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Coffee Shops and Cameras

Chapter 7

"Eyes up!" I snapped, clicking my fingers for what felt like the 100th time that morning into the uncooperative gaze of the eldest Hitachiin twin. He rolled his eyes at me once more and did his best attempt at pretending to look interested, when really I could tell he'd already mentally checked out.

It was Tuesday morning; 2 days since first arriving at the Hitachiin estate, and day 2 of being the newly employed life coach and design artist of the Hitachiin family. I was yet to step foot into the design studio with Yuzuha, but I was well underway with my new babysitting job. And Hikaru Hitachiin was the most disobedient and frustrating child I'd ever had the misfortune of taking under my wing. Hell, I'd met 2 year olds who complained less. We were sat in the courtyard, on the grass in the shade of the large oak tree, sheltered from the beating down sun. I had hoped being out in the sunshine would make our first formal session feel a little less insane, however it seemed no matter where we were - Hikaru was intent on making this as difficult and awkward as possible.

"Remember what you agreed?" I sighed. I was referring to the conversation we'd had the evening before, where he'd agreed to work with me for the benefit of his mother.

"But this is boring" he huffed.

"Yeah" I replied, "Incredibly. But we have to start somewhere"

Hikaru - once again - rolled his eyes, then leaned back on his palms and tilted his face up to the sun. His arm muscles flexed under the white t shirt he wore, and his washboard stomach tensed as he reclined. I tore my eyes away, mentally scolding myself for staring.

"Since you keep refusing to listen, why don't you talk?" I suggested, throwing my hands up in surrender.

"And what is it you want me to say?" He replied in a dull tone.

I shrugged, "Something constructive"

"I'll pass"

I huffed, resting my head on the bark of the tree trunk behind me. I cupped my hands in my lap and did my best not to stare at Hikaru who looked back at me toyingly. I could tell he was doing his best to frustrate me, he was deliberately knocking my confidence in leading this partnership. I could only assume that his reasoning was to make me give up first, then at least he could walk away believing he'd been the one that committed and didn't surrender. My plan going into this was to try and understand him. To work out why he was a dick and talk him off that ledge of colossal asshole-ness. So far it felt like he was being a dick just for the sake of being a dick.

"What do you do for fun then?" I asked, "Since you're so bored..."

He gave me a look of disbelief, "What do I do for...fun? What am I? 5?"

"Of course not. A 5 year old would be far better company" I mumbled the last part but his expression told me he'd heard loud and clear, "I'm serious" I sighed, "If we're going to mould you into a...semi decent person...then I need to know some things"

"Like 'fun things'?" He raised an eyebrow.

I nodded.

"I don't have fun" he said curtly.

"Everyone finds something fun"

"Not me" he shrugged nonchalantly, as if he were only half listening. Then slowly a smirk spread across his lips, he tilted his head to the side, lowering his eyes as he did so, "Unless you count fucking, that's fun. In fact...it's very fun"

His bluntness made me flinch, but he'd have to try harder than that to shock me into giving up. I wasn't sure which Hikaru I hated more. The one who treated me like dirt, or the one who acted like an infant at every chance he got.

"No, that doesn't count" I grimaced, not giving him the satisfaction of a reaction.

"Then sorry to disappoint you. But I don't do things for fun" he yawned as he laid back onto the grass.

"Don't you have friends?"

Dumb question Haruhi. To be friends with Hikaru Hitachiin you'd have to have very low standards or a poor perception of what makes a trustworthy companion.

"Obviously" he murmured.

"Bull. Shit" I gaped in surprise.

"Not everyone despises me like you do"

"Sorry" my mouth slammed shut, "But can you blame me for being shocked?"

When I met Hikaru, I hadn't even spoken before he'd bitten my head off and made a shitty snap judgement. How would anyone even get the chance to make friends with him if he decided to hate you before you could even introduce yourself?

He grunted, not agreeing nor disagreeing with my remark.

"Let's go see your friends then" I suggested. Then at least I'd get a chance to actually see Hikaru happy. If I could get a genuine smile to spread across that devilish face of his, there might be hope for this. And admittedly, I was curious to see what company Hikaru kept.

"No way" he snickered.

"And why not?"

"Because I say so. That's why"

"It's not like we have anything else to do today..." I shrugged.

"Speak for yourself" he mumbled, staring up at the clouds.

I made a face, "You mean...you have plans?"

"Yup" he replied.

"Weren't we suppose to work together all day?" I questioned.

"Wasn't this morning enough?"

"It's been 45 minutes Hikaru"

"47. I've been counting"

"Wow, and here I was thinking I had your undivided attention" I grumbled, "I'd ask what you're doing but I can already guess what you're going to say"

Probably something that rhymes with 'Duck' and...uh...hmm...dammit what rhymes with off?

