New Note: I am going on hiatus until September.
Old Note: With all my personal stuff piling up, I haven't been able to sit down and write. I'm pleased to say that now the first three chapters have been updated to fit the current storyline.
I'm sorry to those who read the original versions of those chapters. Please be sure to reread all three chapters because I added some things that you might want to look at.
I also left some character information at the end of the chapter.
"Smile, Aki!"
Aki covered the side of her face with her left hand and turned away from the camera phone, fixing her eyes on a few female students packed around a desk, staring at a fashion magazine.
The picture was taken, and Nozomi was itching to see the photo. She pressed her thumb on the 'camera roll' album on her phone, and the photo displaying on the small screen showed Aki avoiding the camera. Nozomi pouted, and as she lowered her phone so did her excitement and joy at finally getting photographic proof that Aki smiled.
She sent a disappointed look at her friend who was focused on writing the homework assignment.
"What's the matter with you? Can't you find it in you to smile?"
"I'm trying to work," Aki said calmly, but her hand tightened around her pencil.
Nozomi lifted up her phone and grinned. "Come on, Aki! Smile!"
"Shut up!" Aki snapped, shutting up Nozomi, while also drawing the girls' attention to herself. "Go bother someone else!"
Nozomi left Aki and looked around. Tamaki was poking Kyoya about something, but she wasn't able to hear their conversation through all the chatter going on in the classroom.
Nozomi approached the desk in the left row.
She held onto her phone with one hand, positioning the camera over Susumu's shoulder. She saw through the camera application that Susumu was filling his sketch page with hand practice.
She was just about to take the photo when Tamaki interrupted, laying his hand flat on Susumu's desk.
"Tamaki, you ruined the perfect shot!" Nozomi yelled at him.
Tamaki didn't seem to care, he was grinning and looked excited about something.
"Susumu! I've talked our plans over with Kyoya, and you'll be happy to hear we're going!"
Susumu stopped drawing and looked up at Tamaki. "Wait, we're really going?"
Tamaki's grin grew bigger at his friend's confused look.
"Why not? Let's go to the beach!"
"Guys, wait!" Nozomi interrupted, causing the boys to look at her. "I'm lost! Why are you going to the beach?"
"Tamaki insisted a casual vacation would help us all to relax, that is if everyone was open to the idea," Kyoya said as he approached them, his hand in his pocket.
"Kyoya's family has a private beach in Okinawa," Tamaki said.
Nozomi's face instantly lit up. Then, after glancing quickly at Aki who was searching in her pencil case for a sharpener, she turned to Kyoya and asked. "We gotta invite Aki and Tetsuya! It wouldn't be the same without them!"
"I have no problem with that," Kyoya answered.
"Hell yes!" Nozomi exclaimed excitedly, "Going to the beach means special Kyosumu swimsuit photos!"
Susumu held a look of great shock and disbelief as he watched her run off.
While Tamaki was looking at the rough sketches in the sketchbook out of curiosity, Susumu broke out of his stupor and then looked at Kyoya nervously. "You heard what she said?"
"Yes. Nozomi's obsession over love between two male characters extends to real life. I've concluded that she pairs her classmates for her own amusement, even those ignorant to each other, and it seems that recently she has created a pairing for you and I." Kyoya pushed up his glasses at the end of his explanation. "I highly suggest you don't give her any reason to obsess over it further."
Susumu was perplexed by Kyoya's calm expression. "You don't mind it?" Susumu asked, when he felt a chill at the thought of being anything other than friends with Kyoya.
"She stopped shipping us, I'm so relieved," Tamaki sighed.
"Susumu," Kyoya started, nonchalantly placing his hand on Susumu's shoulder, "now that we are all on the same page, could you inform Haruhi of our plans at the earliest chance you get?"
"Okay," Susumu said, remaining still in his seat, staring down at his hands on his lap.
Armed with her Nikon camera strapped around her neck, Nozomi took a mid shot of Hikaru when he spiked the volleyball to the opponents' side of the net, which bounced and rolled away, and long shot of the twin brothers running after the ball across the sandy beach, smiling as bright as the hot sun.
When the photos displayed on the small screen, she made a note to herself to fix the brightness on the last photo.
She walked on the hot sand in her sandals, bringing the camera lens up to her eye level, and caught Haruhi and Susumu sitting under an umbrella. She adjusted the focus, and zoomed in on them.
Haruhi looked in the direction of the camera just as the picture was taken. Susumu, on the other hand, failed to look at the camera.
Nozomi knelt down on the beach towel, positioning the camera over Susumu's shoulder. She took the shot and the result displaying on the small screen, was a distinguishing body type taking up the center of the page
"This sucks. I thought going to the beach meant a day off," Haruhi complained. Nozomi knelt next to her and put the camera in front of her eyes. "If I just crop out Susumu, I can add a dreamy effect to your photo, but you know-" Nozomi trailed off, eying Susumu concentrating on getting the body drawn right.
Haruhi hummed, staring at her brother who flipped to a fresh page when he was unsatisfied with his third attempt. "Onii-chan, look at me for a second." Susumu heard her request and looked at Haruhi in time for Nozomi to snap a picture of his confused face.
