"Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun, when are you going to announce the results?" An excited group of girls had cultivated in the third music room for lunch.
"Probably… tomorrow," Kaoru said thoughtfully.
"Oh, how exciting! I don't know if I can bear to wait!"
Hikaru grinned. "We don't mean to cause you ladies pain by forcing you to wait… but Kaoru and I have a special process for shuffling the cards, and it can be can be a bit… lengthy," he explained, slipping an arm around his brother's shoulder with a devilish look in his eyes.
"Hikaru," Kaoru said softly, his voice wavering. "Is it really okay to give so much away…? I'd be so embarrassed if these girls knew about… how we go about choosing the matches…"
"Eeee! A lengthy process? I wonder what it is!"
"Tell us, tell us!"
On the other side of the room, a second set of fangirls was questioning Haruhi.
"Haruhi-kun, since those two usually carry out their plans with you now, will you be helping out with Couples' Matching, too?"
"Ooh! I want Haruhi to match my card!"
Haruhi smiled good-naturedly but shook her head. "No, I helped collect the cards, but that's all the more I'll be participating in this particular plan. We'll just have to trust Hikaru and Kaoru."
"Haruhi-kun, I heard that Hikaru-kun was talking to Souga-kun before lunch and eventually convinced him to hand in a card. You were there, so you know, right?"
At the next table, Hunny was entertaining two short-haired girls and eating a chocolate pie. Without even a remote change in his demeanor, he perked up his ears to listen.
"Oh, well that's…" Haruhi raised her eyes reflectively. "It was probably Kaoru, rather, who was talking to him. I think the two of them want to help our class rep to not be so shy anymore."
"Ah, what a noble cause!" Although none of them would say it, each of the girls understood a little better than they were letting on. All except for Kurakano Momoka, whose thoughts were a mystery to the rest.
Hunny, who continued to look unfazed, understood a little better than any of them. That's just like Kao-chan, he thought to himself. It reminds me of what he did for Hika-chan in Karuizawa. Hunny grinned at the girls. "My tea is all gone! Do you two want some more too?"
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"You know, Takashi," Hunny explained, dignified enthusiasm accompanying his childish voice, "Kao-chan is always looking out for others, isn't he." The stoic figure and his diminutive "lovely item", along with the rest of the club members, were preparing to go home for the day. Mori idly shuffled through his bag to make sure he had everything he needed, and Hunny sat on the piano seat, his leg dangling. Being on the opposite side of the room, they were out of earshot of the twins, who were speaking in unnecessarily low voices to one another.
"Aa," Mori agreed.
"So Kao-chan is a really good person, huh. I think it's really good, what he's doing this time, huh."
"Aa."
Kyouya approached the two momentarily and asked Mori to carry some props boxes to the back closet, so Hunny agreed to meet him outside so they could go home together. He grinned at Kaoru on the way out, leaving him bewildered.
When the twins left the third music room, Kaoru was met with another bewildering surprise.
"How can anyone be declared a 'Winning Couple' if we aren't permitted to show our results?" Kazukiyo's face was set sternly.
Kaoru paused for a moment, and then chuckled lightly. He wondered how long Kazukiyo had been waiting there just to ask that question. "So you've figured it out, have you?" he leaned in toward the bespectacled boy, surveying his expression. "You're right; there is a crucial flaw in the rules. In other words, the game is not functional, is it?"
"What are you getting at? You wrote the rules to be contradictory on purpose?" Kazukiyo's mind was reeling, but he couldn't figure it out. "That would mean you never intended to… I don't understand," he admitted.
Kaoru grinned. "Again, you're correct. I've said something confusing though; allow me to clarify. I said the game is not functional, and that's not entirely true. The game will not function as described due to the addition of the secret ballots rule. However, just because something will not function as described does not mean that it cannot serve a function."
"In other words, you have another purpose for all of us turning in cards with our names on them."
Kaoru closed his eyes and smiled, shaking his head slowly. "As expected from our class rep. There isn't a single flaw in your logic. Hikaru, shall we go?"
"Yes, we should get going. It's getting late."
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That night, Hikaru and Kaoru threw away all of the ballots except for one.
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Class 1-A returned to find solid red envelopes on their desks. Low whispers became the ambience of the room. Everyone, especially the girls, was eager to tear away the red paper to reveal the fateful name on the card concealed within. However, it was the unwritten etiquette to wait for the twins to make their entrance. What seemed like countless minutes later, Haruhi came in and sat down, and everything went still and silent.
Hikaru entered first with Kaoru directly behind him. They were a perfect two-man single file line, and their movements were as perfectly synchronized as those of a drill team. They gave the room casual, slightly puzzled looks, and spoke together in an inquisitive tone. "What's this? You haven't opened the envelopes yet?"
There was a delayed reaction of extreme excitement, and a collective racket of tearing paper.
It says "Kurakano Momoka," of course, Kazukiyo mused. I expected that much. If this turned out so predictably, I can only assume that the name on Momoka's card is…
Momoka drew in a deep gasp, and her face went crimson. "But how…?" Kazukiyo could just make out those first few words, and the rest came out too quietly to be intelligible from where he sat. She sounded breathless, and shock registered in her eyes.
I can only assume that the name on Momoka's card… is mine. So what's with this reaction?