"Haven't you got anything better to do than pester me?" he enquired.

"I'm not choosing to spend time with you, I'm doing this because I have to"

"Well I think 47 minutes is plenty for day 1, I feel like a better person already" he groaned as he sat upright, and began clambering to his feet, stretching his arms above his head as he did so. I withdrew my gaze from him, knowing full well that if caught a good look at him flexing and tensing his muscled form I'd have a difficult time keeping the stern look painted on my face.

"Your Mom won't be happy" I muttered.

"Stop using my Mom as leverage. I spoke to you, I listened to you. I promised no more"

"You promised to try"

"And this was me, trying. And tomorrow, we'll try again. Maybe we'll make it to 49 minutes. There's a goal you can look forward to"

"Prick" I said under my breath.

He didn't reply, and I didn't look his way to see if he'd even heard me. About a moment or so later, he slunk away into the house, diving his hands into his jean pockets, with not so much as a glance back at me. I was almost disappointed, but to be honest, what did I expect? This was Hikaru Hitachiin. The man who's first words to me were 'Don't steal anything'. It was no surprise that he'd sneak off whenever he felt like it. Afterall, you can't help someone who didn't want to be helped.

After a very brief cigarette, I went back into the house. It was pretty empty today. Mr and Mrs Hitachiin were attending business, so the house felt a lot less homey without them there. I'd been given a tour of the estate the day before, and honestly, I'd struggle to find my way around without a map to refer to. I debated whether or not to go exploring, but I feared I may never see the light of day again if I got lost. I considered looking for Hikaru, but the absence of his shoes beside the front door told me he'd already left to do god knows what. What could a man like him possibly be doing anyway? Kicking a puppy? Taking candy from a child? It seemed unlikely that he'd be out helping the poor or doing something beneficial.

Instead of moping around, I decided to venture to the library. Yes, they had a library. It was huge, with floor to ceiling bookshelves, you needed a ladder to reach most of the books. One of the maids had shown me where it was, it took me a while to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw it. But I could only vaguely remember where it was. West wing? Two lefts and a right? Or...was it two rights and a left? Shit. The Hitachiin house really put the size of mine and Dad's apartment into pespective, there were only 4 doors. One was the front door, and the others were to the bedrooms and the bathroom. That was it. This house felt more like a small town than a home. I wondered which door would take me to an alternate dimension.

"Lost something?" A voice spoke up from behind me.

I jumped in surprise, spinning on my heels to meet the eyes of... "Kaoru?"

The youngest twin grinned widely, "Good morning!"

Amazing. Same face, but practically a different species.

"I thought everyone was out today" I said.

He cocked his head to the side, "No? I thought Hikaru was meant to be here"

"He escaped about half an hour ago"

Kaoru smirked, "Tut tut. Mom won't be impressed"

"He's got the attention span of a teaspoon" I shrugged.

"Sounds like Hikaru" Kaoru sighed, "He'll come around. Eventually"

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm somewhat...doubtful of that"

Doubtful would be an understatement.

"So" Kaoru beamed, "What are you looking for? I'm happy to help!"

I chuckled at his enthusiasm, "The library"

"The library" he grimaced, "Boring. On a sunny day like this? You want to read?"

I nodded, "I like reading"

"Reading is for rainy days" he made a face as if he were thinking, "Since my brother has abandoned you, there is no way I'm letting you read alone all day"

"Well...you could come with me?" I suggested.

He didn't look too thrilled by the idea of reading, he shook his head, "Let's do something else" he said, "I have a better idea, I want to help you come up with a plan to screw with my brother"

"You want me to screw with your brother?" I chuckled, raising an eyebrow. Was this normal for siblings? I'd grown up an only child, so I'd never had the chance to engage in childish quarrels or silly games. But Kaoru seemed practically giddy with excitement over the prospect of fucking with his twin's head. "That's a little...cruel don't you think?"

"I only mean I want to help you get through to him" he smiled, "We can come up with a strategy!"

"Strategy?"

"A plan of action!"

"A...plan of action?"

Before I knew it, I was being dragged down the hallway towards the staircase, he didn't release my arm until he'd pulled us into a large room with a bar and a pool table. For a minute it felt like we'd left the house and entered an entirely different building.

"To be honest Kaoru" I cleared my throat, "What I really want to talk about is...just Hikaru, I don't know a single thing about him, how am I meant to help if I don't know why he's the way he is? And it's not like he's going to tell me. I asked about his friends today and he blew me off and left"

"He's a private person" Kaoru shrugged, wandering over to the bar, "Drink?"

"It's 11.30 in the morning" I smirked.

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere" he grinned.

