through there?"
Tamaki turned and began to walk out the door, not before sounding a definite "sure thing" before the door shut behind him.
As the door softly clicked shut I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding. The rumbling of thunder was the only sound that resonated through me until I was remined of another presence.
"You're still going to want to change if you don't want to get ill."
I turned back to Kyoya with a hint of a smile.
"Thanks for the concern."
"It would be in our best interests if you didn't fall ill. Your falling ill might affect the rest of us as well. I for one would greatly appreciate illness not effecting my work performance when classes recommence."
I looked down at myself once again, my clothes as damp and cold as they were 5 minutes ago.
"I wouldn't dare get you ill Kyoya, I'm not sure I'd be able to afford the consequences." I joked before point to his also damp bed, "Do you have somewhere I'd be able to wash and dry the bedding? I'm sorry about putting your bed out of commission."
Kyoya glanced to the bed and then lightly shook his head.
"The bed can be sorted out in the morning. All the guest rooms on the estate had been prepared before our arrival and given the situation I'll sleep in one of them tonight. And as I said you should change your clothes, attempting to dry the bedding will only postpone that happening."
I sighed.
"I guess you're right. By the way may you please direct me to my room. I ended up in here in the first place because I couldn't remember how to get there."
Kyoya looked to me and nodded. I watched as he walked over to the chair he had been seated in earlier in our interactions, a brown shirt rested over the back of it. He reached for the top and began to pull it over his head, not seeming to care that I was standing watching him. My eyes glanced over his bare chest and I turned my face away to look at the door and felt the faintest blush tinge my cheeks and thanked the fact that due to the presence of shirt over his head Kyoya was not able to see my face in that moment.
Footsteps sounded behind me and in a mostly comfortable silence we walked out of the room and into the corridor. We walked making a left at the end of one corridor and then another left at the end of the next one. I made a mental note of how to get from where I was being led back to Kyoya's room if needed…until I remembered he had mentioned moving to a guest room tonight since I has unintentionally soaked his bedding. Apparently some form of expression was evident on my face as Kyoya began to speak again.
"I imagine you're not the most experienced in finding your way around large estates." He spoke in a way that expected a response without bluntly stating a question, more like he was stating a fact about that that I was expected to confirm or deny.
"Yep, it's not like I've known anyone wealthy enough to live in such grand houses until now, never mind anyone wealthy enough to own several. And most places large enough to get lost in that I have visited tend to be places like school, shopping centres or hospitals which all have signs everywhere, and unless you are always hosting here I doubt it make much sense to have signs like that."
Kyoya nodded in agreement from my side view.
"My family owns several estates and residences across Japan and in other countries as well but this house is one of the less frequently used. My sister is the only member of my family who would choose the beach as her ideal vacation destination. Although I do believe that my elder brother Akito hosted some associates from his medical course here last summer. My sister is married and therefore is considerably more likely to stay in one of her husband's families residences if away from home and if she is allowed to leave her husbands estate."
Fighting a raised eyebrow I interjected, "I don't wish to sound rude but what do you mean by 'if she's allowed to leave her husband's estate?'".
I'd never heard Kyoya speak about his family like this before, he'd briefly mentioned he had 3 siblings when he helped me with my maths work one time but that was the extent of it. I didn't know what had prompted him to talk about his family like this but I wasn't going to deliberately do anything to stop him, Afterall I didn't know when he would speak like this again. Hearing about his life was making him a lot more human and I quite liked it.
"Perhaps my phrasing was misdirecting. My sister, Fuyumi, is by no means confined to her home and makes frequent trips back to the main Ootori estate whenever she can. However she is often chided by our father who believes that as she is married she should spend her time at her own home taking care of it for her husband."
"No offence since I don't know your family but that does seem to be rather restrictive."
"My father believes that since my sister is married her place is by her husband's side, supporting him, while serving the Ootori families best interests at the same time. Despite her love of travelling Fuyumi is not particularly fond of air travel and will aim to avoid it whenever possible due to her fear, her husband has become aware of this and will often leave her in Tokyo as he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable when he must fly somewhere for various business meetings and trips overseas. From what I'm aware he will often make arrangements for her and has encouraged her to travel around japan through other means of transport in his absence if she wishes. She often visits a residence he owns in Karuizawa, Nagano as she is quite fond of the area."
I nodded.
"It sounds as if your sister's husband is quite considerate of her. It also sounds like you're quite close to your sister."
"Yes, I would say that out off all my siblings I maintain the closest relationship with Fuyumi. Her marriage was a 'political' one so to speak arranged between our families so I'm glad that her husband does seem to care and respect her. Not all arranged marriages end happily for both parties."
I smiled slightly and wondered if I'd ever meet Kyoya's sister. Her certainly spoke of her warmly, well as warmly as he could. Especially given how his tone seemed to change slightly when speaking of his brother's or father. I certainly wasn't going to push my luck by asking him about them either.