Nozomi smiled and showed the photo to Haruhi. "I really like his genuine expression!"
"You really have a talent for this kind of stuff, huh?" Haruhi remarked.
Susumu smiled a little, as he closed his sketchbook and set it down on the beach towel. "Can I see it?" Just as Nozomi went to show him, three girls approached the trio.
"Um, aren't you guys going to swimming with us?" one girl asked.
"No, I like looking at the sea from a safe distance," Haruhi answered.
"Well, if you're not going to swim, would you mind if we sat here and talked with you three?" another girl asked.
"But why? You girls should go swim. You've got cute swimsuits on, why not show them off?"
At Haruhi's response, the three girls sighed, their cheeks turning pink slightly.
"I'd like to see what you were drawing, Senpai," said the third girl, looking at Susumu shyly. "I've seen your art, and I like it a lot."
"It wouldn't be much to look at," Susumu said as he looked down at his sketchbook, and then looked up at the girl. "I'm still learning how to draw overweight body types. I'm really struggling."
"You'll get better at it, Senpai, I know!"
Susumu gave her a smile for her encouragement. "That's sweet of you to say."
While looking at the photos on her camera, ignored by the others, a volleyball almost hit Nozomi, bounced near her feet, and landed next to Susumu.
"Hey, Senpai!" Nozomi turned at Hikaru waving his hand in the air. "Toss it back!"
Susumu picked up the volleyball and made his way over to the twins, handing the volleyball to Hikaru.
"I can't believe he fooled us," Hikaru said.
"Who'd have thought he'd bring the ladies with us?" Koaru thought aloud.
"We certainly didn't expect it," Hikaru admitted.
Kyoya, who was writing in his notebook, had passively listened the conversation up to that point, when he decided to speak up. "You were invited on this all expenses paid vacation for a reason, and that is to keep our clients entertained."
"We know," Hikaru sighed, "but with the ladies here-"
"Haruhi can't change into her swimsuit," Koaru said.
Tamaki held a satisfied smirk as he laid back on a white lounge chair. "Don't worry, I've got it all under control. My little angel shouldn't be prancing around in a swimsuit-at least not in front of two perverts like you." He began to go into a dream-like state. Then, he began to squirm on the chair, as if the fountain inside of him overflowed with happiness, his face flushed. "It'll happen just like that-the greatest day of my life! I don't know if I can handle it!"
"What's the matter with Tamaki? Is he having a seizure?" one of the girls inquired.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Hikaru reassured.
"He gets like this occasionally," Kaoru added.
Susumu, who had been silently watching the scene, smiled and walked back to the umbrella, picking up his sketchbook dusted with grains of pearl-white sand. Slowly, he looked around, drinking in the beautiful sight of the gateway to the aquatic world, and heaven's stars sprinkled by the goddess of the sky, were glimmering brightly as the sun glistened elegantly. He opened up to a clean page, took an extra pencil out of his right pocket, and almost pressed his pencil down on the sketch paper, when he heard strums of a guitar.
When he looked near the rocks, he spotted Tetsuya sitting on one, playing his guitar for Aki.
As each sweet note was played on the enchanting acoustic guitar, a few ladies were entranced, and swam to the male siren. Finding himself succumbing to the music, Susumu closed his eyes and smiled softly, listening to this unfamiliar spell.
One of the older girls tried getting closer to Tetsuya, leaning on the rock he sat on, and she started to flirt with him.
What broke him out of the spell, was Aki taking Tetsuya's guitar away from him. The ladies whined, but walked away, and the couple was alone once again. That was before Susumu decided to pay a compliment Tetsuya's skills on the acoustic guitar.
"That was truly amazing-towards the end was the best part," he complimented. Tetsuya faced Susumu after he was given his guitar back, smiling slightly at him.
"Whenever I play, my fingers basically just know what to do-sometimes, I don't know where these songs come from." Tetsuya laughed and earned a nudge in the shoulder from Aki.
"Don't hide the truth, Tetsuya-he actually creates his own songs." Aki said the last part as she looked up at Susumu. "It will come to him unexpectedly, and he fervently writes down the songs in his head late into at night."
Susumu chuckled a little at his and Tetsuya's similarities and opened his mouth to add on to the conversation, but stopped when he heard his sister's voice.
"Onii-chan! It's a major haul! Dinner's gonna be awesome!"
Susumu decided to join Haruhi, seeing that Tamaki was there, and Nozomi was using the shellfish in the buckets as photography subjects. However, when he was close enough, a small centipede wriggled out of the crab Tamaki was holding.
"CEN-"
"-TI-"
"-PEDE!"
All of the guests nearby screamed and ran away, including a few of the hosts. Tamaki reached out for them as tears dripped from his eyes. Nozomi took a picture of the insect, and then moved aside to let Haruhi pluck the insect from the crab and toss it over the rocks.
The twins came over, Hikaru resting his elbow on Haruhi's shoulder, while Koaru mirrored him on Nozomi's side.
"Now I know most girls aren't really the bug-loving type, and I certainly didn't think the two of you were, but-" Hikaru started.
"-don't you could've been easier on that little guy?" Koaru finished.
