No lemon/lime in this chapter.
And no, I did not choose the following song simply because it had 'Mori' in it…it gave me this melancholy feeling that I thought would fit perfect with this chapter.
CH7: Jyukai – Anata ga Ita Mori
"Okaa-san is going to
be sooo mad at us!" screamed Tamaki into his phone.
"…Tamaki-sempai,
could you call back later? What time is it anyway…"
"It's 1 o'clock."
"…DON'T CALL ME
SO EARLY IN THE MORNING! BAKA!" Haruhi hung up her phone
forcefully. Tamaki sat down and continued his groveling. Kyouya had
set up a quota of customers for the Host Club to reach in the time
period he was away…and they had only met half the quota.
"If…if we don't
meet the quota, Kyouya will never let me take care of the kids…"
groaned Tamaki as tears streamed down his face. "I mustn't give
up. Next person!" yelled Tamaki as he nervously dialed Hunny's
number. It was an emergency, and emergency's called for drastic
measures…drastic meaning waking up Hunny.
"Hunny?"
"...I'm going to kill
you tomorrow…" Shivers ran down Tamaki's spine.
"It's…it's an
emergency!" No response. Tamaki gathered up his courage and
continued talking. "We need to get more customers by the end of
Sunday to meet Kyouya's quota! Right now, we're only halfway
there…" Tamaki's phone suddenly cracked. He stopped speaking as
he felt another shiver run down his spine.
"…Couldn't you
have called me…when I'm awake…like say, 9?"
"…Yes…" said
Tamaki as he twiddled his fingers nervously. "…But, but it's
for the survival of the Host Club! I was so worried so I had to call
you immediately to notify you of our current situation―"
"I'll come to
whatever you have planned tomorrow!" said Hunny, suddenly changing
to his sweet voice.
"T―Thank you
Hunny!"
"…But I'm still
going to kill you…" Tamaki's phone literally split in half when
Hunny hung up. Tamaki shed tears of joy and despair as he began
calling the remaining three members of the Host Club with another
phone.
Tamaki's plan was
really quite simple. Objective? Resort to any means necessary to get
to the quota. Location? A lovely field (privately owned by Tamaki's
family of course) with an expansive sea of flowers and nice pond for
the ladies to enjoy. Time? 12 pm – 12 am on a beautiful Sunday. The
catch? Age didn't matter. Yes, pedophiles and 5 year old girls were
allowed to coexist in the presence of the gorgeous Host Club just for
this one day.
"Well technically,
wouldn't we not be fulfilling the quota?" asked Haruhi.
"Of course we are"
replied Tamaki.
"But I'm pretty
sure Kyouya meant that the quota was for girls at our school."
"…That's just
because he's jealous."
"…That made no
sense whatsoever. Baka…"
"Just listen to
Otou-san and do as he says." Haruhi sighed as she saw the girls,
ladies, and grannies file onto Tamaki's field.
"Where are the
others?" she asked nervously. It wasn't like them to be this
late. "You…called them…right?"
"Of―of course I
did! They must be on their way now…but for the meantime, I guess
we'll have to team up to take on these women!" said Tamaki
passionately. "We have no choice, it's for the sake of our club!"
It would have been more convincing to Haruhi had she not seen the
thought bubble above Tamaki's head…displaying Tamaki and her
running through the field and kissing and such.
"…Hentai." An
arrow flew out of nowhere and hit Tamaki in the back of the head.
The Hitachiin Manor was
oddly depressing and solemn that morning…or maybe it was just Mori.
He had come over early to take Kaoru and Hikaru to Tamaki's event,
just as Kaoru had asked him to. But it had been 30 minutes since he
arrived and he was starting to wonder why he had to come so early if
they took so long. He also started to wonder if all was right between
the brothers.
"Come back here
Kaoru!" yelled Hikaru at the top of his lungs. There seemed to be a
crash upstairs, followed by the generic noises of chaos (plates
breaking, cat screaming, etc.) Apparently, all was not well.
He stood up and started heading up the stairs to see what was the
matter. At the top of stairs was Kaoru, breathing heavily. He turned
and saw Mori at the bottom and smiled. Not caring how far away he was
from the bottom, he jumped forward, as if expecting Mori to catch
him. Lunging forth at the moment he saw Kaoru take the leap, Mori was
able to jump, intercept Kaoru's leap midway, and catch him swiftly
and safely in his arms. Kaoru stared at him amazed.
