lumigo akvo9504: Yes I knooooow! I love them too, and as a couple they just made me spin because of their cuteness (I've been writing some scenes, ok? I just needed to, it was driving me crazy!). I think they are the reason I'm so hooked up with this story instead of jumping through all my drafts like I usually do hehe.
Reglee: Welcome to this crazy story! Glad you like it so far!
Caibb: I know, right? I was reading it before posting and couldn't help but to love them. They are the most awkwardly cute thing ever!
Enjoy the chapter!
Mitsukuni was happy. It had been already five minutes since Nagisa and his mother had started talking, and so far it was all good. Actually, better than good. Too good. Wait, when had her mother pulled that photograph album out of the shelve?! No, Mitsukuni took back his statement, he didn't want Nagisa to meet his mother!
"Okaa-san, what are you doooooing?" Mitsukuni whined, standing up to take the album out of her mother's grasp, but she was already expecting it.
"Mitsukuni, sweetie, stay in your sit. You were the one that brought Nagisa-chan here, now you'll have to accept the consequences of your actions." she said, and Mitsukuni sat. His mother was no one to mess with, so if she said something, he usually—always—complied.
Nagisa, who was watching the whole exchange with wide eyes, blinked twice. Was Haninozuka Mitsukuni, the Haninozuka Mitsukuni... just doing what his mother said? Okay, she hadn't seen that coming. Nagisa knew Mitsukuni didn't follow his father's orders, not all of them that is, and that he usually did what he wanted just because he could.
'Huh, it seems like we all end up kneeling down to our mothers...' it was kind of nice to know she wasn't the only one that couldn't say no. It had taken her years to stand up for herself, and her situation was a little bit more serious than some photo album.
"Alright, not that that's settled, I can show you this beautiful pictures of Mitsukuni when he was younger!" said cheerfully Akemi-san, Honey's mother. She was really nice and sweet, with a rather petite frame and auburn hair tied in a low ponytail. She was wearing traditional Japanese robes, and overall held a regal aura Nagisa would kill to have. Seeing her, it was pretty obvious from where had her eldest son acquired his sweetness and cheerful self. So unlike Yorihisa-san both physically and personality-wise it made Nagisa wonder how was it possible that they were married.
'Possibly an arranged union... but Akemi-san talked about her husband and she looked like she was in love, so I guess the opposites attract thing is real after all.' Nagisa thought it was rather strange, but she was no one to pray into other people's business.
"Oh, I wanna see that." she said instead, smiling evilly at Honey, who just looked at her like she had just killed Usa-chan. What was she doing? How could she betray him like that?
Yes, that was payback for all those times when he just crushed her heartlessly at training. 'Feel it, Honey, feel it!' she thought with a big grin on her face.
Mitsukuni, though, knew nothing of that, so Nagisa's attitude was nothing but treason. And still, he didn't mind at all.
'It seems that love does make you a fool, doesn't it?' he thought, holding back a smile. He may not mind, but it didn't mean Nagisa needed to know that.
In the end Haninozuka Akemi won, as Nagisa saw all of Mitsukuni's photos. There were some of them where the differences between the picture and the Honey she saw right now weren't as notorious as before, but the attitude he showed made up for it. Nagisa knew about Honey being all serious and tough when he was younger to please his father, but seeing it was a completely different thing, even if it was through an old picture. Nagisa was glad he now showed who he really was, because Nagisa could tell, even if he seemed alright, he was suffering. Honey's usually happy brown eyes were sad, not even the photograph could hide it. Nagisa didn't like to see him sad.
"Mitsukuni, dear, could you leave us alone?" Akemi-san's voice brought her back to reality. What did she just said? Maybe Nagisa wasn't listening right.
"Okaa-san?" Mitsukuni was as confused as Nagisa. Why his mother suddenly asked him to get out of the room?
"I just want to have a girls talk with Nagisa-chan, you know I never get to spend time with girls." said the matriarch of the Haninozuka family, and Mitsukuni knew there was no way she would give in. He still bit his lip worryingly, thinking about a way to help Nagisa—there was no way, his mother always won—. Ultimately he just nodded, and reluctantly left the room.
Nagisa's eyes widened as she saw him leave. What was he doing?! He couldn't just leave her with his mother! Right?
RIGHT?!
He was doing it because she agreed to look at the photos, wasn't he? It was a totally different thing, his mother was about to kill her! How could he just leave her there!