Haruhi wiped her hands on her shorts. "Oh, come on, it's not dead. Takes a lot more than that to kill a bug."
Nozomi checked the photo on her camera. "I never got a picture of a centipede before-why would I have wasted the opportunity?"
As soon as the insect was gone, a handful of the girls returned to the area, expressing their admiration for Nozomi and Haruhi's fearless actions.
"Haruhi is so brave and manly!"
"Senpai wasn't afraid, did you see that?!"
As the guests started to flock to Haruhi, Nozomi used the chance to slip away undetected. She was used to fawning over a bunch of fictional characters, not the other way around but with real girls. She scoped around for a new subject, happening to overhear a conversation between the twins, and Tamaki, who was clutching the crab in his hands.
"The deadline is sunset tomorrow!" She overheard Hikaru say.
"Whoever can find out their weaknesses first wins!" Koaru said.
"And I have the perfect prizes for the game's lucky winner," Kyoya interrupted, his glasses shining. When Nozomi zoomed the lens in on the prize, she practically forget her cheerful self and flew off the handle. He held two sets of photos in his hands-of those sets, Haruhi was the subject of multiple candid shots back in her junior days, while the other set was ripped right out of Nozomi's family photo album. One picture was of her at age twelve, caught on camera reading her first yaoi manga and red in the face. Her long brown hair fell at her shoulders, and a fuzzy blanket was draped over her head.
"We wanna play too!" Honey chirruped.
"I guess that means we're all competing," Kyoya said, while waving the set in his right hand in different directions, as Tamaki's eyes were glued to the candid shots of Haruhi.
"Hey, wait a minute, where did you get those pictures, Kyo-chan?" Honey asked.
"I'd like to have those photos back," Susumu interrupted, while holding one hand out.
Kyoya tucked the photos into his breast pocket. "I have my sources," he said simply. "How about we just leave it at that for the moment?"
Nozomi began to march towards him and looked at Kyoya accusingly. "So that's why I didn't see my photos in the album!" she shouted. "You could've asked nicely, you know, instead of going behind my back!"
"A discreet method works best," he answered, turning her own words against her.
"They're competing to find our fears?" Haruhi repeated back, her tone displaying anger and great annoyance.
"Yes," her older bother confirmed.
"And where'd Kyoya-senpai get the photos of me?" Haruhi paused, looking at Nozomi suspiciously.
"Hey, no way, I only have current photos of you!" Nozomi defended, leaving Haruhi displeased from hearing it.
"The hell are they going to do?" Haruhi inhaled deeply through her nostrils, trying to control her anger. "I'm not going to let it bother me."
Nozomi put her camera on around her neck. "I've just gotta take some more pictures. Come on, Susumu-" Nozomi grabbed Susumu's wrist and dragged him along, struggling to keep up with her pace. "We gotta find Kyoya!"
"I-uh-Nozomi, hold on!"
Haruhi sighed exasperatedly as she walked along the shoreline collecting more shellfish. "For once, I'd like to have a relaxing trip." Haruhi picked up a red crab scuttling on the beach, trying to make it back to the ocean. She had handed a bucket to her brother, and he already filled it up with fresh fish.
"Do you want to go home?" Susumu asked.
"Usually I'd want to be at home," she answered, shaking the grains of sand on the crab shell before tossing it into Susumu's bucket. "We could've used the day off to clean the house, and maybe try out that new cooking recipe you found."
"With this haul, we could have leftovers for days!" he smiled as he raised his bucket.
"I wonder if we can take some home-it would be nice to eat seafood for lunch!"
Susumu plucked another shell between two rocks. "Look, another side dish." He turned and put the shell in her bucket.
Haruhi accepted it with content smile on her face. "They're gonna taste so good!"
"Look up here, guys!" They both looked upwards and saw three girls standing on the top of the rock above them.
"The breeze up here feels great!" one of the girls remarked.
"It's dangerous, be careful." Concerned for the girls, Haruhi started to make her way up the cliff to where the girls were standing, but ran backwards and called back to Susumu. "Onii-chan, follow me! Hurry up!"
"Okay, but we have to be careful!" Susumu said as he followed her.
As they trudged up the cliff, halfway up they began to hear male voices and Susumu saw his sneakers running over there until he reached the top, and he gasped at the scene happening before him. One rough looking man was gripping a girl's wrists, and the more she tried to free herself, screaming and kicking the older man's legs, the more his grip tightened, and his friend held two girls in an iron hold as they cried out for help, and the third guy was observing the girls hopelessly struggle to get away with hungry eyes. Susumu felt the need to protect those young girls.
Susumu got closer enough to the men. "What you're doing is harassment. Let the girls go, and leave right now-if you do, there won't be any trouble!"
The first man tched. "You're talking big for a little pipsqueak." He tossed away the girl he was holding, and then he approached Susumu angrily.
"Run!" Susumu shouted at Momoka.
"Why don't you mind your own damn business-!"
The punch was fast, and yes, it hurt him more than scraping his leg on the rocky floor. He caught the man approaching him from the corner of his eye. Susumu tried to get back up, but he was lifted up by his hair, forced to look at the man's face.
