Prompt #o2 title: Cherry Blossom

"I must apologize. I'm afraid that I do not have feelings for you with the intensity that you have."

Those words constantly haunted Umehito every moment his mind was preoccupied. What a fool he was, to actually believe that he had a chance with being with the light.

The sparse members of the Black Magic Club noted their president's sluggish movements over the past two weeks. And they worried dearly for his health. It seemed that Nekozawa kept to himself longer in the room, as well as kept fewer candles lit. And he'd become even sneakier than before! For a moment you can see the photophobic man and then the next, he's completely disappeared, without a trace. Indeed, this behavior was unsettling for the Black Magic Club members.

Umehito was curled in a corner of his private room; several candles were lit around him, small globes of light barely illuminating the room. With knees pulled to his chest and arms wrapped around them, the Russo-Japanese reminisced to the first day he met Inoue Hayato.

It was in April, the start of the new term as Umehito became a second year in Ouran High. He quickly shuffled through the throngs of icterine* dresses and violet and black uniforms to hurry out of the sun. No one in particular took note if this strange behavior for they were engaged in silly banter and obnoxious conversations, and Umehito preferred that to happen. He didn't like being the center of attention—the spotlight was just never meant for him to be under, and he never had a problem with it before.

Standing under a sakura tree, Inoue Hayato waited patiently for his classmates, Suō Tamaki and Ōtori Kyōya. Today was their first day as first years in high school and eligible to start their Host Club. A gentle breeze raked through the delicate branches of the tree, supple pink petals drifting towards the ground. Several of the petals landed in the boy's curly brown hair. Green eyes narrowed in annoyance and slender fingers slid into his curly locks to dislodge the petals.

Then a black blur passed by and something fell from the moving object. Hayato quickly moved over to the item and picked it up. It was a cat hand puppet. And quite the popular toy, too. He had seen it in a toy store once when he was a child. If his memory served him right, it was a limited edition Beelznef. Clutching it softly in his hand, Hayato ran after the owner, clad in a black hooded cloak.

"Wait! You dropped something!" he called out, the cloaked person halting under the dark shade of one of the pillars. Hayato caught up with him, holding out the puppet while the other hand on his knee. "You were in quite the rush, weren't you? If I'm not mistaken, this is a Beelznef puppet, isn't it?"

The cloaked person reached for his puppet, brushing his fingers ever so lightly over the other's. And dear, his skin was so soft! Just like the petals in the trees.

"T-thank you very much. May I ask your name?" His voice was soft, timid.

"My name is Inoue Hayato. And may I ask the same?"

"Umehito . . . Nekozawa Umehito." The plum-boy* noted that there was a foreign touch when he spoke in Japanese. The bell tolled, signaling the beginning of classes. He bowed slightly, and quietly excused himself before rushing off in the corridors.

As he zoomed down the corridors, Umehito's heartbeat sounded loudly in his chest and head. And he was positive that it wasn't from physical exhaustion. He knew that he had started to develop a crush on this Inoue Hayato.


Extended Ending

"Hayato! Where are you!" a voice called from the courtyard. Said teen turned around and walked out from the shadows and waved an arms towards the blond who called him.

"Tamaki! Kyōya! Over here!" He waited as they walked over. Tamaki immediately rushed to the brown-haired teen, nearly toppling them over as he desperately glomped him. "Tamaki, I can't breathe! You're cutting off oxygen to my brain!" he strained to say until Kyōya pulled the clingy blond away.

"Why are you here, Hayato? We told you wait under the sakura tree in the courtyard!"

"Well, someone had dropped something and I, being a splendid gentleman gave it back to him."

"Who was he, then?"

"He said his name was Nekozawa Umehito—"

"WHHHHAAAAATTTT!" Tamaki proceeded to grab handfuls of his hair, "Nekozawa-senpai!"

"Yes . . . what of it? Why do you seem to be so terrified of him, Tamaki?"

"It appears that Tamaki here believes that Nekozawa-senpai uses black magic and places curses on people," Kyōya replied, shifting up on the bridge of his nose. "There is no proof of this accusation, however, so do not worry about it, Inoue-kun."

"Black magic? That sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

"Are you serious, Hayato! He even has his own club! The OCCULT Club!"

"I mean, why not? After all, isn't it a rumor that the Devil's Trill Sonata was originally composed by the Devil himself hence the name?" Hayato crossed his arms over his chest. "Why wouldn't I be interested in something such as that?"

"Hayato, you don't understand! If you do something to upset Nekozawa-senpai, you'll be cursed!"

"Need I remind you, Tamaki? There are no curses. Now, we must hurry along. We'll be late." Kyōya repeated, pushing the blond and brunet* towards the school while Tamaki continued his spastic behavior.


[1] Icterine is a shade of yellow. I was going to call the dresses a canary yellow, but that color's been overused.

[2] The kanji in Umehito (梅人) means plum person or plum man.

[3] Rarely used masculine form of brunette.