I gave him a little laugh. "I'll just have water" I said, taking a seat at one of the tables. The room looked like a highend nightclub, I could only imagine how classy it must look during the night. Kaoru nodded and fixed us both two glasses of water, he handed me the drink with a smile before settling down in the seat opposite me.

"So what were you saying? You asked Hikaru about our friends?" he said taking a sip. He politely kept eye contact as he spoke, something Hikaru never seemed to manage. Even though Kaoru looked like Hikaru, right down to the dimples in his cheeks, and the grey stubble on his jaw - he and his brother were seeming less and less alike by every passing conversation.

I nodded, "I'm guessing they're like him?"

"No, not really" Kaoru replied, "We've known them since school, so they knew Hikaru before he was...like this"

"Must have been nice"

"He was" Kaoru smiled sadly. I felt bad for talking about this with him, I could see this whole situation was hurting him a lot more than he was letting on.

I changed the subject, "So where do you think he went?" I asked.

Kaoru shrugged, "Another mystery"

"You think he went to see his friends?" I questioned.

"No, we always see them together"

"And what do they think of Hikaru?"

"Sometimes there are fights, but no one wants to argue with him so we all tend to avoid saying anything that will piss him off" he shrugged, "But he can be a lot quieter around them. We have fun"

I smiled to myself. And there he was telling me he didn't have fun, "So...you think I could meet these friends of yours?" I asked, "It might make relating to Hikaru a little easier"

Kaoru grinned widely and set his glass down on the table, "Now there's a strategy"

Hikaru returned home about 6 hours after leaving, and in that time Kaoru had filled me in on anything and everything useful for working so closely with his twin brother. We knew he'd arrived back when the sound of domineering stomps echoed through the hallways, following a powerful slam of the front door. Kaoru wasn't 100% sure where exactly he'd been, but apparently it wasn't unusual for Hikaru to disappear for hours at a time or at random intervals of the day. Kaoru seemed to think it was a stress management technique Hikaru used, to escape situations he didn't like. Not a very useful technique when we were talking about literally flipping his life upside down.

"Where have you been?" I asked the moment I heard him pass the doorway of the rec room. He jumped a little in surprise, but quickly returned his expression to his usual scowl.

"Who are you? My wife?" He scoffed. As he spoke I noticed the faint smell of alcohol on his breath, I guess he answered my question, even though he didn't intend to.

"This isn't a joke Hikaru, I'm doing this as a favour to you. You need to take it more seriously"

"I am taking it seriously"

"You spoke to me for less than an hour and then pissed off for 6 hours"

"Exactly" he smirked, "I gave you precious moments of my day"

I sighed exasperatedly, "Your Mom isn't happy about it"

"What a surprise..." he huffed sarcastically, "I'm going to bed"

"It's only 7"

"And? I'm tired"

"I was hoping we could continue where we left it this morning"

"Sorry to disappoint you...oh wait...no, I'm not sorry at all"

I scowled at him angrily, "We already spoke about this yesterday Hikaru. You promised to give this a chance"

"And I am. We spoke. I talked, you talked. Easy"

"You're still a complete dick though so we obviously haven't gotten very far" I crossed my arms and glared at him, "In here. Now" I pointed into the recreation room towards the plush seats.

"I told you, I'm going to-"

"Last night you told me you were going to try, no matter how difficult it was. You were going to do this for Yuzuha, and I'm not one to let people break their promises. Now sit"

He challenged me with his strong glare for several moments. His hazel eyes swirling with browns and greens, darkening a couple of shades as he tried to subdue me with his stance. But alas, I, the champion of staring contests, wasn't going to back down for some pretty boy with an attitude problem.

Finally he huffed and slunk past me, stomping into the room towards the bar. He grabbed a bottle of...vermouth? And sat down opposite me on the soft recliner.

"I spoke to Kaoru today" I said matter-of-factly.

"And?"

"He told me about your friends"

He blinked but said nothing.

"I think it would be a good idea if I met them" I said, "It's better if you had everyone on board with this, rather than just me and your family"

"Not happening" he snapped uncapping the bottle and taking a long swig, "It's embarrassing enough that I've got you training me like a dog, I don't want my friends involved, I don't even want them to know about this"

"Hikaru-"

"Really. No. You're crossing a line"

"Kaoru already invited them over Hikaru" I breathed, bracing myself for the hurricane about to hit, "He agreed that it was for the best. He wants you to really commit to this, he thinks your friends will help you. Maybe even more than I can"

Hikaru's lips formed a harsh line. His hazel eyes narrowed under his heavy brows, the look he gave me burning a hole into my returning gaze.