The man's lips curled into a twisted smile. "Don't go trying to act tough when you're such a sissy boy!" A bucket of shellfish got hurled at the man. In the man's surprise, he threw Susumu to the ground and turned to the one who interfered, clawing at the shellfish attached to his back.
"Weren't you jerks listening?! You better just leave my brother alone!" Haruhi ordered.
"You little runt-!"
"Haruhi, get out of here-!"
Momoka ran as fast as her legs could carry her, finally coming to a halt in front of Tamaki and the twins.
She tried to explain as she caught her breath, "It's Haruhi! Susumu-senpai is up there with him, but he's hurt!" She pointed at the top of the cliff.
Tamaki ran with the wind behind him.
Susumu writhed underneath the strong older man holding him down, as the first man advanced towards the edge, suspending Haruhi above the waves crashing into the base of the cliff. Haruhi grabbed onto the man's wrist with both hands as his grip tightened on her shirt collar, pushing her forward.
"What are you gonna do now, loser?" the man growled.
"Don't hurt him!"
"I've got an idea, kid. How'd you like to take a dip?"
"Senpai! Help!"
There wasn't much he could do to help. He felt sick to his stomach as if he was going to throw up on the spot.
He struggled, calling out his sister's name. "Haruhi!"
"Onii-chan-!" The thug dropped her off the rocky surface.
"Haruhi!" All that Susumu saw before he shut his eyes, was Tamaki diving off the cliff after his sister.
"Susumu, wake up." The voice was faint, but familiar, entering Susumu's ears with the repeated bashing sounds not too far from him. He felt a masculine hand stroking his hair. He began to slowly open his eyes and saw a familiar person staring down at him behind thin glasses. Susumu blinked before it dawned on him his head was on Kyoya's lap, a huge blush across his cheeks.
"Try to remain calm." Kyoya's tone was softer than it normally was.
Susumu inhaled the sea air drifting upwards to the overhang, exhaling to calm himself down, and sat up.
Susumu looked around to see where he was, and saw the twins beating up the three men from before.
"We should do something," he said out of concern.
"I've already tried separating Hikaru and Koaru from those two punks," Kyoya told him.
"But they're going to beat them to death! We can't let them do that!"
"You need be more concerned for yourself," Kyoya stated. Susumu listened to him, picking himself up off the ground and following him down the cliff.
When they got down there, they met with the group as Tamaki carried Haruhi back to shore in his arms.
Susumu was never more relieved to see her.
"Susumu!" Nozomi hurried over and immediately pulled him in for a hug. "Don't you dare do that again!"
"I promise," Susumu gasped out.
Nozomi pulled away and smiled, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.
"How is everyone?" Tamaki asked.
"I just called some paramedics, and they'll be arriving here very soon," said Aki, putting away her phone.
After Tamaki set her down on the sand, Haruhi glanced at her brother.
Susumu smiled softly at her, but she looked away, turning her head downwards.
Tamaki held Haruhi's shoulder, causing her to look up. "What were you thinking? You know, you're not like Honey-senpai," he said seriously. "You're not a martial arts master. Why did you confront them? What made you think you would stand a chance?" Tamaki glanced at Susumu, who looked at him. "You both against two boys?"
"But it doesn't matter that they're boys and I'm a girl," Haruhi protested, "and Onii-chan was hurt. I had to help him. There wasn't any time to think-"
"That's no excuse, you idiot! Don't forget, you're a girl!" Tamaki shouted at her.
"Look, I'm sorry you had to come and save me, I don't understand why you're so mad at me right now," Haruhi shouted back. "I don't think I did anything wrong!"
"You don't think so? Fine, whatever you say." Tamaki released her and started to walk away. "But I'm not speaking to you until you can admit that you were wrong!"
Aki and Tetsuya came over to Susumu. He put his hand on Susumu's shoulder, smiling, "Glad that you're okay."
"Your actions made us all worried," Aki said. "Though, I am glad to see that you didn't gain any injuries."
"Remember, you can ask me, or anyone one of us for help, okay?" Nozomi smiled brightly, lightnening Susumu's mood.
He forced a smile. "I will." Susumu touched where the man had punched him, feeling the red imprint on his face. "Honestly, I'm more concerned for Haruhi than myself." He looked back at his sister, worry in his eyes
Aki sat on the guest bed with a folded pillow placed behind her lower back, her gray eyes reading the book in her hand, while Nozomi was sorting through some of her shots taken today and made the occasional pleased smile when she saw a photo of her pairing. She had decided to take up on Nozomi's offer to relax in Haruhi and Nozomi's room before having dinner with the others. Haruhi was really the one who needed to relax, though.
After getting into the next chapter, turning to the second page in her book, Aki heard the sound of the running water from the bathroom sink turning off, and the door to the bathroom opened, Haruhi walking out holding her wet clothes, wearing a sleeveless pink night dress.
Nozomi put her camera down, leaving it on the bed, and threw her legs over the side of the bed.
"Can't wait to have dinner! I'm ready to stuff my face! What about you, Haruhi?" Nozomi asked. Haruhi didn't respond as she went to place the damp clothes on the chair.
