Author's Note: Wow...it's been FOREVER since I wrote on here! I'm sure people thought I was dead, huh? Well, no – you see, there's these things called work and college that took up most of my time since August, and then there was YouTube and Gaia and Neopets...yeah...I put fanfiction on the backburner for a very LONG time because of a lot of things.
But now I'm back...sorta! I'm going to be working Tricks and Thievery and Hey Sound between school projects and new AMVs, along with my Neopets addiction, and try to get a few new chapters out for both stories before the end of my break in January. So look forward to them!
Chapter Six: A Night To Remember
"Haru-chan, you look beautiful!"
"If you say so. I think I look like a spoiled puffball."
"I think you look nice, Haruhi. Now hold your head still so I can pin up your hair," Elaine said as she took a floral pin and tuck it into the thief's brunette hair, "There, perfect! Now you just need to put on your gloves and you're all set! Ah...I'm envious of you, Haruhi. You get to go to one of King Suoh's infamous balls with Lord Kyouya. It's like a dream come true."
Haruhi scoffed, "I'd easily let you go in my place, but that jerk seems to enjoy torturing me. Anyway, come on Hunny. Let's go and meet up with him and Mori downstairs. Thank you for your help, Elaine."
Elaine nodded with a smile as she handed Haruhi the gloves to match her violet-emerald dress, while Hunny eagerly took Haruhi's hand and escorted her downstairs. "You are really going to be the belle of the ball!" he exclaimed.
"I rather be in bed."
"You look fine."
Kyouya smirked as he tucked a handkerchief into the sleeve of his jacket, "Oh, it's not that I'm worried about, Mori. I'm more curious about how much I will match with my escort for the evening. After all, a pair should match correctly, am I right?"
Mori spoke not a word to his hypothetical question, but instead turned to sound of footsteps coming at different rates down the stairs.
"They're on their way down," he said, "I'll warn Tachibana that you will be departing in a few moments."
"Thank you," Kyouya said with a nod, turning his attention to the stairs. He watched as the excited Hunny came running down first, ahead of Elaine whom was holding Haruhi's coat for that evening. Haruhi, at that moment, trudged down slowly, every step she took the young lord could tell she was trying to hold back growls of discomfort and displeasure. He wanted to laugh, to say something to rile her up, but thought better of it; after all, she was to play the part of the gentle escort tonight, and really, who wants to see an angry woman trying to kill a lord all night?
"My, Haruhi...aren't you so beautiful tonight?" he said, his voice sincere despite the mischievous smirk he knew she hated oh-so-much.
The brunette glared at him, "I feel like a puffball, and these shoes are killing my feet. You couldn't make this any freaking easier on me, could you?"
"In case you hadn't notice, my dear, I chose that particular dress for you so that way we matched," Kyouya said as he spun around his captive thief, "A lord and his escort should be a perfect match. As for the shoes, I can only say you'll get used to them."
He smiled, a dark smile but with all the smooth characteristics of a gentleman, as he stood in front of her, his hand extended to her, "Now, Haruhi, are you ready to go?"
Haruhi stared at him for a moment, her orbs reflecting back thoughts of the man before her growing two heads, but she just sighed and smiled despite herself, "Yeah, as I'll ever be."
"By the way...no weapons are hiding under those frills, correct?"
"Unfortunately. Hunny took my knife away before Elaine freaked out about me killing you tonight. There went that plan."
"Somehow I can tell you're not joking."
"Announcing Lord Kyouya Ohtori and his escort, Lady Haruhi Mizugane!"
Haruhi cringed at the loud yelling of their arrival of the ball, "Sheesh...are all royals so loud?"
Kyouya smirked, "Now, now. Remember, you're a royal for the night as well. No swearing, no trying to attack others, and remember your manners."
The brunette waved him off, already knowing the lecture, "Yeah yeah. You told me this in the carriage. Anyway, what's first now? You said something about meeting the host, so can we do that and then find a place where I can check my feet for bunyons?"
"So ladylike," he said with a chuckle, his eyes turning from Haruhi towards the crowd. He nodded towards those that acknowledged him, but focused more on keeping a grip on the hand of his escort and finding...
"Ah, Tamaki! It's been so long, hasn't it?"
The blonde man that Kyouya had called out suddenly turned towards the raven-haired lord, and smiled brightly, "Kyouya! My friend, you came! Welcome! Yes, it has been awhile, hasn't it? Oh, where's my manners? Kyouya, please meet my lovely fiancée Éclair."