'Okay, Nagisa, calm the fuck down. Nothing is going to happen. Akemi-san is nice and sweet, she wouldn't kill you.' even if her brain said everything would be alright, Nagisa was still freaking out. It was Honey's mother they were talking about, not just anyone.
"I'm not going to do anything to you, Nagisa-chan." Nagisa's blue eyes left the floor to find Akemi-san's own big, soft, honey eyes. They made her at ease immediately, and Nagisa didn't know why. Maybe because they were similar to Honey's eyes?
When the bluenette finally processed what Akemi-san said, she blushed furiously. Oh, Kami and the sushi lord, what would she think of her now?
"I-I didn't me-ean to..." Nagisa stuttered, trying to apologise, but not really doing a good job at it.
Akemi just laughed sweetly, waving her off with an elegant motion of her hand.
"Don't worry, I understand why you're nervous. It's not everyday the mother of the boy you like asks you to have a talk alone." she said, calmly and not thinking for a second that Nagisa's mind would go into override with that statement.
Nagisa blinked twice, still trying to understand what she had just heard. Akemi-san said she...
...
"I don't like him!" she exclaimed when it finally got down to her, her already flushed face brightening up even more. Why did she said that?! How could she know she... ahg! Feelings were so complicated.
"Oh, I thought you already..." Akemi closed her mouth, deciding it was better not to finish that statement. Nagisa-chan was not aware of her feelings yet, and she was no one to tell her. She needed to find out herself in order for her feelings to develop in a genuine and strong way. If Akemi just told her, it wouldn't be the same, and maybe it would ruin the growing relationship with her son altogether. "Never mind, I made assumptions I shouldn't have made. I apologise if I made you feel uncomfortable." she said instead, and Nagisa calmed down a little.
'She's still young, maybe it will take a while for her to realize her feelings.' Akemi thought, and she smiled a bit. Mitsukuni could wait, he was smart enough for that.
When Nagisa finally got out of the room, Mitsukuni felt relieve washing all over him. She didn't look upset, or uncomfortable, so that was a good thing. Just what did his mother wanted to talk to her about? Probably more embarrassing things about him.
Mitsukuni cursed the sound-proof walls in his house.
"Goodbye, Akemi-san, it was nice to talk to you." he heard Nagisa saying before closing the door behind her, turning around to face him. "Your mother's nice, you're lucky to have her." she said, smiling a bit sadly while saying it.
Mitsukuni frowned a bit. Why was she sad about it? Maybe it had to do with the reason of her living on her own. Was the relationship between her and her parents that bad?
"Are you alright Nagisa?" he asked, wanting to know about her meeting with her mother, and about how she was feeling too.
The bluenette nodded, smiling towards him, this time a bit more happier.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. It's just that I don't really have a good relationship with my mom, but nothing too serious." Mitsukuni didn't believe her for a second. If she was living alone, it was because she couldn't live with her mother. But he didn't pray. She would tell him if she was comfortable with it.
"Alright, if you say so... you wanna go meet my brother?" Nagisa smiled at the way Honey changed the subject. It was nice that he knew she didn't want to talk, and so he respected that.
"I would like that." she said, and so they made their way to the family dojo, that was separated of the ones the Haninozuka's used to train their apprentices.
The family dojo was on the other side of the estate, and it was equipped with the most amazing weapons you would ever imagine. Katanas, nunchakus, knifes, swords, shurikens, everything. The Haninozuka style was based on the 'anything goes but killing' thing, so Nagisa wasn't that surprised.
Even when they were outside the dojo, Nagisa could hear someone was training inside. Probably alone, if the lack of any other hard breathing was anything to go by. Nagisa could guess it was Haninozuka Yasuchika. And she was right, when Honey dragged her into the dojo, the second heir to the Haninozuka's was performing a magnificent series of punches and kicks, with amazing flips and weapons on it. The poor dummy he was training with was already half destroyed, and another boy, who Nagisa was guessing was Morinozuka Satoshi, Mori-senpai's little brother, was watching from the sidelines, ready to intervene if he felt his cousin was pushing himself too much.
If Yasuchika noticed the new crowd he was having, he didn't show, not stopping his training routine for a single second.
Nagisa was bewildered. He was what, fourteen? And he was way better than her. It was obvious he had started training from a very young age, his technique was flawless and fluid, he could change his fighting style within less than a second, and it was still as strong as he was before. Amazing.
