Shuffle, shuffle...
Takashi Morinozuka sank further into the white chair which was situated in the corner of the room that he and his cousin occupied. It was a surprisingly comfortable piece of furniture. However, his mind was not lingering on how soft the fabric of the chair was, nor was it focusing on the rather bulky throw pillow located beneath his weight. Instead, he was busy trying to decipher the barely audible sounds coming from the next room over.
Swissssh.
The sound of water running reached his ears.
The walls were not paper thin. It was something Takashi was immensely grateful for. It would not be in anyone's best interest for his cousin to be woken up from his peaceful slumber. The eldest Morinozuka son tossed a glance at his cousin, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, who had the ever-present stuffed bunny pressed against his chest in what Takashi knew had to be a death grip. While the walls were not paper thin, Takashi's very acute sense of hearing could pick up the activity from the room he knew Haruhi, Kaoru, and Hikaru shared.
He deduced that Haruhi had woken up and was trying to go about her morning routine as quietly as possible without waking up her roommates. Unfortunately for her, it also meant as slowly as possible. Soft footsteps could be heard every so often. He knew that with each step, Haruhi would pause for a few moments to see if the twins had stirred.
His eyes traveled from his cousin to the alarm clock which flashed "4:56 A.M." in a red, neon glow.
Despite the fact that he had woken up almost twenty minutes ago himself, Takashi was still surprised to discover that someone else had woken up just as early on their own free will. Mitsukuni usually didn't wake up until after eight in the morning.
Had he still been at home, the next head of the Morinozuka family would be found toning his sword skills in either the dojo or the training grounds on his family's estate. At the moment, he was currently unaware if the ship actually possessed such training facilities. He was aware that there was a gym, but a gym and a dojo were two very different types of places.
If he weren't such an independent and silent person, he would have asked Tamaki if there was a place he could train on the ship. However, Takashi Morinozuka was an independent and silent person, and he decided that he would look into such an idea at another time. He held no doubts that his cousin might be interested in investigating such a thing with him. While the eldest son of the Haninozuka family was passionate about sweets and childlike things, he was also fond of combat. Not necessarily hurting people, but just fighting in general. The two cousins were excellent sparring partners.
He sat in silence for a few more minutes until the sound of the shower running finally came to an end. It wasn't long before he heard a door creak open, a light switched off, and more shuffling.
Takashi stood in one fluid movement and made his way towards the door. The key to the room rested comfortably in the bottom of his jean's pocket. After a few large strides, Takashi slipped through the door and closed it firmly behind him as he emerged into the brightly lit hallway.
He wasn't the least bit surprised when he heard the door to 4291 open a minute later.
"Haruhi."
Had Haruhi Fujioka been any other person at that moment, she would have jumped about five feet into the air at the somber, unexpected tone. Being Haruhi Fujioka, the ever sensible and sole female member of the Host Club, she only finished closing the door behind her and turned to smile at him.
"Good morning, Mori-senpai."
He nodded at her. She was dressed in a light blue dress. He noticed she was also wearing the same hair style as yesterday – the pigtails.
"Are you going to the banquet hall, Mori-senpai?" She inquired.
He really hadn't planned on going to the banquet hall. He usually didn't eat until his cousin was ready to. Then again, he usually wasn't left with nothing to do. Why did he come out into the hallway anyways? He could have stayed in the room, but it really didn't matter anymore.
"Yeah," Takashi decided. He would go to the banquet hall.
She sent him another smile and walked to his side. They started down the familiar path.
Minutes later, they found themselves at the banquet hall. The chandeliers above head were brightly lit, unlike how they had been during dinner time the previous night. There were only three other guests located in the room. A richly dressed couple sat together, conversing over their waffles and poached eggs. A man sat by himself at another table, reading the morning newspaper and occasionally taking a bite out of his toast.
Haruhi and Takashi wandered over to where the cooks were. They placed their orders; pancakes for Haruhi, fish and natto for Takashi.
They received their food and sat down at a nearby table. There was no need to travel to the center of the room to reserve the table the Host Club had deemed as their own because neither of them planned on staying that long. After all, Takashi had to travel back to his room to meet his cousin, but he still had a few hours to kill.