Aki looked up from her book to fix her eyes on Haruhi. "If things carry on like this, the two of you will never make up." Haruhi turned around, looking impassively at both female upperclassmen.
"It's my fault that Onii-chan got hurt. If I hadn't asked him to go up there with me, maybe-" Haruhi cut herself off.
Aki sighed. "You understand that wasn't a fight neither of you could win?" After placing her closed book on the nightstand, she put her black glasses back on. "Susumu is too much of a nice guy to have let you go up there, and face those men alone. He knew the danger, and yet he still tried protecting you and those underclassmen."
"Aki has a point," Nozomi agreed. "Maybe you could try apologizing to Tamaki when you're ready? I really don't like seeing my friends fight." Haruhi's lips pursed, and she glanced at the window for a moment, briefly taking in the sight of dark clouds forming. At the sound of knocking at the door, Aki stood up. Before reaching for the door handle, Aki glanced at Haruhi to confirm something with her. "Will you be eating with us?"
"Yeah," though Haruhi stood in her spot in the room, waiting for the girls to walk out. Nozomi stood up tentatively from the bed and walked past her underclassman, concern displayed in her eyes as she looked back at Haruhi. As Haruhi walked out and closed the door behind her, she sighed softly.
Once the group had returned to the Ootori family villa, Susumu walked to talk to Haruhi alone-though she passed right by him and hurried to her guest room. He was taken to his guest room with Kyoya's help, where the doctor examined him and found no serious injuries. Now, he was helping set up the table in the dining room, placing a large plate of steamed crabs down on the clothed table.
The delicious smell of steamed crabs invaded Tetsuya's nose. "Not only does it look good, it smells good, too! Are you some master in the kitchen?"
"I had help," Susumu said. Still, he conveyed his gratitude for the compliment with a smile.
"It's awfully gloomy out there, huh?" Honey looked outside the large glass window, observing the dark clouds beginning to take form in the sky. "It looks like it's gonna rain!"
Hikaru slid down in his chair. "It's not just gloomy outside."
"It's pretty gloomy right here in the dining room, as well," Koaru said. His focus turned to Tamaki who was sitting on the floor around a pillar with his knees pulled in close to his chest. "Just take a look at Senpai."
"Come on, quit moping boss."
"You shouldn't have picked a fight with her in the first place."
When the door opened, it caught all the boys attention, revealing all three girls and Mori standing there at the doorway.
"You look so cute, Haru-chan!" Honey complimented.
"Haruhi, where'd you get that dress?" the twins asked.
"From my Otou-san," she answered, and then she looked at Susumu accusingly. "But Otou-san wasn't the one who repacked my bags when I wasn't looking, right, Onii-chan?"
Susumu looked away from her, pocketing his hands. "Otou-san asked me to do it," he admitted.
Haruhi sighed. "I knew it. He's always trying to get me to where this frilly stuff."
Tetsuya wasted no time in approaching his girlfriend and planted a light kiss on her left cheek. He liked the long sleeved but light dress she was wearing, while his girlfriend's best friend was wearing a crew neck day dress with bow details. "Have I ever mentioned how beautiful you are?"
Aki rolled her eyes at his light-hearted smile, though on the inside she was smiling, herself. "Several times already-though I haven't complained once." Nozomi grinned at the lover's flirting. Aki found something else to roll her eyes at.
"My heart can't take this! My ship is so beautiful!" Nozomi gushed. "This night is going off to a great start!"
It became clear that the rest of the evening would be in a state of tension. The group had all sat down at the table and arranged themselves in a way that caused Haruhi and Tamaki to sit next to each other. Susumu was going to get up and offer up his seat to Tamaki, but Aki silently asked him to not interfere.
"Well, this is uncomfortable," Hikaru commented.
"Yeah, kind of awkward," Koaru agreed.
"Well, let's not let this feast go to waste!" Nozomi piped up.
"Right! Let's dig in, Haru-chan!" Honey turned to Haruhi, holding up a crab. "These are the crabs we caught! I bet they're delicious!"
Haruhi snapped open a crab leg and ate it, at the same time Nozomi picked up her first crab leg. She ate one after another. "These crabs taste in-crab-bable!" She joked. "Get it?" Haruhi ate more crab legs.
"I knew the crabs were gonna taste clawesome," Tetsuya joked.
Aki elbowed her boyfriend in the side as she ate her crab leg, causing Tetsuya to turn to her and smile.
"Don't you think you've had enough?" Tamaki asked. "Give it a rest!"
"Excuse me, I thought that you weren't speaking to me," Haruhi said with her mouth full.
"Haruhi, you should slow down," Susumu agreed, sounding a little worried. "You could get sick."
"I've heard that one before!" Nozomi commented, chewing on a crab leg. Nozomi threw the crab leg onto her mountain of crab legs and picked up another one.
"You need to slow down, too," Aki said to Nozomi, just as she was about to open another crab leg.
Tamaki suddenly stood up, banging his hand on the napkin. "Okay, fine, I get it. It seems you refuse to admit that you were wrong. See if I care, then. I'm going to bed." Tamaki started to walk away. "Kyoya, would you show me to my room, please?"
