((Mao's POV))
Where was I again? Oh yeah, the twins and Tamaki kept looking between Haruhi, Arai, Kohaku, and I. Actually, everyone was looking at the four of us.
"Uh…these your friends Haruhi?" Arai asked Haruhi. Looks like he beat Kohaku to that because he looked like he wanted to ask me that.
"Oh, yeah. The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru. They're in our class." Haruhi pointed to the twins and mentioned me, "And this is…." Haruhi paused in that sentence. Looks like she was thinking about what to say about Tama-Hyung. "An acquaintance." She said. I didn't really say much and Tama-Hyung practically writhed with mental pain and to make it more dramatic, Misuzu added a dramatic tune on the piano. It was almost laughable.
I said ALMOST!
"Hey Mao." Kohaku came up to me and gave me the same smile he always shone around the bakery I've had a special privilege to work at. That was a great place by the way. I recommend their Danishes and their amazing churros! I gave them the idea and I taught them how to make it!
"Hey Kohaku! It's been a long time." I returned the smile back, but I'm pretty sure Mika noticed this and decided to interrupt! Thanks Mika!
"Kohaku-kun! It's been so long!" She said, running up to him and gave him a tight hug as he gladly returned it. Kohaku is such a friendly guy.
"Yeah. Who are these guys? Your friends Mao?" He asked me.
"You have no idea." I answered him back. Yeah, all of this was just getting crazy and they'll have to get to know a guy that confessed to me. Yep…..it was awkward….
~/+/~
"I haven't seen you since graduation!" Mika said while I just nodded.
"Yeah! It's been so long! And I see time did a good number on you! You matured so well!" Mika said, flashing that Yui Horie smile. She's as cute as her and as pretty as…..Jennifer Lopez! I think….
"Yeah, I see Mao cut all her hair off," Kohaku smiles. "That's such a shame." Out in the distance, I heard Hikaru say, "They haven't seen each other since graduation so in my opinion, they're not friends, just classmates."
What's up his ass? … I said ass, sorry.
"It's easier to maintain than that long wavy mess." I said, grabbing a piece of my hair and started imagining how my hair was back then. In middle school, it was so long it ended up being down to my butt. The three of us were sitting on the table, chatting like good old times in middle school as Haruhi and Arai were catching up with each other. The others were sitting somewhere else and Tama-Hyung was at….his little corner of the world….the Tama-Hyung emo corner.
"So, how's Ouran treating you guys? Are you guys still in touch with anyone from middle school?" Kohaku asked us. I sweat dropped and tried not to show it to him. He's such a sweet guy that I don't have the heart to tell him that at the school, I'm supposed to be a guy….he'll have a heart attack! I don't want to do that to poor Kohaku, not after all that he's done for me!
"Yeah! Hana always keeps me updated with what going on to the others at Higashi High. That girl always updates her profile. Kimi and I applied to Ouran Public, so did Tsubaki." Mika replied.
Somewhere off at the other table, the guys were watching and talking about us ….I think….I'm still going to talk with my middle school friend anyways. Even if it pisses you guys off and is working.
"So….are these guys you're in the club with Mao?" Kohaku asked me while I try to remain calm and not shoot anything that I'll regret.
"Yeah. I'm not sure if you know, but I have another friend. She's actually talking to that guy over there." I said, pointing to Haruhi as she was talking to this Arai guy, who was blushing and obviously in love with her, but knowing Haruhi, she's too dense to notice her feelings and others when they like her. And I mean really really like her.
"Oh, Haruhi Fujioka? Yeah, I know her!" He said bluntly and I almost did a spit take at what he said.
"You what now?!"
"I know Haruhi Fujioka. Yeah, I'm friends with some of the guys that went to school with her. She's quite a heartbreaker~" He said cheerfully.