"Didn't…didn't
think you'd actually try and catch me…" laughed Kaoru
nervously. Mori just smiled. It seemed that all was well after
all. Mori put Kaoru back on his feet and gave him a quick kiss,
breaking it off when he heard Hikaru approaching.
"Oh? Mori? What're
you doing here?"
"…Felt like walking
with you two."
"I see I see. Where's
Hunny?"
"…Should be
arriving there right now."
-Scene Shift-
Tamaki flew over a
hundred feet across the field as Hunny threw a flying side kick to
his face.
-Scene Shift back-
Hikaru walked back up
the stairs to change. Mori looked over at Kaoru, who seemed to be in
a good mood.
"…Did you guys make
up?" asked Mori, worried.
"Yup!" nodded
Kaoru. He had a grin on his face so Mori believed what he said.
"…And did you tell
him…about…us?" Kaoru's grin turned into a hesitant,
half-assed smile.
"Ah, well, you see,
the thing is…"
"…You didn't tell
him…"
"Well I tried
to…" Kaoru really had tried. But admitting he was homosexual,
even to his brother, seemed impossibly hard. It was impossibly
hard. Kaoru sighed as he sat down, trying to avoid Mori's gaze,
imagining the disappointment in his face. When Mori didn't say
anything, Kaoru tried to start up a conversation. Only after the
conversation fell flat did he realize what was happening again…the
silence was coming back. This time, it was between him and Hikaru. He
suddenly remembered Hunny.
"Did…did Hunny know
you were…gay…before that day?" Mori looked at him
questioningly.
"…He already
knew…he knew from the beginning."
"Without you telling
him, right?"
"…Yes…"
"Do you think Hikaru
could be like that?" Mori paused, trying to understand what Kaoru
was getting at. "What I mean is, do you think Hikaru already knows?
That I'm gay?" Mori looked at him questioningly again. "Then, I
wouldn't have to tell him. About us, I mean. He'd probably
eventually figure it out" said Kaoru, suddenly sounding hopeful.
"…What if he
doesn't?"
"What do you mean?
We're together all the time, of course he'll figure it out."
"…What if he
doesn't even know in the first place?"
"He knows! I can
tell, he definitely knows!" exclaimed Kaoru. But listening to
himself, he realized that he was falsely reassuring himself. He
pushed his face into his hands as he realized that this strand of
hope was fake. He felt tired again: tired of making decisions, tired
of trying to gather up courage, and tired of running and avoiding his
brother. Mori sat at his side watching him trying to cope with his
insecurities. He slipped his arm around Kaoru's shoulder and hugged
him close, trying to offer the little reassurance he had for him.
"I don't know what
to do anymore Mori…" muttered Kaoru under his breath. "I'm
just…so tired…I can't even cry…" Mori could feel Kaoru's
breath getting heavy as the boy struggled just to breathe correctly.
Worried, he picked Kaoru up like a child and headed for Kaoru's
room. "I'm not that tired that I can't walk on my own"
chuckled Kaoru. Mori didn't answer. Nor did he smile. His face was
stoic and solemn, seeming to be void of all sympathy. "…Mori?"
Still no answer. He entered into the twins room, intruding upon
Hikaru who was in nothing but his boxers.
"Mori? The hell?"
Mori ignored Hikaru's indignation. He set Kaoru down on the bed and
turned to Hikaru.
"Your brother
has something to tell you…" said Mori. Hikaru stared at him with
a curious look…but felt his heart stop as he watched Mori walk over
to Kaoru and give him a kiss…a mouth-to-mouth kiss. Mori left
shortly afterwards. "…I'll see you two there…" When Hikaru
turned to look at Kaoru, he found him crying silently, curled up into
the shape of the pillow Hikaru had mistaken him for so many times
before.
The event was going
smoothly as planned, minus the twins. Tamaki was entertaining a group
of women in their early 20's when he decided to do a check on the
other members. He first checked on Haruhi, who was entertaining a
group of mothers, all of which were crying.