And then she was almost hit in the head with a shuriken.
What in the name of the sushi lord had just happen? If it wasn't for Honey's reflexes, she would have been dead by now.
"Chika, you need to be more careful!" Satoshi was fast when he approached them. Honey had pinned her down on the ground, covering her with his own body.
"Are you alright, Nagisa?" she could hear Honey asking her if she was okay, but she was still going over the fact that she was trapped under him. Their bodies were so close Nagisa could feel him over her, making her blush.
Mitsukuni, on the other hand, thought she was still in shock for being almost killed by his little brother. Remembering that detail, he jerked his head to look at Chika with a frown and a dark aura around him that he usually only had when he was just waking up. To his brother's credit, he looked guilty even if he tried to hide it. That made him calm down a bit. At least Chika knew that what he had done was wrong.
Mitsukuni stood up, releasing Nagisa, and so her brain was able to properly work again. Okay, so everything was alright. She wasn't dead, and Honey was no longer over her. She could work with that.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry about Yasuchika, he... well, he doesn't react well to strangers, especially when he's training at the dojo, or fighting anyone." Satoshi said apologetically as he helped her stand up.
"Don't worry, I'm kind of used to it. My middle school class was a bit wary too, me included, so this kind of reactions are normal to me. He was faster than I'm used to, that's all." Nagisa shrugged off Satoshi's worryness, and instead decided to introduce herself. She was the stranger in that place, after all. "My name is Shiota Nagisa, though you can just call me Nagisa. I'm friends with Honey, we're clubmates." she informed, loud enough so that Yasuchika could hear her too.
He was being scolded by Mitsukuni, who was lecturing him about how it was bad to attack people without knowing if they were a threat or not. It wasn't the first time it happened—Tamaki could certainly agreed with that—, but Yasuchika felt tiny anyway. He hated to be lectured by his older brother, because even if he acted as if he hated his guts more than anything, he was just... disappointed? Sad? Envious? Maybe it was a bit of all three.
Mitsukuni could be himself, not caring about what their father would say about it. He violated every single rule the Haninozuka's had with a smile on his face. And yet he still had their father's approval, because he was the strongest heir the Haninozuka's had ever provided. Mitsukuni could beat him without even trying so hard, and that made him... Yasuchika didn't know what he felt about it anymore.
Before Mitsukuni decided to leave the karate club and the Haninozuka's traditions to join the so called 'Host Club', they were pretty close, as Satoshi was with Takashi. Yasuchika had always looked up to his older brother, asking him for advice and comfort. He was the one person besides Satoshi he could trust.
And then he had just left. Mitsukuni left him to face their father alone, to comply with the rules on his own, to make up for his childishness with extra-training, leaving behind all his own selfish desires, all to please the Haninozukas. And even though he did everything in his power to do so, Yasuchika still felt like he would never be enough. Not compared to his brother.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt her, and I will apologise." he cut his brother off, and Mitsukuni just watched as his little brother walked towards Nagisa, and then bowed lowly. "I'm sorry for my behavior, and I apologise if I hurt you in any way." he said, head down, not daring to look at the girl he had almost killed just some minutes ago.
The truth was, Yasuchika was seriously sorry, there was no need for his brother to scold him. He needed to learn how to control himself better, as Satoshi always told him.
So he flinched when a hand touched his chin, lifting it up so that he could look into those piercing blue eyes. He expected anger and resentfulness, but instead found tenderness and a smile.
"Don't worry, it wasn't as you really wanted to kill me. It was actually my fault for startling you while you were training with harmful weapons, so I'm the one who should apologise." she said while she bowed, and Chika's mouth could have touched the floor.
He almost killed her with a shuriken, and she said it was her fault for startling him? Just who the hell was this girl?
(To be fair, he didn't know of the assassins she dealt with on a daily basis, so it wasn't as if his surprise was uncalled for).
"You are an alien too, aren't you?" he muttered under his breath, but Nagisa heard him anyway. She looked puzzled at Honey, who just chuckled.
"Chika-chan believes I'm an alien because I eat a lot of cake." he explained, and the bluenette had to suppress the need to roll her eyes. Seriously, just how childish could they be?
She then turned back to Yasuchika, who was still gaping in her direction, as he couldn't believe what she had said.