"You like oriental," Haruhi noted with a thoughtful gaze as she picked up her fork.
Takashi merely nodded as he sampled the fish. He'd had better.
A waiter came by, asking for their drink orders and rushed off to bring back Haruhi's orange juice and a glass of water for Takashi.
They continued to eat in silence, finishing their meal before more guests decided to flood through the doors.
"I wonder what there is to do on this ship," Haruhi wondered aloud. She didn't want to spend the whole time at the pool. Besides, it was the Suoh's ship. She secretly expected an indoor amusement park from the eccentric owner.
Takashi wondered too.
"Would you care to investigate with me?" Haruhi asked, smiling up at the tall senior. She reminded him of Mitsukuni with the small gesture.
He nodded his head slowly and followed after her as she traveled down one of the corridors.
They passed by the gym for neither of them showed any particular interest in such a thing. They also passed by the ballroom, the concert hall, the daycare, at least nine different conference rooms, a second ballroom, the spa, and the ship's "gift shop" which was more like a mall if anything.
They walked by the movie theater where Haruhi was sure Tamaki would be taking them in a few more hours. Several more minutes into their journey, they stopped in front of the library which Haruhi noted down the location of for future references. If the twins left her without a key again, she would know where to go.
The training room was located across the hall from the library.
Takashi didn't say anything to his companion as he moved slowly, but with his giant strides, towards the door. He pulled open the heavy wood, and looked inside the brightly lit and already occupied room.
"Kasanoda-kun," Haruhi greeted as she peeked her head through the doorway, glancing under Takashi's arm.
"F-fuj...Fujioka!" Ritsu stammered out, and accidentally dropped the sword he was holding. He quickly jumped back before it collided against his bare foot.
"I didn't know you knew how to use a sword," Haruhi said as she glanced at the sword that clattered noisily against the ground.
Ritsu's cheeks turned crimson as he let his gaze drop to the floor, staring at the weapon now resting at his feet.
"Um, yeah," Ritsu replied; blushing and fidgeting a bit.
"Spar with me," Takashi interrupted. He didn't really know why, but he was becoming annoyed by the looks the yakuza heir was sending Haruhi.
"Ah... Morinozuka," Ritsu said, as if realizing the man was still present, "I don't think I'll be a match for someone such as yourself."
Takashi merely shrugged and grabbed one of the wooden katanas off the weapon's rack. They were decent looking pieces, but nothing like a real sword. Nothing like the ones the Morinozuka family possessed.
The senior made his way towards the center of the room, allowing a few feet between himself and the younger man. He quickly merged into a fighter's stance.
Haruhi looked between the two. Takashi really did look frightening. Even with a harmless wooden sword, his expressionless face was still terrifying.
"Attack," Takashi ordered.
Ritsu stood, stunned, as he gazed at the senior in front of him. He gulped, thankful that the swords were only wood and not of metal. He clutched his weapon in a death grip, afraid of not only suffering extreme injuries the Morinozuka heir might cause, but also the extreme blow to his pride if Haruhi saw how weak he really was compared to the senior.
'Slow', Takashi thought to himself, lunging forwards and taking the underclassman by surprise. He swept his sword upwards, blowing the redhead back and sending him crashing to the floor.
Haruhi looked at Ritsu's fallen form and mentally sighed. The poor guy really had no chance against her more skilled companion.
"Ah, Mori-senpai," Haruhi said as she tossed another glance at Ritsu's prone figure, "don't you need to wake up Mitsukuni?"
She was right. He did have to wake up his cousin. The rest of the members would be up soon, too.
Takashi nodded and returned his weapon to the rack. Haruhi ventured out the door, deciding to wait outside the room. Takashi turned to face the yakuza heir that was still passed out on the ground. He wondered how anyone could even think that the boy was a threatening presence around their club.
But even he had felt a tinge of annoyance towards the blushing, crimson-haired boy that had been staring awkwardly at the sole female club member.
His cousin's voice rang through his head as he joined Haruhi, once more, in the hallway.
"You like her."
And maybe he did.