"No problem," Kyoya said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Well, excuse me everyone." He got up and followed Tamaki out into the hallway.
Haruhi stopped before she snapped open a leg. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I do need to find a way to protect myself."
"So, that's it. He got to you, huh?"
"Well, it wouldn't hurt you to learn martial arts or something," Hikaru said.
"It's not like we're gonna force you to learn it," Koaru said.
"Besides, that's not the real issue here," they said together.
"To be honest, we were all a little worried about how recklessly you acted." Hikaru kept his eyes downwards as he spoke.
Haruhi looked down at her plate, feeling her stomach begin to sink. "Aki-senpai pointed out a lot of things to me." She looked at Susumu with sad eyes. "Onii-chan, if I didn't ask you to go up there with me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Susumu gave her a smile that filled her heart with warmth as if he just hugged her, removing all the guilt and heartache. "You don't have to apologize to me, I'm still here, and I always will be." Everything her brother just said made Haruhi smile.
"Are you ready to apologize, now?" Nozomi asked, reminding Haruhi about what she suggested earlier.
"You made us all worried, especially Tama-chan," Honey mentioned, looking at her with a soft smile. "I think you need to apologize to him the most."
"So you were worried about me?" Haruhi asked.
"We were worried about the both of you," Aki said. She lowered her eyes as she pushed up her glasses. "I'm honestly glad you're both still here with us."
Nozomi wrapped an arm around Haruhi and hugged her shoulder. "We can't lose either one of you!"
Susumu smiled at all his friends and his sister.
Suddenly, Haruhi bent forward in her chair, clutching onto her shoulders. "I'm not feeling so good." Nozomi started to rub circles on her back.
"I told you not to eat so much," Susumu sighed, looking at his sister with a stomach ache. "I'll take her to the nearest bathroom."
Susumu was crouched next to Haruhi, patting her back as she threw up into the toilet. "Will you listen to me, next time?"
"Yeah," she managed to respond, staring down at the chunks of crab in the toilet water.
His hand went to grip the edge of the bathroom sink, using it to lift himself up. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, a sad look came to Susumu's face, and he turned away, looking back at his sister flushing the vomit down the toilet. "Haruhi, there's something-" He paused, gripping the counter. "Listen," he sounded serious, now, "I know that you've always thought a person's sex doesn't matter, but if those men had found out you were a girl and took advantage of you, I couldn't live with myself."
Haruhi looked up at him, listening closely to everything he was saying.
"You were the only person who I talked to, while I kept everyone else away," he said, never breaking eye-contact with her. "Watching that man suspend you over the water honestly scared me. I don't want to think about losing you."
"Onii-chan, I get what you're saying," Haruhi finally said, after staying quiet for so long. "You're just trying to prove Senpai's point by being honest with me. I get it, now."
"Good," he mustered up a small smile, "I'm going to wait for you outside, now."
Susumu stepped out, closing the bathroom door behind him.
"Are you okay?"
Susumu was reaching for the bedroom door handle and the familiar voice startled him. As his head slowly turned to see the person behind him, his heart pounded in his chest and his wide eyes took in shirtless Kyoya. Kyoya just came out of the shower, and was drying his damp hair with a towel.
Susumu eyed the door handle and his mind registered that escaping the room was a likely option for him-probably his best option. Waiting it out in the hallway until Haruhi was finished using the bathroom was his initial plan, but now that Kyoya was present in the room, his plan unfortunately changed to waiting it out in the room with Kyoya alone. He would have reached for that handle and ran away if he weren't getting used to being alone with Kyoya.
At the same time his mind thought back to the memory of his head resting on Kyoya's lap, his hands found their way into his pockets and he walked closer to Kyoya, moving away from the door. "I didn't mean to intrude. I thought no one was staying in this room."
"It's no trouble, you didn't know," Kyoya said as he continued to dry his hair.
Susumu noticed the glasses on the table and then he looked closely at Kyoya's dark eyes, seeing him without his glasses for the first time. He realized he'd been staring at him for too long when Kyoya darted his eyes at him.
"Haruhi wanted to apologize for the way she acted today." He paused, looking back at the bathroom door. "She didn't mean to make the others worry about her."
"Tell her thanks, but I wasn't especially worried." Kyoya stood up from the chair and picked up the bottle of water on the table. The cold drink traveled down his throat. "Although, one of the girls told me that you tried to handle the situation through dialogue." Kyoya then faced Susumu with a chilling look in his eyes. "I assumed you knew better than to enter a dangerous situation without any other support."
"I felt the need to protest those girls, so I stepped in," he justified, feeling a chill from Kyoya's gaze.
Kyoya set down the bottle and began to walk in the direction of the light switch. "And because of you two, I had to send each of the girls a bouquet of flowers to apologize. They've been looking forward to this trip, and we don't want to disappoint them."
Susumu lowered his eyes to the ground. "I'll be sure to pay you back for the flowers, Kyoya."
"Each bouquet cost me fifty thousand." Kyoya put his hand on the light switch. "That's a grand total of six hundred thousand yen, Susumu." And he turned off the lights.
Susumu was shaking as he instinctively stepped back. "Please turn the lights back on." He bumped his back into a wall and his fearful eyes shot upwards as Kyoya slammed both his hands next to his head.