"Here we are."
I zoned back to our surroundings and realised that I was so caught up in Kyoya talking about his family that I had completely forgotten to pay attention to how to get back to my room. Now a door not entirely unfamiliar was before me. I turned my head to the right knowing that Haruhi's room was on the same corridor as mine. Ideally Tamaki would be with her right at this moment watching over her in my place.
I turned to my guide, "Thanks a lot of showing me back."
"If you require my assistance with anything just let know, otherwise I shall leave you to change."
"I'll be fine now. But I'll talk to Tamaki later and hopefully things will be less awkward afterwards."
Kyoya gave me a look of understanding and turned to leave. I sighed and opened the door to my room and let myself inside. The room was as grand as I'd left it even equipped with an en-suite bathroom for my use. The bed was easily queen sized covered by luxury sheets with a remarkable high thread count and similar bedding all in a pale green colour scheme. It was the same scheme as the rest of room and complimented it's dark wood furnishings. Hell the room even complimented the pale green of my soaked dress. I had to give the universe props for it's colour co-ordination.
I sighed and pulled the tie of my dress to loosen it and swiftly pulled the dress over my head, shivering when my damp skin met the cool air of the open room. I shook the dress out and walked over to the ensuite and finding the heated towel rack by the bath shuffled around the towels draped over it in order to accommodate my dress. Leaving it to dry I made my way over to my sink and finding my mouthwash gave my mouth a well needed burst of freshness. The liquid made a satisfying 'splat' against the ceramic and I looked myself over in the mirror once again. The bruise under my left eye was darkening very slowly and I knew that by the time tomorrow came it would be remarkably more purple and somehow more sensitive. I was still a bit shaken up after earlier which was to be expected, but somehow listening to Kyoya talk about his family had relaxed me despite his actions. He wasn't one to talk about his personal life as I had noted during other times we had conversed. Maybe it had been an attempt to make me feel less on edge since he'd made me so uncomfortable? Who knew? The guy was predictable in some ways, especially in ways regarding money, club profit or his own benefit but in almost any other situation I had nothing to go on. Even now I didn't know him well enough to guess his mood or actions. He always kept up a façade. From what I'd seen it may lessen sometimes around the rest of the club but it was almost permanently up making truly knowing him harder than I would of imagined.
I sighed.
I raised my hand and padded the fabric of my bra checking for exactly how damp it was. To my annoyance the foam cups beneath my fingers gave a small squelch. I reached round my back an unhooked the support item and hung it beside my dress to dry. Walking back to the bedroom I went for my tog bag and pulled out my pyjamas. It wasn't like I was going to put on something new just to take it off afterwards. My pyjamas did not match the colour scheme of the rest of the room with the trousers being white with purple vertical stripes. I pulled on the trousers and thankfully managed not to fall over doing so before pulling the plain purple night T-shirt over my head. I sat down on the bed after changing and found myself thinking about todays events yet again, this time however my thoughts did not focus on the shadow king. They were thinking about the others. I guess learning of my actions would have worried them. It was true what Kyoya had said though, I was essentially defenceless, and my particular phobia made this fact even more precarious. I looked down at my hands, they were pale but not unnaturally so, small, but once again not unnaturally so and they weren't very strong. I could barely grab someone and hold them in place for any extended period of time or more likely any time at all, my grip would be easy to break. But it would be all too easy for someone to force their grip on me. Something like that wouldn't happen to the others, being as wealthy as they were I'd imagine that the twins would have been subject to a self-defence class or two at some point in their lives and if our adventure at the waterpark and what I'd seen was any indication self-defence was only a small part of what Hunni and Mori could do. They could do a lot.
Mentally shaking my head I reached across the bed for my bag and had a quick rummage around for my phone. Finding the yellow-coloured flip phone I opened it, glanced my messages and calls to see if I had received any attempts of contact from home, I hadn't. Which was probably a good thing. A lack of calls or messages meant everything should be running smoothly back home. I briefly considered calling quickly just to receive confirmation that my 3 pests were doing okay but muffled voices and footsteps interrupted my thoughts. The light 'thumps' were frequent enough to suggest at least 3 people behind the door. Almost hesitantly I glanced to the door before me. Light from the hallway seeped in beneath the heavy wood but shadows would cut across the beam of light, dancing with subtle movements, indicating oscillation on the other side of the door. Resolved I pushed myself up from the mattress to stand, placed my phone back down onto the bed, quickly gave my pyjamas a brush down and with 3 short strides opened the door.
The majority of the host club members stood before me, Kaoru stood at the front with his hand raised to a fist indicating that he had been about to knock for me, with his twin, Mori and Hunni placed behind him. It was my guess that they had all been staring at my door waiting for Kaoru to knock but since said door had been opened by yours truly all their eyes now rested upon me. I raised an eyebrow and Kaoru changed his hand from a knocking fist to give me a nervous wave.