"Yasuchika-kun, I am not an alien. I work at the Ministry of Defense, my middle school classmates were savages, and this has already happened to me, so I know it's not your fault. I have my moments too, don't worry. And just for you to know, your brother isn't an alien either. He just eats a lot of sweets because he needs a lot of energy, and cakes give him more energy than other things. I have a friend who does the same thing, you know? He does many activities during the day, so sweets usually helps him when he needs to stay active for longer periods of time than usual." she explained, remembering how much Gakushuu could eat when he needed energy. Now, it was never as much as Honey ate every day, but Yasuchika didn't need to know that, didn't he?
Chika looked at her for a moment, and then turned to face his brother. It actually... made a lot of sense. He ate a lot too, just not sweets, so did Satoshi, who could and would literally live with ramen and only ramen if it weren't because his mother forbid his guards to let him come to a ramen shop. Not that his cousin didn't ditch them to go eat anyways, but points for the efforts, he guessed.
The younger of the Haninozuka brothers blinked, as his whole life just flipped upside down. Maybe his brother wasn't an alien after all? He would need to do some further investigation on the matter before drawing his final conclusions.
After everything was over, Mitsukuni would tell Nagisa the truth. When they were younger he had told Chika he was an alien, and then he never said otherwise, so his brother grew up believing his brother was truly an alien.
Nagisa would scold him, and he would just laugh, truly happy, because maybe his relationship with his baby brother would finally get back to the way it was.
After Yasuchika put everything back to where it belonged, the four of them left the dojo, back to the estate. There, Mitsukuni gave his brother and cousin what he had brought them from the bakery. Satoshi accepted it immediately, thanking him and starting to eat the second it was placed in front of him. Chika, on the other hand, reluctantly accepted, even if he knew he liked the gesture inside him, and ate as well.
And now they were here.
"So... Mori-senpai has talked a lot about you." Nagisa and Satoshi were sitting on one of the elegant furniture of the Haninozuka estate. They were currently on one of the living rooms, while the Haninozuka brothers were healing Yasuchika's wounds. Normally it would be Satoshi's job to do so, but Mitsukuni had offered, and Chika didn't refused either.
Satoshi's face lit up, suddenly happier than he was before.
"Really? Taka-nii has talked to you? About me?" he asked excitedly, as he knew his brother didn't talk often, so that he mentioned him... it made him very happy.
"Yeah, he actually talks about you a lot. Well, you know. When he actually speak. He cares a great deal, you know?" she said, not really thinking she was somehow exposing Mori-senpai. Satoshi looked pretty happy, so Nagisa wasn't about to deny him that.
"Taka-nii's the best brother ever! He is the best at kendo, and he takes care of Mitsukuni, and he has very good grades, and everybody likes him!" Nagisa could tell Satoshi was really proud of his older brother, and it made her smile. He was the total opposite of Mori-senpai, who was always calmed and silent, like a rock. Satoshi said everything that crossed his mind, and was very expressive and hyperactive, it seemed. "... And you know? The other day he told me about this girl, Fujioka-san? I think so... anyway, he told me about her, and that means she's important to him, because he doesn't talk often, so I was very excited about it, and..." Nagisa stopped listening after that.
Mori-senpai had talked about Haruhi to his brother? Huh, what an interesting development, who could have guess... maybe she would look into it later. Things were starting to fall into place, it seemed.
'Is it just me, or that was just Kyoya-kun's mind possessing me?' Nagisa didn't want to know, if she was honest.
Yep, she would take a bath as soon as she got home. That way maybe she would be free of Kyoya-kun-like-thoughts.
Nagisa was finally alone. Honey had taken her home shortly after Satoshi's random spilling of thoughts, and he had said goodbye with a kiss on Nagisa's cheek. He left immediately after doing so, and the blue haired girl didn't have enough time to reply before he disappeared.
Nagisa was taking her promised bath, thinking about the events of the day. She had a date with Honey. No, scratch that, it wasn't a date, not for him, anyways.
Even if Akemi-san implied that maybe...
Well, no. Not really. She just said she, Nagisa, was in love with her son. The bluenette wasn't sure what to think about that yet. It had been on her mind lately, but until that day, it had never being a real thing. Not until Akemi-san brought it up. Now she couldn't take out of her head, and it was driving her crazy.
Why couldn't she just say she didn't loved him and forget about it!?