Kyoya bent down to look at him directly. "If you want to, you can pay me back with your body." Grabbing his wrist, Susumu let out a shout as he was thrown onto the bed. He landed on his back, and Kyoya put himself on top of him, pinning his wrists down.
"Surely you didn't believe you would stay behind your protective wall forever, that those walls around your heart meant to keep everyone out were shatterproof. You left yourself completely open to others, and you unknowingly assisted me in uncovering your secret."
Kyoya leaned down to Susumu's ear and whispered, "You have always been homosexual."
Susumu, who had nowhere else to look except into Kyoya's eyes, responded with quivering eyes when Kyoya pressed his forehead and nose with his, their lips inches away from each other.
"Don't deny how much of an effect I have on you," he whispered to the frightened male under him, his breath tickling the other's face.
Torn between his body not resisting, and his increased heart rate, presumably from fear, Susumu had no idea what to do next-but he did know what to say.
In the bathroom, Haruhi turned off the cold water, and wiped her mouth with a cloth. Dark clouds began to roll in, and the sky started to cry, its tear drops pelting against the large windows of the villa. Cracking the door open slightly, she quietly took a peek into the darkened room, and when Haruhi spotted the boys on the bed, her eyes shot wide.
"You were right all along, you were right about me." It came out in a soft whisper. Tears started to prick his eyes. "I hid behind a wall because I was too afraid to come out." Susumu turned his head and looked left at the rain hitting against the glass window. Then, he looked back at Kyoya to say something else. "But you wouldn't gain anything from doing it with a guy, Kyoya."
Kyoya retracted one hand, putting it under his chin. "Nothing to be gained from it, huh? An interesting thought, in its own way-though my heart has decided."
"At times, you fill my heart with your kindness, and yet you find ways to irritate me." Kyoya's tone sounded serious and chilling. And then he smirked. "It appears that you've captured my interest, Susumu."
"No. No!" Kyoya blocked Susumu's mouth with his, not even letting the two of them breathe.
Seeing enough, Haruhi opened the bathroom door and stepped out.
Then, when the two parted for air, Susumu managed to push Kyoya off him, who was distracted by Haruhi's sudden presence, and jumped off the bed.
Once he saw his sister standing by the opened bathroom door and her shocked face, he flung open the bedroom door and ran out.
"Onii-chan, wait!" Haruhi called.
After Kyoya sat up and put his glasses back on his face, Haruhi approached him.
"Kyoya-senpai, I won't tell anyone," Haruhi said tentatively.
Kyoya said nothing.
Suddenly, Tamaki stepped in through the doorway. "Kyoya, do you have any lotion-wait, why is the door open?" When Tamaki saw Haruhi beside Kyoya and the messed up sheets, he immediately jumped to one conclusion. "You bastard-"
Kyoya smacked the lotion on Tamaki's face. "Here, use as much as you want, you big goof." After the door closed behind him, Kyoya started walking down the hall, pocketing his hands.
Returning to the guest bedroom he was staying in, Susumu leaned his head back against the door and shut his eyes as more tears fell. He eventually slid down the door and buried his face in his hands.
When Haruhi heard the sounds of a thunderstorm, her eyes slowly widened. Haruhi reached out her hand and called him back. "Senpai." She leaped off the bed at the loud thunder clap, grabbing a hold of the end of Tamaki's shirt as he was about to leave.
Tamaki turned around and looked at her with worry. "Haruhi?"
Haruhi put her hands up to explain, when thunder struck again and she squealed.
"What's wrong, Haruhi?"
"It's nothing," she dismissed it, opening the doors of a wardrobe and climbing inside. "I just remembered there's some business I have to take care of! Excuse me!"
"What business could you have in a wardrobe!" Tamaki shouted, except he was given a loud crash of thunder for a response.
"Haruhi, are you afraid of thunder and lightning?" he asked as he approached the wardrobe. "Why'd you lock yourself in there?" He struggled to open the doors. "It seems like it'd be scarier locked up like that."
"I'm all right. I'm used to getting through stuff like this by myself," Haruhi said. "Onii-chan's always there with me, he'd comfort me so I wouldn't cry."
"By yourself?" Tamaki pulled back and released his hold on the door handles. "You're always with your brother, all alone together in your home. You never call on us even though we're so close. I get it." He forced the doors open. "I understand now, Haruhi. I'm sorry I acted the way I did. You grew up only relying on Susumu, but not anymore." He held his hand out for her as she looked up. "You can come out now."
Just then, another crash of thunder frightened Haruhi, and she jumped into Tamaki's arms.
"You don't have to be afraid," Tamaki reassured, "I'll always be here for you, Haruhi. I promise you'll never be alone."
"Don't you think it's weird that Susumu's not with us?" Nozomi asked.
"He has to be resting in his room. The day was absolutely eventful for him," Aki responded.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Hikaru started.
"To leave the two of them alone?" Koaru finished.
"She's with our prince, Tamaki. What could possibly go wrong?" Kyoya said, walking down the hallway with the group.
"You ask that question, and yet we all know the answer," Aki said.