Haruhi turned towards the lady whose arm hung loosely, yet lovingly, to Tamaki's. Her eyes were a large pool of crystal blue, and her hair was as fiery red as her gown; even though it was to herself, she admitted that the Lady Éclair was quite a beautiful woman despite being a detested royal.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Éclair," Kyouya said with a bow, forcing Haruhi to curtsy in return, "And allow me to introduce to both of you my escort, Lady Haruhi Mizugane."
Two pairs of blue eyes landed upon her, and Haruhi resisted the urge to laugh in discomfort – suddenly the urgency of her situation hit her and she felt out of place in a world of people she hated most. "Ah, welcome, Lady Haruhi! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Tamaki exclaimed, taking Haruhi's hand and placing a kiss upon the gloved backside, "You picked a beautiful escort, Kyouya!"
"Yes, you are quite beautiful, Lady Haruhi. Tell me, is this your homecoming? Your name is unfamiliar to me," Éclair said softly, her smile warming and calming.
Releasing an unknown held breath, Haruhi smiled, "Yes, this is. I'm quite honored to be here. To have such an occasion be my homecoming is something I would never imagined. I wish you much luck and good will upon your marriage, Lord Tamaki, Lady Éclair."
Kyouya smirked, inwardly praising Haruhi for playing off her role so well. "Yes, although I wish more luck towards you, Eclair. After all, you are marrying quite an...interesting idiot," he said with a chuckle.
"Kyouya, how cruel!"
"I'm joking, my friend. Anyway, I'm sure you have other guests to meet, and with this being Haruhi's first ball, I'm sure others are interested in meeting her. We must talk later and catch up on old times before I return home, of course?"
Tamaki smiled, "Of course. Enjoy yourself, my guests!"
The two pairs made their courtesies towards each other before Kyouya and Haruhi turned away. Kyouya smiled, whispering towards his escort, "You're doing excellent. A wonderful performance, if I must say so myself."
"...I wanted to bite my tongue and drink my blood."
"Punch is a lot better for you. It's less salty."
The night dragged on. Punch was drunk, food was eaten, and Haruhi was spun around too many times in a multitude of dances she felt too dizzy to stand. Sure, she also wanted to spit in the faces of every man that touched her, but she had to remember who she was that night.
She was the innocent new arrival Lady Haruhi Mizugane, not the captive thief-turned-servant Haruhi Fujioka, forced to work for the dark Lord Kyouya Ohtori until she could find a way to truly escape him.
Speaking of Kyouya, he watched her the entire night as she danced and twirled, as she chattered and motioned gags behind the backs of those she chatted with when they weren't looking. He was questioned a few times as to why he wasn't with her, but he gave the simple answer that he was allowing the young lady to explore her new world with her innocent eyes. It was a satisfying answer and he was left alone to watch her and sip on his glass of rosy-colored punch.
"Hello, Kyouya. It's been a long time hasn't it?"
For a moment, he didn't move. Nothing moved, nothing was heard but the sound of his heartbeat and two figures breathing, and nothing else really existed. He didn't turn around; he closed his eyes and dropped the glass from his lips.
"Hello, Renge. It has been a long time. I admit, I wasn't expecting for you to be here."
Renge flashed a small smile she knew was gone unseen, taking a few steps forward to be by his side, "Of course. After all, the Houshakuji and Tonnerre families have always been very close. Then again...we were also close, weren't we, Kyouya?"
"We were, but that was a long time ago."
Kyouya opened his eyes, and the scenery around him returned. He tried to tune out the auburn-haired flame of his past that had entered his life yet again, but she wouldn't be extinguished. Not yet, not yet...
"We were," Renge said softly, sweetly, almost seductively, "I still wish we were. If we were still together, we would be married now."
She placed a black-gloved hand on his arm, "Remember the balls we attended...the dances we practiced in the garden of the villa...the feasts we had alone...the nights spent in bed as we became entangled in the sheets and drenched in--"
"That's enough!" Kyouya hissed, anger evident in his voice but repressed for the sake of the event and people around him, "Not another word. That was our past. It means nothing to me now. You wanted things I couldn't give you, things I refused to give you. You wanted us to end, not I. Don't dare bring up things and then try and make me feel guilty for our relationship falling through the cracks."
There was no anger in the smile that stretched on Renge's face, "Oh, that wasn't my intention, Kyouya. I just love to reminisce the past, that's all. My, you're so easy to get a rise out of."
Her brown eyes turned towards the dancers, particularly a violet-and-green clad brunette woman, "Besides, it seems you already have another lover, am I right?"
"Or maybe I'm wrong, since she is dancing with everyone else but you."
"I'm allowing her to--"
"Explore her new world through innocent eyes? How noble. However...shouldn't one dance be with you?"
