It was a little past eight on a Saturday morning, and outside the Haninozuka mansion, a small fair-haired figure clad in a white martial arts uniform walked slowly back to the main house through the lush gardens after a morning training session. He stopped for a moment and looked up at the bright blue sky.
The weather forecast had said it was going to be a beautiful day, but Mitsukuni Haninozuka frowned. His thoughts were on his friend Kaoru, and he wondered how the younger boy was doing. It probably wasn't all that much fun being shut up inside a big house on a lovely day like this, able to do nothing but lie around in bed and feel miserable.
Hani was fond of the younger Hitachin twin, because unlike his older brother, Kaoru was a little more mellow and controlled when he was on his own. They'd actually spent some time together when Kaoru needed extra help with his Maths homework, and in return he would sometimes draw Hani some beautiful pictures.
The boy had a definite artistic talent and the third-year was sure that when the twins inherited the business from their mother, Kaoru would handle all the creative work, while Hikaru took care of the business side of things.
Was Kaoru even well enough to draw today, Hani wondered as he looked around the garden. The flowers swayed colorfully in the gentle breeze and the boy wondered if his friend could see the flowers from his room. If not, maybe he could bring him some.
Hani smiled to himself then. If Kaoru couldn't come outside, then he would pay him a visit and bring him some things to cheer him up. Cake maybe, and definitely flowers. Quickly he scurried around the garden to gather himself a bunch, giving extra thought to colors and sizes.
"What are you doing?" a disdainful voice asked.
Hani looked up, the stalks of several flowers already clutched in his hand, and saw his younger, albeit taller brother standing a few feet away and watching him in utter distaste. Hani straightened.
"Good morning, Chika," he said with a smile. "How was your training?"
"Don't you have better things to do with your morning than pick flowers?" Yasuchika ignored Hani's question.
"Don't you have better things to do with your morning than worry about me picking flowers?" Hani asked in reply.
Chika's eyes narrowed. "Are you making fun of me?"
"I'm not doing anything to you, Chika."
"What is wrong with you! Do you know what people would say if they saw the Haninozuka heir walking around in the garden picking flowers!"
"And what is so wrong with that?"
"Its disgraceful, that's what it is. We're supposed to be a feared and respected family. Why must you insist on tearing down and dragging our reputation through the mud with your behavior and habits?"
Hani sighed patiently. "These flowers are -"
"I wont let you keep on shaming the name of Haninozuka. Prepare yourself, Mitsukuni!"
The older boy had only just enough time to adopt a fighting stance when the younger launched himself at him…
… … …
Over at the almost-palatial Otori residence, the third son of the family yawned and turned over on to his back. He was almost ready to reluctantly drag himself out of bed when he remembered that it was a Saturday and there was no school today. He also knew that there was something else he had to do today, but couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. He supposed he could get up and go over to his study desk where his notebook was and check, but he was far too comfortable where he was to bother. After all, contrary to popular assumptions, he didnt sleep with his notebook.
He smiled wryly to himself.
This morning peace was almost too good to be true.
Right on cue, the door to his room was flung open and his older sister walked in with a cheery "Good morning".
"What's so good about it?" Kyoya asked.
"Oh, don't be such a grouch," she replied, going over to the windows and peeking out through the curtains.
"What are you even doing here at this hour, Fuyumi? Shouldn't you be at home with your husband?"
"He had to go into work early, and I was bored, so I decided to come over and spend some time with you."
"How thoughtful of you."
"You didn't think I'd forget all about my little brother once I got married did you?" Without warning, she pushed back the curtains and let sunlight flood the room.
Kyoya let out a snarl of disapproval and covered his eyes with one forearm. "It never crossed my mind," he growled. "Now please, go away."
"Surely you're not going to lie there and let this beautiful morning go to waste?" Fuyumi asked, coming up to his bed.
"I had intended to, yes, so if you don't mind…"
Fuyumi responded by flipping the covers off her brother and Kyoya let out an uncharacteristic yelp of surprise as his bare torso was suddenly exposed to the cold air in the room.