"Hi there Hisoka, how are you?"
I felt my eyebrow arching higher at his awkward attempts at conversation initiation. It was Hunni's caring voice that lessened the awkwardness of the scene.
"We came to see if you were feeling better, you didn't look well when you left the dining room."
I gave them all a genuine smile, touched by their concern.
"Thanks for coming to check up on me, I was ill for a bit but I'm feeling much better now, especially since you guys all came to see me."
Mori gave me a curt nod as Hunni grinned. Hikaru on the other hand sighed and pretended to act humbled, brushing off my words, however he did so in an unconvincing way that I almost found myself giggling at. Kaoru's lip turned up slightly in a small smile, "The other reason we came to see you is we were wondering if you knew where Haruhi was. She spoke with us for a little while before leaving us. We came up this way to check if she had come to her room and to check to see how you were feeling of course."
I glanced towards my friend's door, "She should be in there…" I questioned whether it would be a good idea for them to check on her right now. I was certainly going to check on her, but I knew that Haruhi would prefer if the other's didn't see her in such a petrified state. However, if Tamaki was with her she should be less petrified than if she was on her own…
"Haruhi is currently in her room, Tamaki is with her."
All five of us turned our head to the latest contributor, it was Kyoya turning onto the corridor. He approached us slowly and appeared to be holding his phone in his hand.
"Tamaki sent me a text to tell me he was with Haruhi."
I could tell his words were directed to me, to tell me that Tamaki had done what I'd asked of him. I gave Kyoya a subtle nod and the corners of my mouth turned up slightly in relief due to confirmation that Haruhi wasn't alone. However, due to a significant lack of context going around the corners of my mouth were quick to fall back down to earth.
"So the boss is alone with Haruhi is he?"
My eyes trailed the twins who were looking at each other with practiced mischief in their eyes, the tells of smirks itching across their faces.
"I wonder what they're doing alone in there...Do you know Kyoya? The boss seems to have kept you pretty well informed."
I looked over at Kyoya who shook his head, "She's with our prince Tamaki, what could possibly go wrong."
Piggybacking on Kyoya's words I chimed in myself, "Yeah guys, they're probably just talking about everything that happened today you know. It may not be the best idea to interrupt them right now. If they're working things out then us going in could ruin that."
I didn't want to just send the guys away, but I also didn't want them to see Haruhi until she was more together, a sentiment she would share. Hopefully, my words would let them leave her and Tamaki be. I found myself nervously glancing between Haruhi's door and the twins. They both paused for a second and seemed to consider my words.
With little hesitation the twins turned on their heels and stalked towards Haruhi's door. My words ignored. In an almost stumbling manner I went after them. The rest of the host club trailing behind with much calmer footsteps.
"While what you say makes sense Hisoka," Kaoru declared as they crossed the 10 to 11 metre distance between both bedroom doors, "We still want to know what the boss is up to with Haruhi,." Hikaru finished.
I stood behind them as we all stood outside the door, unsure as to whether I should grab their arms and pull them away for Haruhi's sake. My indecisiveness was met by both cheery voices announcing in unison.
"Hey boss, we're coming in!"
As they moved to open the door I pushed forward through my indecisiveness and went to pull them both back. However, upon opening the door they'd both stopped moving. Not prepared for this I walked straight into Kaoru's back. The contact startling me and causing me to jump backwards, almost falling onto Mori as I did so. As I recomposed myself I noticed that the other hosts weren't making a move to walk into the room but were instead standing and staring inside it. I moved my eyes over and understood why.
I was so glad that for the scene I was witnessing I actually had context for once. And I realised that excluding Kyoya none of the others had any idea how to comprehend what they were perceiving.
Tamaki was on the ground and knelling over Haruhi who was sitting on the ground on her knees, her eyes were covered, concealed by a makeshift blindfold that appeared to be one of the cushion covers from Haruhi's bed, given the uncovered pillow lying at the end of it, and from Tamaki's words:
"…with the blindfold on you can't see anything and the earplugs help muffle any sound."
She was mostly wearing some form of make-shift earplugs too, or who knows he might of even had some within him for all I know. All I did know was that in the wake of my asking him to help my best friend and reassure her and comfort her in her time of need that is exactly what he did. And from Haruhi's own word's I knew that all he was doing was his best to help her.
"Wow! Yeah, you're right. I can't hear a thing. The blindfold works to so I can't tell if you've been speaking to me."
However, as I had pointed out before context is an important thing and without it, especially in a situation such as this one people are bound to come up with all kinds of scenarios. And our group are no different.
"You nasty pervert." Hikaru's highly unimpressed voice rang out thought the room startling the blonde who jumped, turning around to face all of us with a look of horror overcoming his features. As he continued staring in horror Kaoru recovered from his initial deadpanning to chime in after his other half.
"What kind of foreplay is that?"
Once again I remembered the importance of context. As I imagine looking at the way that Tamaki's head frantically turned from all of us to Haruhi's temporary blinded and deafened form, so did he.