'Because it's a lie.' her subconscious was always good when it came to confuse her even more than she already was.
But was it? Was it a lie? Her first answer would be no, that it wasn't a lie, that she just saw Honey as a friend and nothing more, because that was what everyone expected, what she was supposed to think.
But what did she feel? Really, what were her feelings towards that blond, cute, and sweet senior of hers?
Nagisa liked his company, and she felt calmed with him, like nothing was wrong with the world as long as he stayed by her side. He made her smile more often than many, and she couldn't get herself to be mean to him, even if she was mad or frustrated. What did that mean? Was it love? Attraction? Friendship? With Karma it wasn't the same, she could always yell at him, hit him, bring out her sassy and bad-ass side, be everything but a proper lady.
With Honey... well, she could be herself, but she had the need to show her girly side, to let him know she wasn't just some tomboy, but an actual girl... someone he could take into consideration.
He made her feel appreciated in ways she never had. He lowered down his defenses with her, showing her his true self, that he wasn't always this kid-like-teenager, but an actual man. It made Nagisa proud, because he considered her important enough to let her know him.
Nagisa... Nagisa couldn't help but to love him, couldn't she? How could anyone not love him? Honey was... he was everything Nagisa didn't know she needed until she found him, flaws and virtues, it didn't matter, she needed him as a whole. If that wasn't love, then what was it?
'If only he could feel the same...' she thought longingly as she sank her head under the water.
Tamaki was feeling sad. He was heading out from the main Suoh mansion, ready to call it a day. He wouldn't normally be allowed to be inside the main mansion, but his grandmother had requested his presence. At first, Tamaki thought maybe she was finally starting to warm up to him. It was nothing like that.
"If you weren't the only descendant of the Suohs, you wouldn't be here." that hurt. It hurt a lot, to know your family only recognized you as one of their own out of necessity. Maybe his father truly loved him, but it wasn't enough. He never, ever, defied Tamaki's grandmother on his or his Mamma's behalf. Not even once. Yuzuru just let things happen, and it hurt Tamaki more than then blonde would ever let him know.
But what hurt him the most was his grandmother's attitude towards him. He often acted like he didn't care, but on the inside, Tamaki's heart broke every time his grandmother called him 'filthy son', or 'unworthy of the name Suoh'. Yes, he was an illegitimate son. But why did it matter so much? Why did she loathed him so fiercely?
Why wasn't he enough?
But even though she hated him, Tamaki couldn't get himself to do so as well. She was his grandmother, his family—it didn't matter that she didn't feel the same way. He would always love her no matter what, and he would win her over. Tamaki would make sure of that.
In the meantime, Tamaki had the Host Club. They were his family too, the one he choose, and that he would never give up even if it meant he could be accepted by his grandmother. That wasn't something Tamaki wasn't willing to discuss. The Host Club supported him when no one else did, every member was a fundamental pillar on his life, and he would be eternally grateful for them. Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai always helped him when he needed help with classes and Kyoya wasn't around, and the twins, even if they normally teased him, were there if he needed them. Nagisa was like his consciousness, the one he could always turn to when he was looking for advise, and Haruhi, his darling daughter... she somehow made him remember his mother. It was just a feeling, but he could feel her closer when Haruhi was around. It was nice.
And Kyoya. He was his first truly friend. The first one who accepted him, the one who made him feel welcome at Ouran. Kyoya was just the person besides his mother Tamaki appreciated the most, and knew would never turn him down.
What they all had in common, though, was that they accepted him just the way he was, no charm and smiles. They accepted all his facets, when he was mad or happy, or sad, or whining, or growing mushrooms in the corner, they took it all. That was more than he could ever ask of them, and they did it anyways. Tamaki was just happy to have them in his life, because he knew that without the Host Club by his side, he would have given up long ago.
So... did you liked it? What do you think about Chika? I actually like him as a character, as well as Satoshi, and I feel they are not developed enough. Sorry about not having a big Satoshi-time, I'll make up for it. What about Nagisa's decision towards Mitsukuni? I know you've been expecting it. And Tamaki's situation? I admit I was kinda sad when I wrote about it. It was supposed to be happier, but then I just wrote about Tamaki being hated and almost depressed. I hope this bring some things into light, though.
PS: Akemi can be read like 明 (ake) meaning "bright" and 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful".
This is all for now. Hope you like it and see ya next chapter!
Patolemus.