"Haruhi! You can't
mess up on a day like this!" whispered Tamaki furiously into
Haruhi's ear. Haruhi twitched and shot him an annoyed look.
"I'm doing very
well, thank you" she replied sarcastically. The mothers stopped
their crying temporarily to notice Tamaki who seemed to have his
hands on Haruhi in certain unacceptable positions.
"H―Hentai!" one
mother screamed. An arrow flew forth and stabbed Tamaki's hand.
"Stay away from that boy! Don't you know how much he's already
suffered? Losing his mother and having to care for his father…and
now he has to deal with boys like you? HENTAI!" Another
arrow flew forward and stabbed Tamaki's knee, making him fall over.
The other mothers joined in. "SEXUAL PREDATOR! RAPIST! PERVERT!"
Thousands of arrows poured down from heaven and drilled themselves
into Tamaki's back.
"MOE!" All the
mothers stopped screaming and turned to look at one mother in the
back.
"Wh―What? I thought
it would've been…appropriate…"
"So the secret's finally out, eh?" chuckled Hikaru. Kaoru didn't respond. He seemed to be absorbed in his own world. Hikaru realized that this moment called for tact and a wise choice of words, so he began to think of ways to lighten the mood. "Ah well, that's alright. Just means more girls for me huh? Wouldn't want my rival to be my own brother after all." Kaoru didn't even react to his comment. Hikaru mentally slapped himself. 'Jokes in these kinds of situations are bad' he noted to himself. He tried again, this time using a different method. "C'mon, now Kaoru…" he said as he sat himself down on the other side of Kaoru's bed. "Did you really think that something like this would make us any less…brotherly?" Hikaru crept closer. Kaoru's silence was killing him. "I mean, we may be twins and all…but it's not like we're supposed to be the same in every way…" Kaoru's silence was like a knife stabbing into his heart. No matter what he said, Kaoru would not answer. "Kaoru…" Tears formed in the corner of Hikaru's eyes. "Don't…don't be like this…" Silence. "We've always been brothers…and we'll always will be. Right?" Hikaru was lying next to Kaoru now, but Kaoru refused to turn around and face him. "Alright?" Hikaru asked, letting a few tears roll down his cheek. "Kaoru…answer me…" Hikaru let out a silent sob.
He had been ignored before, but this time was different. He was
spilling out his heart for his brother, being as accepting as
possible, trying to show his brother that he really did love him,
that he would always be there for him…but Kaoru seemed to brush off
all of his efforts like they were nothing. "I'm sorry Kaoru!"
His tears ran faster now. "I'm sorry…sorry for everything.
Sorry…sorry…sorry for…" He tried to continue but his tears
kept getting into his mouth, stopping him from speaking. "I just…I
just want you to love me again…I just…want someone to love me…and
someone…for me to love, too…" he said as his voice trailed off.
He couldn't stand it anymore. Kaoru's utter rejection completely
devastated him. He felt like his body was getting split in half, like
his other half was being erased, like all the memories that he had
shared with him were deemed meaningless and worthless. His body broke
down and he began curling into the fetal position, sobbing and
bawling like a baby who had been starved. He curled up tighter,
trying to withdraw from the world…a world that suddenly seemed so
big…so lonely. Amidst his sobs, he was able to make out the
faintest of words, which drew him back from his painful reverie.
"Is it…is it really
so hard to speak to me face-to-face?" Hikaru looked up from where
he was curled up. Kaoru was standing by the doorway to their closet,
tears trickling down his face as well. Hikaru looked over to the
other side of the bed and realized that he had been talking to the
pillow…again. Hikaru got out of bed immediately and onto his knees.
He literally bowed his head to the floor. Kaoru got down next to him.
"Hikaru…what're
you doing…"
"Apologizing…for
everything…" Hikaru said as his urge to cry was revived.
"Don't do
that…you're going to…you're gonna…" Kaoru started crying
as well. The twins sat on the ground, crying their hearts out hoping
that the other could understand him.
Tamaki checked in on
Hunny next, who was entertaining a group of 7-10 year olds. He
appeared to be having a cake-eating contest with one of the girls.
"Hunny, you doing
alright?"