"Fuyumi!" he sat up and tried to snatch the sheets back from his giggling sister. Honestly, she was getting to be as bad as Tamaki.
"Oh, your friend called earlier," she said. "Tamaki, I mean. He suggested the three of us go jogging in the park this morning, that's why I came to get you. Apparently, its how the commoners get their exercise."
Think of the devil, Kyoya shook his head. "We have our own private gym. I'm content with working out there."
"But that's not really the point, is it?" Fuyumi asked.
"Then do enlighten me, what IS the point?" Kyoya glared darkly.
"For me to spend time with my brother and his friend," she replied. "And think about Tamaki, all alone in that big house with no siblings or parents. Don't you think he must feel lonely?"
Well damn, he hated it when she used the emotional card on him. "Give me twenty minutes to get ready," he muttered.
"Great!" the young woman headed to the door. "Oh, and he also asked me to remind you to call your friend Hikaru and see if his brother was alright. Is he alright?"
So that's what he'd forgotten. He groped for his glasses and then for his phone. "Kaoru's down with the flu," he muttered, punching in the speed-dial for Hikaru's phone.
"Oh the poor thing," Fuyumi said. "Maybe after our jog, we can drop by and see how the poor boy is doing, maybe bring him something to cheer him up."
Kyoya waved his hand in agreement and dismissal, then put his glasses on as Hikaru's phone began to ring…
… … …
At 9 o'clock on a bright Saturday morning, joggers at one of the many parks in the area stopped and stared at the two gorgeous boys and the equally beautiful young woman that bounded past them on the pathway. One boy had deep blue eyes that were partially covered by his blond fringe now damp with sweat, and he laughed merrily as he ran alongside the dark-haired pair who were obviously siblings.
They looked happy, and many of the passers-by had to smile on seeing them; and as Kyoya laughed along with his sister and Tamaki, he had to admit that this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Now if only Hikaru would answer his damned phone…
… … …
At 9 o'clock that morning, Yasuchika Haninozuka limped back to the mansion to clean himself up, having been defeated by his brother yet again.
Hani watched him as he went into the house, then dropped to his knees to pick up the flowers that had fallen from his hand after Chika had landed a well-placed kick on his wrist. As he reached for them, a sharp jolt of pain lanced through his forearm and he winced, his fingers curling unconsciously into a fist.
Then he saw the flowers. Just like his hand, some of them, too, had not escaped damage, and now lay crushed on the ground.
Brushing away a few tears, Hani gathered up those that could still be presented and went around the garden once again, picking more flowers to compensate for those lost.
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A/N: Alot of fics usually dont deal with the thoughts and emotions of the rest of the Host Club when something happens to take down one of them, apart from that member's significant partner... so i thought i would deal with them... they're all close friends after all, and something happening to one of them is bound to have even a slight impact on those around him... so even though this fic is Kaoru-centric, i'm trying not to neglect the others... i figure that Hani and Kyoya probably are a little bit envious of the relationship the twins have as brothers, given that they themselves have somewhat strained or distanced relationships with their own siblings... hence this chapter's focus...
reviews, yes... again, thanks to all for the feedback... i try to update regularly when real life permits... i'm currently in my second year at university and working a part-time job as well, so whatever writing i do is done while commuting to/from school/work or during break-times or down-times... luckily, i enjoy my writing since its a nice break from the grind... furthermore, all the chapters you see go through two editing phases... i write the chapter into a notebook most of the time as its easier to carry around and access than a laptop, so after the chapter is written, it gets edited while i type it into the computer when i get home... the second phase is right here on ffnet before i post it up...
and while on the subject of author notes, i'm seeing a rather disturbing trend lately, of people putting author notes right into the middle of their fics... now i personally dislike doing this since it kills whatever flow and feel that the reader has been building up within the story... therefore, please leave the a/ns for after the fic is done...
that is all..