Before he could imagine anything further, Momoka had fled from the room. He turned back to look at her friends imploringly. They all knew what his feelings for Momoka were, and were exceptionally kind to him. "She went to wash her face," one of them murmured in response. "I hope she's okay," she added. This was their subtle way of encouraging him. Kazukiyo gave the girl who'd spoken a grateful nod.
Here goes nothing. He gulped and followed his co-class rep out of the room.
"Kurakano-san!"
Momoka turned. Oh, please, Kazukiyo pleaded internally, let that be water on her face, and not tears.
"Oh, Kazukiyo-kun!" That smile was fake. She really did try her best at everything.
"Kurakano-san, are… are you okay?"
"Ah…y-yeah." As Momoka spoke, blood rushed to Kazukiyo's face and ears. Momoka ignored this and laughed lightly, keeping up with her charade. "I'm fine," she repeated. "I'm sorry for making you worry about me."
Kazukiyo lowered his head. How stupid of him to follow her. What had he been planning to do, anyway? She wouldn't talk to him.
"You see, my card…"
Or maybe she would.
"The name on my card is the name of the person I like." Her pale cheeks took on the prettiest color. Like cherry blossoms.
Kazukiyo's own face was more the color of a ruby-red rose. "The… person you like, Kurakano-san?"
She nodded slowly. "I thought it was just a silly crush, to be honest. But the way I feel now, seeing his name on my card, I—" she seemed to suddenly realize something, and cut her words short.
Kazukiyo tried to smile comfortingly, but inside, he felt crushed. There's no way she'd be telling him so much if it was his own name on her card. He couldn't let himself show his feelings, though. This was about something more important: supporting his childhood friend. "What are you going to do, Kurakano-san?"
She looked him directly in the eyes with a familiar expression. It had been a long time since Kazukiyo had seen it, but he still recognized it. He smiled internally. It was a bit nostalgic. This was the look she used to give him in middle school when the two were best friends, and Momoka had confided everything in Kazukiyo.
"Do you think… maybe I should tell him how I feel?"
Kazukiyo almost winced, but he caught himself just in time. He forced all of the negative thoughts out of his mind and only allowed himself to think one thing: Be supportive. BE SUPPORTIVE!
"Yeah. I think whoever it is will be glad to hear your feelings, Kurakano-san." And that was the awful truth. As cute as Momoka was, it was likely that her feelings would be returned.
Momoka smiled brightly. "Thanks, Kazukiyo-kun," she said softly. She stepped forward and hugged him tightly for a moment.
In his astonishment, Kazukiyo did not even have time to get angry with himself for blushing. He took in a deep breath and managed to stammer out four words. "Shall we go back?"
Momoka nodded. "Un."
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As Kazukiyo left the classroom that day, Kaoru leaned in close to Kazukiyo. "That was a brilliantly chivalrous display," he whispered.
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"Kaoru," Hikaru sighed, drawing out his brother's name indolently. "He's not coming. Let's go home."
"No, wait a little longer. I said something to provoke him earlier, and I'm sure he'll come to ask about it."
"Can I go ahead, then? I'm tired of waiting."
Kaoru shot him a desperate look, and Hikaru sighed and placed an affirming hand on his shoulder. "I'm only joking. I won't leave."
Kaoru relaxed a little.
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When the door finally opened, his face looked hopeful, but it was only Haruhi.
"Ah, we thought you were Souga."
"Huh?" Haruhi looked distracted. "Class rep left a little while ago. If you need something, you might be able to catch up with him."
"Nah, it can't be helped. It can wait for tomorrow."
Damn, Kaoru thought. My calculations were wrong.
"Hey, it happens," Hikaru said, briefly tightening his grip on Kaoru's shoulder. "Let's go home."
Kaoru gave his brother a somnolent smile and a nod. After all, this was just about as comforting as Hikaru had ever been.
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Author's Notes: Hi everyone. Let's see… Part of the reason this chapter was delayed for so long was… I didn't remember how Kazukiyo and Momoka address each other. XD
Since I usually write on school computers with no speakers, I had to look up a sub group that kept the name suffixes and whatnot in their translations and find their version of episode 21 on a site that is not banned at school. It was quite a task, but thanks to Lunar Anime and I managed it. As it turns out, even though they're childhood friends, Kazukiyo addresses Momoka as Kurakano-san. As much as I adore him and think his shyness is cute… damn, he needs more confidence! XD Thus, Kaoru is there to help him gain it. Although, by the looks of this chapter… does everyone think he's still trying to help? Sorry, but I'll have to make that another cliff-hanger.
After that, I got sick. Because of that I've decided not to do the double-release after all, because I figured I'd better hurry up and post something.
Oh, and before I forget, I have to throw in a plug... please look up hayai-akurei on deviantart. You will find some lovely artwork there, including a couple of Tetsuya x Kasanoda drawings that just make me want to squeal with happiness. XD
Well, I have that other chapter in the works still… It's a new couple. An obscure one that'll surely be a big surprise to most of you. Since I'll have that finished fairly soon, I really need to beg you any for requests you may have concerning couples to write about, plot ideas, or just little things you'd like me to slip in. They REALLY help me to shape the story, and make it more interesting. Reviews and requests are immensely appreciated.
Later!