"It's not like that! It's not what you think!" His tone was one of pure desperation. While his eyes darted between all of us his gaze lingered on me. Our eyes met in moment of frantic intensity, the frantic intensity coming from the apparently compromised host king. His violet eyes radiated various emotions as they bore into mine: desperation, mortification, misunderstanding, anxiety and even a plea for help. My gaze was much softer, I wanted them to convey appreciation towards him for what he had been doing for Haruhi and sympathy for the misunderstanding that had occurred and that he was being subjected to on her behalf.
I gave a grateful sigh before reaching for the twin's collars and grasping the lightweight fabric between my fingers. With a soft tug I began to pull them back through the doorway, careful not to place any strain on their throats given that I was pulling them by their collars. I wasn't sure whether it was my doing or them succumbing to the force of gravity but both red heads moved with me as I began to pull them slowly out of the room. They made noises of complaint as I moved them.
"Come on now you guys. You wanted to see what the two of them were up to in here and now you have. Let's leave them be to continue…whatever it is that they're doing."
I paused for a brief moment and looked back towards Tamaki and Haruhi with a smile tugging at my lips once more. Tamaki seemed to understand what I was doing and looked towards Kyoya who was still standing behind the rest of us.
I heard a shuffle of feet and then Kyoya's voice.
"Hisoka is right. We should leave the two of them for now and retire for the night."
The twins predictably didn't seem to favour this plan as much as I'd hope.
"Kyoya-sempai, you can't endorse this!" Karou protested. He left himself free of my grasp, however it was important to note that he didn't attempt to return to the inside of the room. Hikaru preformed the same actions as his twin despite claiming that "there's no way that we could leave Haruhi alone with an S&M pervert!"
Even Hunni and Mori who had remained silent throughout this whole affair moved out of the doorway too to accommodate the rest of us, but not before Hunni sent one last look back into Haruhi's room towards Tamaki.
Silently thanking Kyoya's power of command over the host club members, I moved to shut the door. As I did so I mouthed the words 'Kitchen later' to Tamaki. The look of comprehension that flashed across his face and the slight incline of his head told me that he'd understood.
As I shut the door it let out a soft thud and the quiet click let me know that it was latched. I let out a soft sigh before turning to face the others.
"Let's go to sleep for tonight. Today's been full of excitement and drama, and I think we could all use the rest."
Hikaru's eyes narrowed at me slightly, although Kaoru's gaze was slightly less severe it did hold hints of confusion. They did begin to walk along the hallway in the direction their room was, I assumed anyways. Kyoya walked behind them, like he was ensuring they did what they were told and went to their room. Hunni and Mori walked behind them. They hadn't said anything since they had come to check up on me earlier, no more than 10 minutes ago. It made me wonder what they were both thinking. I was especially curious about Mori seeing as I never seemed to know what he was thinking given how rarely he spoke.
Hunni was more open but I still wondered. I'd wanted to apologize to everyone for worrying them today. While I would never apologize for attempting to help my guests, I did see now that despite my feelings I did have resources available and I didn't even consider them. I'd realized that not even considering to ask them for help I might have hurt them…even if I had hurt them they still came to check up on me after I made myself sick. It was really striking me know how much help I really had from them. I oscillated on the spot for a couple of seconds, biting my lip, the slight jolt of pain undulating down my spine giving me a spur of impulse and action. I called after my two sempais taking several steps along the corridor after them.
"Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai! Could I please talk to you both for a moment?!"
They both paused in their tracks and turned to face me. Mori was as unreadable as ever, but Honey looked towards me with intrigue. I noticed he squeezed Usa-chan closer to his chest as he spoke.
"Is something wrong Hiso-chan?"
I responded instantly, "No…well I mean yes. So many things are wrong now and that's why I wanted to speak to you both. I need to fix somethings and I feel you Honey-sempai and you Mori-sempai would be the best people to talk to at the moment."
"Why us Hiso-chan?"
I placed both of my hands down by my sides and before they could react I lowered my head in a bow.
"I'll get to that but before I say anything else I want to apologise for the rashness of my actions earlier today. While I will not apologise for trying to help Miss, K and the others I do want to apologise for not considering my options and having someone better suited to come and help. My rashness and lack of informed judgement led to my own injury and caused unnecessary stress and worry for those closest to me. Because of that I didn't even consider that my actions might have hurt you in some way. If I did please know that you have my deepest and most sincere apologies."
Several seconds of silence passed and nervously I raised my head to the two who I was asking forgiveness from. To my surprise Honey was smiling at me. I slowly returned to my previous upright position and observed both of their reactions intently. Honey to no great surprise was the one who spoke up, he quickly glanced up at Mori who gave him a quick nod.
"It's okay Hiso-chan, we forgive you."
I let out a relieved breath that I didn't even know that I'd been holding.