"GO AWAY!" yelled
Hunny with a death glare. Tamaki backed off and went to go check on
Mori. Tamaki felt Mori was the unluckiest, having to entertain the
elderly ladies (60 and over). What he found was what he expected as
well. In a little patch of grass in the shade of a large Weeping
Willow, he found Mori and the elderly ladies gathered in a large
circle…and all of the ladies were sleeping. Except one. 'Guess I
don't have to worry about him…' sighed Tamaki as he went back
to his own group.
Mori sat silently,
staring at the only granny, who was actually quite young, awake in
his group. The others had fallen asleep, most likely due to his
silent nature. But this granny was eying him peculiarly.
"Hey boy!"
"…Yes?"
"Something the
matter? You look troubled." Mori sighed. "Tell me about it"
commanded the woman.
"…I don't want to
bother you…"
"HAH! Bother me?
That's all I'm living for now, to be bothered. At this age,
there's really no need for me, 'cept for the infinite wisdom I
got over the years." Mori sighed again.
"…Do you ever
feel…wrong?"
"What, boy? The hell
are you talking about?" Mori silenced himself and stopped talking.
The woman softened her voice and tried to persuade him again. "Care
to explain what you mean?" Mori hesitated, but tried anyways.
"…Wrong…as in
abnormal…like you were born a mistake…"
"…You're an
unplanned child?"
"…I meant―"
"I know what you
meant. I was just kidding." She sat silently for a moment, as if
collecting her thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity, she
began her monologue. "Everyone feels like their lives are a
mistake, at one point or another" spoke the woman gruffly. Mori
turned to face the woman completely now. "It's all a part of
human nature, boy. A human feels imperfect, or 'wrong' as you put
it, when a human can't meet society's standard. Damn society
always telling us what we should be or shouldn't be…but I'm not
saying you can blame society for everything! Hell, it's human
nature that caused that insecurity in the first place. It's human
nature to always want the good stuff, to care about society's
labels and stereotypes, to look for outer consolation when inner
strength should be more than enough…" sighed the lady. Mori
listened, somewhat fascinated by the woman's distinct style of
lecturing. "And in the end, it's because of human nature that
makes us happy. It's because we can get the good
stuff that makes us want the good stuff, it's cause society's
labels really do make us feel good about ourselves despite the
lies, and it's cause we want outer consolation that we
constantly seek love. And when any of those things are fulfilled,
well, we feel damn good." Mori chuckled at the eccentric woman, and
listened intently to her continue her speech.
"But you know what?
That doesn't stop humans from thinking like you…doesn't stop us
from thinking 'I'm a mistake! The world would have been better
off if I was never born!' But that's another quirk of human
nature…no matter how right we seem, we're more than likely wrong.
Cause you see, if you were never born, or if you weren't the
'mistake' that you are, what would happen to the people who
depend on the current you?" The woman paused as if to let
Mori reflect. "What would happen to the people who have come to
love your weirdness, your oddities, or the flaws you have now?
Don't you see it boy? The people you've affected by being the
'wrong' person you are, have come to rely on you in one way or
another. They rely on your imperfections, cause in their eyes…your
imperfections are the very perfections that they've come to
appreciate. So if you really think the world would've been better
off without you, then you're clearly forgetting the people who love
you, who depend on you, who…who…"
"…who need you…"
finished Mori for her.
"Damn right, boy!"
chuckled the woman. She smiled at Mori, making his insides feel
light…like the exact moment he realized he loved Kaoru. It was like
he seemed to understand life better, if only a small fraction of it.
Suddenly, she fell face forward. Startled, Mori scrambled over to
check on the woman…and found her sleeping peacefully.
"…I didn't even
get your name…"
"…Tsunade…(1)"
said the woman in her sleep. Mori chuckled peacefully…peace…that
was something Mori had not felt in a long time. He sat underneath the
swaying branches of the Weeping Willow, savoring the peace he had
finally found in himself. The peace he had found in Tsunade, in
Tamaki, in Kyouya, in Hikaru, in Haruhi, in Satoshi, in Hunny…and
most importantly, the peace he found in Kaoru. The peace of knowing
that someone needed him. The peace of knowing that he had a place in
this world, no matter how 'wrong' he was. He sat there smiling,
wiped away a lone tear on his cheek, and fell asleep as well.