"I don't want to fight Hikaru. I just want to do this job right" I couldn't explain it. But seeing how affected Yuzuha was by Hikaru's attitude made my heart ache. She was a mother who loved her son, who wanted him to be happy. I would have done anything for my Mom. Anything.

"When are they getting here?"

I chewed my lip, "Soon"

Hikaru made a face, as if he were drifting away in his own thoughts. His eyes disconnected from mine and his jaw tensed.

"Where's Kaoru?" He asked, rising to his feet. I mirrored him, standing up in front of his 6ft 5 form.

"He's in the dining room"

Hikaru made a grunting sound but said no more. Instead he pushed past me, abandoning the bottle of vermouth and headed for the door like a locked on missile.

"Hikaru!" I called after him. I jogged to keep up, following him down the hallway towards the dining room where his brother was pouring himself a drink. I had no doubt Kaoru was expecting this reaction, but I still wanted to shield him from the outburst I'd caused just by being there. Hikaru's boots stomped like the spikes on a Richter scale as he thundered away from me, I was practically tripping over my feet to catch up with him, but there was no way I could have beaten him into the dining room, and before I could even cross the open threshold, the shouting had already begun.

"So this is what you're doing now?! Conspiring behind my fucking back?!" Hikaru bellowed at his brother.

Kaoru froze, his glass barely reaching his lips, "Calm down Hika"

"Calm down? Are you fucking kidding me?! She's been here for 1 day and you've already turned your fucking back on me, what kind of brother are you?!"

I quickly stood in front of Kaoru as his older twin began advancing on him, "Hikaru-"

"Move" he hissed darkly, glaring at me with deathly intent.

"Don't you see what you're doing?" I pleaded, "This is why I'm here, so we can stop this! You're ripping your goddamn family apart!"

"I never agreed to involve my friends" he snapped and lunged towards me - causing me to stumble backwards until the corner of the table dug into my back and he practically pinned himself into me, restricting my movements and stopping my heart for a few seconds in shock. Kaoru made a move to defend me, but I put my hand out to signal him to stop.

"Kaoru" I breathed, not daring to tear my eyes away from his brother. I studied his face, taking in the deadly look he gave me, and the defensive way he towered over me. But amongst that rage I saw a flicker of something else, something that reminded me of...fear and dread. He was scared of what was happening, scared that his controlling grip on the house was slipping away. I couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for him. I cleared my throat, "Could you give us a minute?"

"Are you joking?" Kaoru scoffed.

"It's okay, it won't take long" I replied. I could tell he was afraid for me, I didn't know if Hikaru had a history of violence or anything, but I assumed that if he did - I would have been warned about it beforehand. So, apart from the uncomfortable feeling I got from the threat in his eyes, I knew Hikaru wouldn't hurt me. No matter how much he may have wanted to. The few seconds that followed were awkward, but eventually Kaoru sighed and stepped out of the room, making sure to tell me he wasn't going far and to shout if Hikaru became too much to handle. I nodded, still keeping eye contact with Hikaru.

I did my best not to flinch, as Hikaru's nose almost pressed against mine but I knew I couldn't back down and cower away, that was why I'd been asked to do this. Because I didn't give in to him like everyone else did. I wasn't scared of him...or at least I didn't show that I was.

I did my best to keep my expression neutral as I formulated my reply, "You need to calm down" I breathed, fixing my gaze entirely on his until everything around him blurred and disappeared. "We're doing this to help you, we're doing this for your Mom" I explained, "You're strong enough to deal with this, your friends won't think any differently of you, but if you speak to your brother that way - he will. Your family will. You said you would try, now let us help you. Work with us, not against us. I swear to you that I won't do anything that embarrasses or hurts you, but you need to meet me in the middle to help me do this"

As those words left my lips I could see the reservation and some of the rage filter away from his expression. His hard face remained just that, but his harsh tensed lips softened - his tongue darting out briefly to moisten the plump reddened skin, his eyes were a conflicting pool of confusion, stubbornness and intrigue and his paling complexion began to gain back some colour. Even though his gaze was still threatening, I couldn't shake the strange feeling of heat spreading across my body - from my chest down to the growing ache between my legs. He was undeniably handsome, a stunning defined example of masculine beauty. With him standing so close to me, I could smell the alcohol but behind it was the sweet scent of what I could only describe as vanilla, and spearmint toothpaste, a smell that only intensified the warmth travelling across my body, and the increasing pace of my heartbeat.

I only looked away when the echoing chime of a doorbell rang in the distance. Bringing me out of my uncharacteristic reverie, and back to reality. I took a deep steadying breath, and left the room.

Hi guys! Here is the newest chapter, I hope you enjoy. Chapter 8 should be on its way soon as I've already written most of it!

Please remember to Review/Follow/Favourite!

Lots of love,

Yuli xxx