"We were worried about you but on some level we understood what you were trying to do. You wanted to help and do your best. But we're glad you realise you have us to help you know."
I nodded.
"Actually sempais there was something else I was wanting to ask you while I had you here…"
As I trailed off Honey leaned forward, almost encouraging me to elaborate.
"I was wondering if.." the words caught in my throat. I had no idea how they'd react, but on some level I knew asking at least might make some things a little better in the feature.
"Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai. I was wondering if the two of you would please be able to teach me some martial arts. I mean I have no delusions into believing that I could ever be as skilled as the two of you but I was hoping that you guys could maybe teach me some self-defence techniques so that I can defend myself if I ever need to again."
As I asked my request I had imagined a couple of reactions to my request. One even being that Honey flat out told me no and walked away down the hallway with Mori. However, I had not expected Honey to start beaming at my words. A large joyous smile graced Honey's face from ear to ear and he looked up to Mori with his ecstatic expression. His tall dark companion to my great surprise even had a tiny smile gracing his lips.
"Of course we'll teach you Hiso-chan. We'd love to!"
"Really? I was expecting some kind of resistance or something. I know you guys both have your own lives and probably won't have the time to dedicate to something like this so I expected at least some deliberation."
Honey shook his head softly.
"As I said Hiso-chan we'd be happy to teach you. You're our friend so if we can do anything to help you, we will. Besides if we teach you, you'll better be able to look after yourself and you'll be okay if anything were to ever happen to you again."
"I'm so happy to hear that Honey. You guys mean a lot to me and I like thinking that you consider me your friend."
Honey let out a small giggle at my words and I found myself tilting my head in confusion.
"We've always considered you our friend Hisoka. Besides Takashi and I haven't had much of an opportunity to teach since we left the karate and kendo clubs in our first year, it'll be fun."
At this Mori gave a hum of approval.
I nodded my head slowly, "I mean I'm not really sure of what this all will include or what I'll have to do, or if I'll need anything."
"You won't need anything Hiso-chan. We'll look after everything."
"Are you sure." I asked again.
"We're sure," Despite being directly involved in the conversation that was occurring it was still strange to hear Mori's voice break though mine and Honey's. His smaller cousin gave another nod and it was easy to tell that with Mori's words no more words from me were going to be of much use here.
"Okay guys, I'll trust everything to you."
"We'll let you know more when we go back to school Hiso-chan, we can plan properly there."
I nodded again.
"Hiso-chan?"
Honey's tone had shifted from the joyous one he had been expressing just seconds ago to a more careful, almost hesitant one.
"Yes Honey?"
"We don't mean to be nosey but have you made up with Tama-chan let? It's just we haven't heard anything, but you didn't seem upset or angry with him when he was with Haru-chan."
At his words I found myself shaking my head.
"Not yet. After I'm done speaking with you guys, I'm actually headed down to the kitchen. We should be meeting there to talk things out. I managed to talk to Kyoya earlier and I think that's helped me work out what I'm going to end up saying to Tamaki. Besides, I think I maybe understand what he was feeling more and that should make things easier between us. Plus, when he was with Haruhi earlier he might have gotten to talk to her then. I just want everything to be good between us again."
"I understand Hiso-chan. We should probably let you go to the kitchen then. We want everyone to get along again too."
I gave out a small sigh, "You're right."
And with those words the two groups wished each other a good night (and in my case good luck) and went our separate ways. Both Honey and Mori from what I presumed retired to their rooms and I slowly walked my way back to the kitchen from the vague memories I had of being fetched from my room earlier this evening.
Eventually (in actuality close to 10 minutes of wondering and getting lost) I stood before the heavy double doors that separated the kitchen and the dining room. Coming in from the dining room I properly noticed the differences on each side of the kitchen door. On the side which you could see from the dining room the door was dark, heavy and ornate, whereas on the side facing the kitchen the door was simple, wooden and painted white.
'Really must put the kitchen staff in their place when they look at the other side of the door. The stark contrast is enough to make anyone feel lorded over. That and it probably makes the people on the other side of the door feel more superior, well if they even got up and saw what the other side of the door looked like.'
I mentally shook my head as it dawned on me that I had spent a good minute or so standing in the entranceway of the kitchen giving analysis on a door.
Sighing I looked around the kitchen. It was dark, the light switches were to my left and not wishing to spend my time in a dark and mildly creepy room I flicked them on. With only about a second or so pause the lights flickered on before illuminating the room with bright light. The kitchen was large which was to be expected from an estate this size and I had spent quite a bit of time earlier in the evening getting to know it as I searched for various cooking utensils as Honey, Mori and I had prepared the evening meal. As I remembered the three of us cooking in hear I felt a slight pang of regret at having thrown up the meal that we had all but such care and effort into making. Especially since emptying my stomach had now left me rather hungry again. I wondered if there were any leftovers from dinner. Deciding that there wasn't much point in idly standing by mulling over my curiosity I made my way over to the fridge and tried to open it. Struggling with the tight seal for a couple of seconds which basically consisted of me jiggling the door awkwardly to see if it would come loose, I managed to open it. And to my delight all of the dishes from tonight's meal were sitting in the fridge covered in cling-film or tin foil to keep it fresh. I figured it was probably Mori and Honey that had done this as they had been the ones to cook the meal and seemed to be the only other hosts bar Haruhi and me that seemed to know their way around a kitchen.