Tetsuya looked at Aki confusedly. "He can't be doing anything bad to her-he didn't strike me as that kind of guy."
"Senpai, you haven't known the boss long enough-" Koaru started.
"To know he's an idiot," Hikaru finished, albeit rudely.
Tetsuya chuckled, putting his eyes forward. "Yeah, I did get that impression from him today."
Once reaching the room, Hikaru knocked on the door. "Hey, boss?"
Staring at the scene playing out in front of them left some members of the group shocked, and others very angered. Tamaki was in the midst of placing a blindfold over Haruhi's eyes.
"With the blindfold on, you can't see anything, and the earplugs help muffle any sound!"
"Wow! Yeah, you're right."
The sound of the shutter going off, and the bright light from the flash drew Tamaki's attention to the group standing at the doorway. Nozomi lowered her camera and showed anger in her smile.
"You nasty pervert," Hikaru said, glaring at him.
"What are you doing to her?" Aki asked with an icy glare.
"It's not like that!" Tamaki tried to protest. "It's not what you think!"
"You better watch your back, Haruhi." Hikaru warned.
"I never would've pegged the boss as an SM pervert." Koaru warned.
"I told you, it wasn't like that at all!" Tamaki protested.
"I see. Well now I know what SM is," Haruhi said, aand then rolled up the car window. "I can't believe I almost let you get away with it."
"I wasn't doing anything freaky! I was trying to help you!"
"Let's go," Kyoya ordered, not caring that Tamaki wasn't in the car.
"Hey! Don't leave without me!" Tamaki shouted, running after the car. "Wait, you guys!"
The inside of the car was admittedly quiet.
Haruhi noticed that her brother was looking out the window, and then she gave him a side-hug.
Susumu looked at Haruhi, surprised. "What was that for, Haruhi?"
"You looked like you needed it," Haruhi said, smiling at him.
Susumu finally smiled. "I did need it, thanks."
The Original Characters
Fujioka, Susumu
He is a highly artistic second-year student from a middle class family who attends Ouran Academy on an arts scholarship.
He is 5'4"
He has brown eyes, and brown hair.
Susumu is usually seen with his nose buried in a book or drawing in his sketch book. He previously avoided anything to do with the Host Club; although in his second year he was forced to join the host club along with his younger sister Haruhi after he accidentally broke an expensive Renaissance vase, and reluctantly became a host to work off the cost of the vase. He is a hard worker, and attracts customers with his kindness, which earned him the title of the "Nice Guy" type. His rose color is peach. In Western culture, a peach rose is a symbol of modesty. The subtle color also indicates demureness and innocence, which is what Susumu is. He used to be very reserved, and tried not to draw attention to himself.
Although he may be still quiet by nature, self-conscious, and is nervous when physically touched by a person of the same sex, particularly the Host Club Vice President, his wall has since been shattered, and he displays more social behavior. Susumu cares for his sister deeply, and is willing to raise his voice and defend her at any moment. In return, Haruhi accepts every part of him and refuses to let him handle things on his own.
Yamashita, Nozomi
She is an upbeat second-year Student at Ouran Academy.
She is 5'6"
She has brown eyes, and always keeps her brown hair in a side ponytail.
Nozomi is a naturally cheerful and loving person, sometimes overly so. When she was first introduced, Nozomi openly displayed her obsession over love between two male characters-her obsession also extends to real life in which she has pairings for her friends and classmates at Ouran. She tends to take pictures of others without their permission and is sometimes spying on her pairing. Through her interest in manga and anime, Nozomi was able to tell Haruhi's gender right off the bat. She requested to be the Host Club's photographer, selling monthly cosplay photo books of each host. Her rose color is yellow. In Western culture, the yellow rose symbolizes friendship, joy and caring.
Sugiyama, Aki
She is a studious student at Ouran Academy.
She currently dating Haruse Tetsuya.
She is 5'7"
She has gray eyes, black hair, and wears black framed glasses.
Her default expression is calm that it's surprising when her temper is released when she is provoked. Aki also never seems to smile-or she thinks there's nothing to smile about. Having been raised in a glamorous family of entertainers, Aki quickly distanced herself from the flashy world of show business, and set her sights on a career path that involves chemistry. Even when her family urges her to use her musical voice, her answer stays the same. Her belief is that hard work will lead to great succession in life, therefore her studies are very important to her, and concentrates more on schoolwork over anything else. However, Aki makes time in her schedule to be with her friends and her boyfriend.
Naruse, Tetsuya
He is a carefree second-year student at Ouran Academy.
He is currently dating Sugiyama Aki.
He is 5'9"
He has moss colored eyes, and brown hair.
Tetsuya has joked that he and Aki were born into the wrong family. His family focuses on finance and banking, and is famously known for it. He has been taught business early on in his life, but instead he wishes to pursue his interests. His parents were pretty lenient to him taking up the guitar. He plays with his whole heart. Tetsuya likes being around people, and is able to get along with almost anyone. He is also outgoing, loud, and disorganized. When he heard Aki comes from a family of entertainers, Tetsuya persistently tried to get Aki to play music with him, to hear her voice, but she always turned him down until he admitted his love for her.