chapter 5 revised
DISCLAIMER: I swear, I do not own Ouran...
Thank you very much for the reviews in chapter 4 :)
Arashi-senpai
hpnerd328
dark and bittersweet
queen34
Sonora-Margaret
kyoya-is-love
Jaiho
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I really appreciated it :) You guys made my day!
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Previous chapter:
"Meet me here tomorrow at 9 a.m." He said, making the girl lift her face. She was standing back to back with Kyouya.
"Do not be late.", the shadow king added before he continued walking away. She turned to his direction and stared at his back.
"Why?", she asked in confusion.
--
Knock. Knock. Knock.
It was a Tuesday morning - the morning after the Ootori Company party. Haruhi was preparing herself to work when she heard a loud knock on the door. The lawyer just got out of the bathroom, only wearing a bathrobe over her underwear.
"Hold on.." She shouted, as she put on a zip-up black sweater to cover herself.
The young lawyer opened the door, and was welcomed by three men who were wearing identical suits and black shades.
Before she could even speak, Fujioka Haruhi was practically lifted by the two men towards a black limousine. The third man then closed the door of her apartment before following them. The lawyer shouted and struggled, afraid about what was happening. She desperately called for help as she felt her entire body got heavier and heavier after one of the men covered her nose with a handkerchief...
--
"Fujioka-sama.."
"..."
"Fujioka-sama...."
"Mmm.."
"Fujioka-sama....."
"Hai..?", the sleeping girl responded in a low, hoarse voice. She blinked her eyes twice, trying to adjust her sight to the bright sun shining through the window.
Is it morning already?
"We need to get you dressed" Haruhi directed her gaze to the woman in a maid's uniform. "Kyouya-sama is waiting for you." The woman stated as she walked towards the bedside, holding a large pink box in her arms. The lawyer, meanwhile, was still orienting herself with what was happening. Her mind running at a slow speed of 10 mph.' Dress? Kyouya? Waiting?' She tried to connect the words, tried to make a sensible idea out of it, but none came yet.
The brown eyed girl slowly sat up, her right hand supporting her head. "Where am I?", she loudly asked, still with a hoarse voice. She looked down at the soft material delicately hugging her lower body. That wasn't her blanket, and that wasn't her bed, she noticed. She moved her head from side to side, her eyes critically studying the spacious room; she noted the expensive furniture and the decorative antiques. 'What am I doing here?' A frown started to form in her flawless face as she gave the maid a questioning look.
Before the latter could speak, a deep, familiar voice answered the question for her. "You are in one of my family's vacation houses Haruhi." The man explained as he swiftly walked from the door towards the bed. "Welcome to Hokkaido."
Haruhi narrowed her eyes when she saw him. The man who never once failed to drain out all the sanity in her. The only man who had managed to make her shiver, to make her angry, and to even make her cry in annoyance sometimes. Honestly, she initially thought that he was different from the former members of the crazy group of men who called themselves the host club. She thought that he wasn't as weird as them; yet, as spent more and more time with him, she realized that she was sadly mistaken. Birds of the same feathers flock together, she thought.
"And why am I here Kyouya-senpai??", she asked.
Now things were starting to get clearer as the young lawyer remembered the events that morning. She was preparing for work. Somebody knocked at her door. She opened it, only to be welcomed by three men in black. She was lifted by the men... and... Well, Haruhi couldn't remember anything else after that.
"I told you last night to meet me at 9 am - "
"You didn't tell me why.", she tried to cut him off, but he continued speaking, unshaken by the girl's dangerous tone.
" - I figured you wouldn't come, so I took the initiative of picking you up from your place.", he calmly said.
"Picked me up? No, You kidnapped me!" The maid was surprised with Haruhi's sudden outburst. She couldn't believe how brave this Fujioka lawyer was; never has she seen anyone talk to the shadow king the way Haruhi did. Not even Kyouya's brothers can talk to him like that.
"You know that I can sue you.", the lawyer seriously said. The maid wondered if this girl was indeed crazy. Threaten and scream at Kyouya Ootori? Not a good combination for sure.
"I know you can.", the raven-haired man coolly replied as he let out a small smirk.
"You can talk to my lawyer about that if you want." He smugly said.
'Bastard' "I am your lawyer." The brown eyed woman replied through her gritted teeth.
"Exactly.", he deadpanned.
The maid kept staring at the two, amused with their fearless sparring of powerful words. She wondered why her master hasn't called his bodyguards yet to eliminate this woman who was answering him back. She wondered why her master hasn't kicked this woman out of the country yet.
Was there some kind of miracle happening?
"Can you please just tell me what I am doing here senpai?", the lawyer asked again, glaring at the tall man in front of her. She couldn't remember how many times has she already asked him about his motives lately. For some reasons, Haruhi felt that something was out of place. It was as if Kyouya was, well, not being the usual Kyouya...