I stared over my options. I didn't really know what I should try and eat. Seafood wasn't very nice heated up again after all. Maybe the oysters could be eaten in the morning, but I highly doubted anyone would eat them before we all left. Maybe Honey and Mori hadn't wanted to throw the food away and feel like they were wasting it. Afterall knowing Kyoya he'd probably have a whole cleaning team in under an hour to clean up after all of us and they'd most likely bin the food. As I was scanning the fridge, I spotted the left over mussel dish that I'd made. The broth the mussels were cooked in would have prevented it from spoiling in anyway since dinner. It may not be exactly the same as it was right off of the stove but it would still taste better than it would in the morning. Besides I didn't much believe in wasting food.
Lifting the serving dish out of the fridge I carefully placed it down on the counter and removed the clingfilm. A surge of flavourful smell assaulted my nostrils and I could pick out hints of the garlic, chilli, lime and even a splosh of white wine that had been added to the dish as I was cooking it. While I didn't drink alcohol I was not opposed to using it in cooking of it would make a dish taste nicer. The smell of the dish stuck at the back of my throat and I could almost taste it again. Deciding it was worth it to heat it up at least I sauntered over to the cupboard filled with cooking pots and pulled out a small dish. I wanted to eat something but I didn't see myself finishing it all myself. I poured what I needed into the pot, accidentally spilling in a bit more than I planned and then walked it over to the stove, before turning on the gas and beginning to heat the food up.
I stood slowly stirring the yellowish broth until a voice cut through the silence of the kitchen.
"That smells good!"
The voice was Tamaki's, I didn't need to turn around to look at him to know that. His voice was rather distinctive after all. I quickly glanced behind me and sure enough the host king stood, taking care not to slam the double doors behind him as he made his way into the room. After my initial glance I tried not to look his way, it was deliberate as I didn't want the ensuing awkwardness of initiating eye contact with him. But despite myself I knew that wouldn't last long.
Light footsteps danced across the tiled floors and with every step closer I felt myself growing slightly more tense. After everything that had happened today and especially after Kyoya shook me to the degree that he had earlier, the idea of someone being close behind me without visual confirmation of their exact proximity was making me nervous. And with each step I found myself clenching the wooden spoon in my grasp tighter and tighter and tighter…
"I spoke with Haruhi for a while when I was with her."
"How is she now?"
"She's fine. I wasn't going to leave her until she assured me of that at least. She was in quite a state…well I'm not sure if 'state' is the nicest way of explaining how she was doing but I do now understand on why you insisted I be with her during the whole ordeal."
"Thank you for that Tamaki. I'm not really sure what I can do to make it up to you."
I heard the lightest sigh sound from behind me and the tone he spoke with was sincere.
"You don't have to do anything to 'make it up to me', I don't see favours among friends as transactional, I'd do anything to help a friend in need," His tone perked up to a slightly more teasing one, "Although if you don't want to feel indebted to me you could always dish me up a serving of whatever is in that pot you're heating up, I didn't have any earlier."
It was my turn to lightly sigh as I finally turned to face him with a slight smile gracing my features, "I'd be happy too, I started reheating too much just for me to eat anyways."
There was an island counter in the middle of the kitchen with stools around it and Tamaki made his way over to it before propping himself casually onto a stool. I continued stirring. The food was not quite warm enough to eat and be pleasant yet. Besides with seafood you'd never want to chance not heating something up properly, especially since you shouldn't really reheat fish.
"So…Haruhi's weakness is thunder and lightning?"
"Yep. Not exactly what you'd expect from your daring heroine. Aren't the hero's supposed to have deep seated fears manifested through experiencing some traumatic childhood event?" I paused for a moment realising the irony of my words, "…then again you do have me. Joint heroines for the win."
"You two have been joint heroines for a while haven't you?"
I paused for a moment, feeling the current of yellow broth pass against the wooden spoon trying to unsuccessfully shift it. One element moving in a natural and consistent flow and the other being a stubborn unmoving rock. If it was a sign of the way that this conversation between Tamaki and I was going to go it wasn't a good one by any means.
"Yeah we have. Other people have flitted in and out of our lives but she's the only true person that has been with me consistently through every stage of my life. I mean we've known each other since elementary school and live in the same area so she's been my best friend for almost my whole life."
"From what I've seen you two only know how to depend on each other don't you?"
His words struck a cord with me, especially given me and Kyoya's conversation earlier. There was no denying the answer to that question.