Hikaru and Kaoru laid
on top of one another in the middle of their room, finally regaining
their composure after crying their hearts out.
"You feeling better?"
Kaoru was the first to speak.
"…Yeah…" They
sat up and looked at each other. Silence fell upon them both…but
this silence did not bother either of them. As they looked each other
in the eyes, they seemed to be registering something within their
minds…as if their telepathy was working once more. Hikaru finally
broke out into a smile, a tired smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"…We've always
been brothers…" started Hikaru.
"…And we'll
always will be…" joined in Kaoru. He felt a smile creep onto his
face.
"…And no matter how
different we are…"
"…Or how alike, for
that matter…"
"…I'll always be
there for ya…" said the brothers in union. Lightbulbs went off in
their heads when they realized that there was nothing secret between
them anymore…that they were one and whole again…that they could
still complete each other, in both words, and thoughts. Hikaru leaned
forward suddenly and kissed his brother on the lips. Kaoru sat back,
blushing furiously.
"What…what was that
for!" asked Kaoru stupefied.
"…Well a hug seemed
too generic for the moment. And we've never really kissed before…I
mean, it's not wrong to kiss right? We're brothers after
all…" Kaoru smiled.
"Yup…we really are
brothers…" said the two together. They burst out laughing.
Afterwards, the two got up and dressed themselves and headed out for
the gathering…3 hours late. But they didn't care.
"Hey Hikaru?"
"Yeah?"
"Kissing's fine and
all…but don't kiss me in front of Mori…"
"What? He's the
jealous type?" laughed Hikaru.
"Hm…don't know.
On second thought, let's kiss in front of him. I wanna see what
he'll do."
It was midnight when
the event was finally over. When the twins got there, they were
assigned the teenage girls group, which they entertained as always
with their specialty: the 'Forbidden Brotherly Love'.
"Okaa-san will be so
happy!" exclaimed Tamaki as he ran off with Haruhi. Hunny ran after
them as well, leaving the twins and Mori underneath a streetlamp.
Next to them was a large pond with the reflection of the full moon on
its surface, reminding Kaoru of his first time with Mori. He shook
off the memory as he remembered their purpose for the night. The
twins smiled devilishly to each other and started to carry out their
plan.
"Ouch!" exclaimed
Kaoru. Mori appeared next to him in an instant.
"…Where does it
hurt?" asked Mori.
"…On my lip…"
said Kaoru, pointing to a tiny cut.
"…I'll take the
pain away…" Mori jumped in surprise. Hikaru was standing there
now, holding Kaoru by the chin. He leaned forward, and kissed Kaoru
on the lips. The two then turned to look at Mori, who's face was
now stoic.
"…"
"Mori?" Mori didn't
answer Kaoru.
"Oye, Mori-sempai?"
called out Hikaru.
"…He's mine…"
said Mori in a low murmur. He picked up Hikaru by the back of his
collar…and threw him into the pond.
"Mo―Mori!" cried
Kaoru. But Mori didn't care. He dragged Kaoru into his arms and
gave him the longest, deepest…and most tongue-involved kiss.
"…This tastes like
strawberries…" said Mori after tasting the 'blood' .
"Ah, well…gotcha!"
chuckled Kaoru. "But…you taste like…natto…again…"
"…I was in a rush
this morning…" Kaoru smiled. Maybe he would develop a taste for
natto. The two kissed once more and began to walk the dimly lit path
back to Tamaki's house.
"You know…I can't
help but feel like something's missing." Kaoru said. He suddenly
remembered.
"…Renge was here
this afternoon…" The two flashed each other a panicked look. True
enough, screams of ecstasy and 'MOE!' could be heard echoing
through the darkness. The two broke out into a run.
Hikaru got out of the
pond after 10 minutes of swimming…only to be greeted by Renge and
her traveling band of merry otakus.
"Where's your
brother?" demanded Renge.
"I…I don't…don't
know…" panted Hikaru. He was never really a good swimmer.
Disappointed, Renge pushed him back into the pond.
"BITCH!"
TBC
Tidbits for the tedious mind:
1) A brief cameo by Tsunade from Naruto. I'm not too big a fan of her, so sorry if she's outta character. I just had to include her though, cause she just looked so perfect for this role.
R&R! I'm a review whore!