The onyx-eyed man glanced at the maid, motioning her to leave the room. She placed the pink box on the top of the bedside table before excusing herself.
Silence took over the room.
But the tension remained.
"Do you still remember Tamaki's words when you broke the expensive vase back in high school?", Kyouya looked at Haruhi as his glasses reflected the glare of the sun.
Of course, how can she forget? The day when she accidentally broke that ridiculously expensive vase was the very same day when she said goodbye to her peaceful life.
"You owe me two things, in case you forgot.", he smugly stated.
"I know that... But - "
"But what? I already told you what I want for compensation. And if I remember correctly, you said it yourself that you cannot give them to me.", he retorted, making the girl sigh in defeat. She lost, he perfectly knew that. His plans never fail after all.
"How about my work?", she asked, even though she knew that the shadow king doesn't leave any loopholes in his plans.
"Your secretary was already informed to clear your schedule for today." He said as he made his way towards the large couch near the bedside.
Sigh.
"What exactly do you need from me?", she asked, her words lashing out like a poison from her mouth. The young lawyer was starting to get confused. It was true that the spectacled man's odd behavior may go unnoticed by most people...but not by Haruhi. She knew that something was bothering him, although she wasn't sure what it was.
He smirked in reponse. An evil smirk which Haruhi completely hated. She knew that he only smirks like that whenever he has some plans (evil plans, to be exact) in his head.
"My personal assistant."
Pause.
"Personal assistant?", the girl repeated in disbelief as she frowned even more.
"You brought me here... to be your personal assistant?", she asked slowly, in a tone that says 'are you kidding me?'
"I'm not that immature Haruhi.", he backfired, as if he was insulted by the lawyer's question. "I need to finish some important paper works tonight.", he explained as he slightly stirred on his seat. "However, my grandmother wants me to attend her little dinner party."
"And so, you want me to do the job?", she hesitantly said, reading in between the lines.
"Yes." The shadow king answered and looked at his shiny wrist watch.
The girl eyed him critically.
"You could've just told me last night you know. You didn't need to drag me all the way here." She said, not looking at him. She thought that the shadow king's excuse was very lame. Kyouya didn't reply, as if he didn't hear her remarks.
"If you're done with your questions, I suggest that you start getting ready for lunch.", he said as he started to walk out of the room. Haruhi noticed that he was already in his sleek black tuxedo. His dark hair already brushed neatly in place. "You have exactly fifteen minutes."
"Eh?"
"That dress costs 500,000 yen. You might not want to ruin it."
Haruhi snapped her head towards the pink box that the maid was holding earlier. 'Rich bastard.' She got out of the bed and started to fix herself. She didn't really want to dress up; it was just a simple lunch anyway. What's the big deal? But then again, she realized that going out of the room, only dressed in a bathrobe and a zip up sweater, was not a good idea. Sigh
--
The young lawyer wandered around the very ample mansion, trying to figure out where the dining room was. Good thing that a maid saw her and directed her to a quiet room where Kyouya was currently eating with an old woman, probably around 80 years old. White hair and wrinkles dominated her beautiful face.
"Come, join us my dear.", the old woman said as she motioned Haruhi to sit opposite her. The brown-eyed girl looked at Kyouya, who nodded his head in approval. She gracefully walked in and sat beside Kyouya as directed. The mansion's butler standing at the back assisted her. "Thank you", she said in appreciation.
"Haruhi, I want you to meet my grandmother, Ootori Koneko.", said the spectacled man, making the lawyer look at him and then at the woman opposite them. "She lives in England with my uncle... She only visits here about twice a year."
The old woman didn't have that intimidating Ootori trademark, Haruhi noticed. She doubted for a while if this lady was really Kyouya's grandmother.
She wasn't exactly what Haruhi had expected.
"Good afternoon Fujioka-san.", said the older woman as she beamed at the girl. She looked a lot like Fuyumi, Haruhi thought. 'They have the same personality, and that same sparkling dark eyes.'
"Oh, please call me Haruhi.", she said, giving one of her sweet smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ootori-san."
The older woman returned her smile. "You know, I am so glad that Kyouya-kun here has finally found a friend whom he doesn't need to blackmail just to go with him." Haruhi slightly stiffened at the irony of what Ootori grandma said. The girl didn't know whether to laugh, or to frown at the truth of the older woman's statement.
"Actually - "
"As much as I don't want to cut the lovely conversation, my ladies, I am afraid that the food is starting to get cold.", Kyouya said, cutting whatever Haruhi's statement was. Kyouya gave her a smile that says don't you dare tell my grandmother that she was right.