"Yes."
Tamaki gave a quite but still audible nervous laugh to the bluntness of my response. "I think I understand the two of you a bit more after being with Haruhi tonight. When I first arrived the first thing she did was ask me if I knew where you were."
Guilt suddenly shot through me in a similar way to a needle being injected into my chest. Even though I had made sure that Haruhi wasn't alone I still felt pretty terrible about not being able to help her myself.
"It makes me feel guilty that I wasn't there for her but knowing what Haruhi is like I don't find it all that surprising that was the first thing she asked you."
Remembering that the food was still on the heat I quickly started stirring it again to avoid the disgusting build-up of congealed half solid half liquid matter that formed in the bottom on a pot if you forgot to stir it's contents for too long. Thankfully not enough time has passed to ruin the meal. Not wishing to take my chances I lowered the heat down to the cooker's lowest setting as Tamaki continued.
"She still seemed a bit confused as to why I was there for her, even after I told her that you'd sent me in your place. Forgive me if I'm wrong but I don't think it really crossed her mind that I'd come to look after her, it seemed to me that the only person she'd consider doing that for her is you."
I nodded and continued stirring, turning to face him this time.
"Well I can speak for the both of us and say yes, that is kind of how both of us have thought for a while. If there's a problem we go to each other and don't really consider anything else. Just for the record due to a rather stern lecturing from Kyoya earlier I'm a lot more self-aware than I was earlier, and I'm a lot more open to considering your side in what became of this argument."
Tamaki perked up a little.
"You are? So, is that what you and Kyoya were doing together earlier? Although I am still curious as to why you were on his messed-up bed absolutely soaking wet."
I rolled my eyes.
"Would you like me to give you an overview to satisfy your curiosity before we move on?" Tamaki gave a small nod, "Well I'll tell you while I serve up if you find some bowls for us."
Tamaki moved to look around the various cupboards lining the walls of the kitchen, opening one to then take a quick glance inside and then after not finding any bowls shut the cupboard doors again.
"Well basically Kyoya gave me an overview of everything that happened after my ocean swim. He then started to explain your perspective on my actions and I get it, I guess. I didn't consider that I could rely on you guys for help and I tried to do everything myself in a situation I was unsuited to which ultimately ended in my assault and injury. He also told me that my actions were reckless and I caused you guys worry over me. For that I'm truly sorry. And then I heard the thunder, it startled me and I jumped up to go to Haruhi ending in me spilling the glass of water I was holding over me, getting my legs tangled in the bedding and almost falling off of the bed. While I regained my senses Kyoya picked up the glass that I had dropped next to me on the bed and then you came in…"
Tamaki pursed his lips and nodded slowly, "You both soaked and almost fell off of Kyoya's bed?"
It was my turn to nod.
"That must have been…embarrassing?" His tone may have started bluntly but by the time he had reached the word 'embarrassing' he had begun to giggle. By the time he had finished speaking he was full on laughing. I shook my head fondly at his laughter and stirred the pot once again before taking it off the heat completely and onto a pot rest.
"Oh it was, it became even more embarrassing when you walked in during the aftermath. I mean I was on his bed and he was shirtless so I imagine you would have jumped to a number of conclusions without any context"
Tamaki took in a few breaths to get control of his laughter and turned back to face me after closing another cupboard, "I wondered what the two of you were up to and now I know, why were you on his bed anyway?"
"Bed's are comfortable so if I was going to sit somewhere I was going to sit on the bed, why would you sit anywhere else?"
"That makes sense….I FOUND SOME BOWLS!" Tamaki beamed at me as he found a selection of bowls in the cupboard he'd opened. He looked so proud of himself.
"Well done, can you please bring them over here so I can serve up." I elected not to tell Tamaki about the real reason I had ended up on Kyoya's bed, and why the sheets had been messed up in the first place. Knowing Tamaki, I wasn't sure that he'd approve of Kyoya's methods and it was probably better to let that information remain between Kyoya and I.
Tamaki placed the bowls on the counter next to me and I promptly served up. I placed the pot back on the stove as it was cooler now and pointed to a large breadbin.
"Can you check and see if there is any bread left in there?" Tamaki looked towards where I was pointing and sauntered over to the breadbin and lifted the lid.
"We have baguettes!"
"Fantastic!" I walked over and took some butter out of the fridge and placed it on the island along with some cutlery I pulled out of drawer on my way back to the food. I picked up the two warm bowls and placed them at opposite sides of the island and slumped myself down in a stool. Tamaki placed a baguette down between us and sat himself down opposite me.
"Bon appetite," I declared gesturing to the meal, grabbing myself a piece of baguette and dipping it into the golden broth. Tamaki followed my example. After a couple of chews, he swallowed and went for more baguette.
"Hisoka, this is amazing!"
I gave a shy smile in response, "Thanks, it's a family recipe from my dad's side."