Kyouya growled at her before he placed his glass on a nearby table and made his way towards Haruhi, Renge's smile turning darker as she watched the scene intently.
"Thank you for the lovely dance," Haruhi said with a curtsy as the music ended and changed, and at that moment she was more than determined to grab a drink of punch – and force herself not to punch Kyouya in the meantime.
Which, speaking of Kyouya, she watched him approach from the corner of her eye and she turned to face him with knitted brows. "Really, what now? Can I please--" she started to say, not in the mood to deal with any of the dark lord's cocky comments and all-too-eagerness to drag her and show her off to some sort of highly-praised noble she has yet to meet.
"May I have the next dance?"
She was taken aback; Kyouya was asking her to dance? He spent most of the evening ignoring her and letting her dance with anyone that had placed their hands on her or taking her off to meet people she had little interest in knowing, but yet here he was now in front of her, hand extended to her with a favor for a dance.
"What brought this on all the sudden?"
"Please, Lady Haruhi, will you honor me with a dance?"
Haruhi sighed, "I guess so...although I don't know why all the sudden you're doing this."
She took his hand with hers, and suddenly found herself twirled quickly into his arms she hardly had time to catch her breath. One hand gripped hers as the other held her waist, and her eyes grew wide at the sudden passion she found pouring from the onyx orbs hiding behind glass.
"Kyouya?"
"Shh...just dance with me."
For the first time since her capture, Haruhi felt at a loss for words against him as they moved over the floor. He was gentle, but yet he held a fire she didn't feel with the other men she danced with that evening. She admitted, only to herself, it was a bit...exciting, this fire, although she cursed herself for allowing this fire to spark.
After all, she should only feel this with her true love, the one that would take her greatest treasure. Surely, she told herself, that would never be Kyouya. She'd be damned and burned in a true flame if that ever happened!
The music continued to play, although it began to slow as it neared its end, which meant the end for their dance. Haruhi smiled, "This has been a lovely dance, Kyouya, but really I need a drink. All of these has left me--"
She never had a chance to finished speaking. Her brown eyes widened, her breath caught, and her body became completely stilled as Kyouya's lips silenced her, completely taking her by surprise. Kyouya's eyes were closed, but his hearing was heightened: he could easily here the people around them talking, the music slowly dying out and starting again new...and swore he heard the mingling of Haruhi's fast-thumping heartbeat with his own.
Some dancers around them were observant to the affection; a few believed it was a cute gesture, some were whispering to one another about the scene before them, and Tamaki and Éclair, dancing not too far from them, smiled and nodded to one another, as if they had known that such an event was only a short while coming.
Slowly, their lips parted and his eyes opened to see Haruhi's eyes dilated in shock and her lips swollen red. He smirked as he ran his thumb over the appendage, unconsciously licking his own lips and taking in more of her taste. A taste of sandalwood and forest, but a bit of mixed fruit from the meal before...an interesting mix of two lives combining into one, and almost intoxicating.
"Kyouya...what the..."
"How adorable. A first kiss at the first ball. Much like ours was, wasn't it?"
Haruhi turned towards the new voice, towards a new woman she instantly could tell was very familiar to and with Kyouya. Her eyes turned towards him, which loss some of the passion it held during their dance and was now replaced with anger.
"Renge..."
"I guess you are just trying to replay the past with your new lover, I see? How nostalgic. It's so tragic though, that this maiden's first kiss had to be taken in a repeat performance."
Suddenly the words hit Haruhi like cold water to the face. First kiss...first kiss...Kyouya had taken her first kiss. The first kiss that was meant for her true love. Anger began to fill Haruhi's eyes and she seethed as she balled up her hands into fists.
"Haruhi, I--"
"How dare you...how dare you use me like that...how dare you steal something so passionate to me in an act like that! You...you bastard!"
The next thing Kyouya felt was a hard slap to his face, his glasses falling to the floor, and he could only hear Haruhi's footsteps as she ran away quickly from him, from the ball.
"My my, what a temper she has," Renge said, "How could you have fallen for such a woman?"
Kyouya said nothing to her, but left her with an angry glare as he picked his glasses off from the floor, and began to chase after Haruhi with all the speed he could muster. The other patrons watched the scene intently while Renge only smiled and walked away at ease and without remorse.
Tamaki and Éclair, on the other hand, wished for the best for the quick resolve of the troubled pair.
"I do believe he deserved that, however," Éclair said softly, which Tamaki could only nod in agreement.
Whew, that was long! Well, anyway, here's chapter six! Chapter Seven will be out...well, soon, I guess! Anyway, please enjoy the drama! And no, I really didn't want to make Renge out to be a bitch (I really do love her!), but for the sake of the story...well, she kinda has to be!