--
The three of them ate in silence, with occasional comments from Ootori grandma. Haruhi was enjoying herself with the delicious foods in front of her. She felt like heaven every time she put that Ootoro in her mouth. For once, she felt that being dragged by Kyouya all the way here wasn't so bad at all.
"I see that you are having a good time my dear.", said Ootori grandma as she noticed Haruhi's boosted appetite. The lawyer slightly blushed at the remark. Embarrassed with her obvious passion for food.
"Hai." She said, "I really love your Ootori."
*cough*
Silence.
The spectacled man beside her adjusted his glasses as he let out soft coughs. The older woman, meanwhile, was looking directly at the lawyer's round brown eyes.
"I meant to say Ootoro..", Haruhi corrected herself and she began to laugh nervously. She started to hate the deafening silence that echoed her ear.
The girl noticed that the man beside her has resumed eating, and so, she pretended to eat normally as well.
Silence.
"You're girlfriend is very pretty Kyouya-kun.", the older woman said, as she broke the silence inside the room. "She is funny too."
Cough. Cough. *choking*
Now it was the brown-eyed girl's turn to swallow her food in the wrong pipe.
"Oh my! Are you okay dear?.. Kyouya-kun, give her some water.", the older woman said, worried about Haruhi.
Cough.
Kyouya handed her a glass of water, as he whispered something in her ear. 'Play along.'
"What?!" the girl exclaimed. Why the hell would Kyouya want her to pretend as his lover? This isn't funny at all, she thought.
Ootori grandma looked at her quizzically.
"Is she okay, Kyouya-kun?", she "whispered" at her grandson, careful not to let Haruhi hear her question, as if she was worried that her remark might offend the young lawyer. For some reasons, Ootori grandma reminded Haruhi of Tamaki with those loud whispers. 'Is she really Kyounya-senpai's grandmother, and not Tamaki-senpai's?'
"I believe that she is fine, grandmother.", Kyouya calmly said as he looked at his lawyer from the corner of his eyes.
Silence.
"I am okay.", said Haruhi in reassurance. "Thank you." She knew that it was now too late to retaliate against the shadow king's act. The only thing that she can do at the moment was to just go with the flow.
The older woman sighed in relief. Haruhi was stealing occasional glances at Kyouya, wondering what was going through his mind. Is he serious about proclaiming her as his girlfriend? No, of course not, Haruhi thought.. There surely was a reason behind all these. But, what? Normally, she could see right through him, but then, there would be times when the shadow king's defenses were at its peak.
Silence.
"So," Ootori grandma said, "how long have you two gotten together?", she asked randomly, making the two people in question look at her.
"I mean, how long have you two been in a relationship so far?", the old woman corrected herself as she looked at Haruhi gently.
"Oh..", the lawyer shrugged, "just now..?" she accidentally slipped up.
"Just now??", Ootori grandma frowned in confusion.
"Uhm..no! no.. I mean..."
"Yes.", the raven haired man said, making the two ladies look at him. "Today is our first anniversary grandmother." Nice save. Kyouya Ootori was definitely quick-witted. He can get out of any trouble smoothly and spontaneously. He was truly the master of manipulation, Haruhi thought.
"Oh...oh, I see..", said the grandma as her stiffened muscles slowly relaxed.
"Why didn't you tell me that today is an important day to you Kyouya-kun?", the grandma asked worriedly. "I could've just re-scheduled our dinner for tonight you know."
"It's okay grandmother... Haruhi here wanted to meet you anyway.", he said as he reached out for the girl's hand on the table. The girl was slightly suprised with the boldness of her senpai's act. She looked at their hands before turning her gaze to the older Ootori. Haruhi nodded in reassurance of what Kyouya has said.
"Oh.. Really Haruhi-chan?" The girl in question smiled weakly.
"But Kyouya-kun, if you told me about the anniversary, I would've just asked you to meet me tomorrow with your brothers and sister instead." The white-haired grandma said, as if guilt has eaten her whole being.
"Please don't worry yourself about it grandmother.", the raven-haired boy gently replied as pulled his hand from Haruhi's.
Ootori grandma's face lit up all of a sudden, as if an idea popped into her head.
"You know what, I'll let you go for tonight Kyouya-kun! You should spend the evening with your girlfriend.", she excitedly said. "I would have a dinner set up for the two of you!"
"You don't really need to do that grandmother."
"No, no, no.. I insist Kyouya-kun.", she smiled, even though her tone says something like 'you have no choice but to do it'.
sigh
"Thank you grandmother.", the younger Ootori replied. "We would really appreciate it."
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A/N: This isn't my favorite chapter.. But, it is vital to keep the story moving in a reasonable pace.. please bear with me :) lol
I would appreciate reviews.. I'm open for any suggestions, comments, requests, etc.
Preview for the next chapter:
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