We ate contently in silence for a couple more mouthfuls before I broke the silence.
"Before we go on, I'd like you to apologize to me…" I raised a hand as Tamaki opened his mouth to interject, "For when you said when we were at the beach, that I couldn't stand a chance at holding my own because I was a girl because that's simply not accurate. I wasn't able to hold my own in that instance because I was me, and because of the choices I made, not because I'm a girl. Hearing you say something like that was insanely offensive and patronising, irrespective of how much it hurt to hear."
"I didn't mean to hurt you Hisoka and I certainly didn't mean to offend you in such a misogynistic way. I panicked when I saw what those boys did to you and…to be honest I wasn't thinking when I was yelling at you, I lost my head and I think my concern and frustration took over my words. I'm really sorry for what I said to you earlier."
I met Tamaki's gaze and smiled.
"I accept your apology, if you mean it of course."
"Of course I mean it! Women are a wonderful and beautiful creation and I'd never intentionally disrespect them!" I let out a giggle as Tamaki's arms waved frantically around, spoon flailing in his hand. "As a host it is my mission to make all women happy and hurting them would be a betrayal of my mission!"
I gave him a reassuring pat on his arm to cease his frantic movements.
"I know, and I am sorry about what happened today. I still have a lot of adjusting to do and changes I need to make now that I have you guys in my life too. After so long it's hard you know? What happens when I clear my debt? Will you all just go back to pretending you don't know a commoner like me? Because I'm not sure I'd be able to cope with that after all of you have wormed your way into such a large part of my life..."
"Hisoka." Tamaki's hand reached for mine across the kitchen island, stopping a few centimetres away to keep from touching me.
"I hope you know that that won't happen. You're my friend, I don't have too many people I can genuinely say that about so that makes you precious to me."
I tried to swallow, the feeling of tension forming in my throat making the action almost painful, the heat pooling in my right eye was wet and angry. The warm bead rolling down my cheek as a tentatively took Tamaki's hand in mine.
"You're precious to me to Tamaki. In a way you're like the big brother I never had before, looking out for me and everything else. Like Haruhi, I still don't know how to make it up to you after you got the school to grant a second scholarship for her, she wanted to be here even more than I originally did. I'm more thankful for that kindness that you'll ever know."
"You know that you don't have to do anything to make it up for me. I'm glad I did to, Haruhi is a wonderful addition to our little host club family."
I gave a light chuckle.
"What about taking self-defence lessons? That way if I ever get into a situation like today's again and you guys aren't there, I can actually defend myself?"
"Well, I wasn't planning on making you pay me back in any way, but…I might just hold you to that one. It would be good for you to know some self-defence techniques."
I gave his hand a light squeeze before letting it go and reaching for my dropped spoon.
"I think we should eat some more before our food begins to get cold. I spoke to Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai before coming down here. I asked them about the possibility, and they told me that they would be happy to help teach me some defensive techniques, I also apologised to them for today to."
"That's good. You would struggle to find anyone more qualified to train you than those two."
I nodded though a mouthful of baguette and muscle broth.
"That had been my thinking."
My friend gave me a large smile before lifting up his bowl with both hands and tilting it, allowing him to drink the remaining broth with ease. I raised an eyebrow while I watched him.
"Why do I get the feeling some manners obsessed governess would be clawing at the bit to whack you over the head with a newspaper for such an action?"
"Well, I figured that a friend wouldn't judge me for a momentary lapse in manners."
He gave me another smile and I couldn't help but smile back, lifting my own bowl and drinking what remained of my meal before placing it back down on the table with a satisfied jolt of energy.
"And I imagine that a good friend such as yourself wouldn't judge me for my poor table manners either."
"Touché."
Glancing between our empty bowls and Tamaki I met his eyes, full of life and laughter. No longer being able to contain myself I burst out laughing. I even had to catch myself from falling out of my chair due to the new sudden movement. A tick of the clock passed, and Tamaki was laughing with me, the two of us barely beginning to regain ourselves before we would catch the other's eye and the laughing fit would begin again.
When I had first started this exchange I could barely look Tamaki in the eye. All it took was some communication (and a small intervention by Kyoya) to get us back to normal, and in my opinion even closer than before. Sitting in that chair, laughter echoing throughout the kitchen I found myself thinking just how thankful I was to be here in this moment with my friend.

Authors Note -
Dear readers, I know it has been an extremely long time since I last updated What If?
I realised when it came to writing this chapter that I had to seriously stop and think about the events of this episode and how to frame the issues and arguments presented. Some of the content matter was rather heavy and while I have written about many of these issues undertaking my degree, writing about them in fiction instead of in academic work was a genuine challenge and I felt I could not write about these topics without giving them the respect and voice they deserve, without allowing them to take over the story.
I have had so many ideas for the following chapters and cannot wait to share them with you all.
Thank you for reading and I would love to hear what you think.
I hope you are all safe and well,
Illusions.