"Oh~! Kohaku, you're just as cute and sweet as Kureno in Fruits Basket! Actually, you remind me so much of him! Mao you shoul-" Mika got cut off when Hikaru shouted, "Hey! Haruhi, Mao! Don't you think you both should be working? You shouldn't be slacking off!" He shouts more at the last part. How rude Hikaru! I was just talking to an old friend and since he was being so rude, I gave him the "Bipolar Tiger glare" while I noticed Haruhi sweatdrop and then said, "Misuzu said we could take a break!"
Yeah, I bet she said that because she wants to see drama.
Well, if I was in her shoes, I wouldn't blame her. I love with kind of drama where an old flame comes in and sort of makes the love interest all jealous and crap. The only problem is…I was never in a relationship and the guys are my family and think the same right?
…
…
…
Uh….right.
We suddenly hear ruffling sounds and we see Tama-Hyung tearing up tissues. "Quit making more garbage senpai." Haruhi shouts at him. She and other people may be wondering about the trash they might have to pick up, my question is where the hell did he get the paper and when did he move to get the paper? It's not like he carries that paper and has it in his pockets! If he did…whatever floats your boat?
"It's not garbage. I'm making a hamster home." He replies, depressed. Not even depressed, he was … majorly depressed.
"Since when did you have a hamster, Tama-Hyung?" I questioned and Haruhi nodded in agreement.
"I'm not your senpai or Hyung. I'm just an acquaintance." Tama-Hyung replied. I took at least a two second pause and facepalmed deeply at how stupid he can be sometimes. I was so close into dropping my head onto the table and just kill myself. I don't know if you can tell, but we middle-class people and first-class people are different than one another…we think differently too…
"I never said anything about you being my acquaintance Tama-Hyung."
"Wow, who knew your Ouran guys were so funny." Arai and Kohaku said in unison. Wow, that was so scary because Haruhi and I do the same thing sometimes and we don't even mean to. They looked at each other for a brief second and then start laughing at the unison thing. "Yep, they're hilarious." I muttered sarcastically and I feel their eyes drilling into my skull and soul. I turn to them and brush them off. No, I didn't do that, I gave them my typical "You-better-behave-yourselves-or-I'll-stop-cooking-for-you-guys" stare.
Tama-Hyung starts sweating for some weird reason and then we all turn to Kohaku who still smiled despite how intense the atmosphere is. "Well, it's such a prestigious school and I've always imagined it was a whole different world – you know, almost like Great Gatsby." Kohaku said.
"It's a whole different world alright." Haruhi mutters.
"To be honest with you, Fujioka, I was always worried that you would have a hard time going to school there." Arai replied to Haruhi. Uh oh, I hear a boiling hot twin seething with jealously. Well, I'm not sure if that's true, but I'll find out if it's true or not. But since I'm too lazy and still interested in what's going to happen, I didn't bother looking back at the guys.
"And I was worried too Mao. You matured more quickly than most of the kids at school especially after the incident. I was worried since you adapted to situations a bit slowly." Kohaku said to me, scratching his cheeks in a cute way and looked at me directly in the eye like he did before that day. While I was looking back, I noticed his cheeks turn a bright pink.
"Not being selfish or anything! Lots of people were you know! They miss you and Mika!" He rubs the back of his head and stared at the two of us. People miss me? It's no surprise people miss Mika, but people miss me? Wow, and I barely know some of them. "I'm glad Ouran's treating you two well, especially you Mao." Kohaku said and that made me turn pink because he especially mentioned me. Oh god, please don't tell me he still….yep….he does.
"A-as you can see, I-" Again, I was being rudely interpreted by MY OWN SISTER as she pushed me out of the way and started talk to him.
"Mao's been doing well! She's straight on her way on becoming a chef!" She replied, grinning.
I feel a cold front and stare and I look behind to see Hikaru glaring at Arai and Kohaku.
Like the idiot that I was, I shrugged it off and turned around, barely hearing "What's with them? They're trying to use the refreshing innocent and gentlemanly approach. Someone should tell him we already had a refreshment contest."
Well, would it kill anyone if there was another contest?
…..
Sorry, my Korean Drama fangirl is coming out. But anyways….
WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH GINGER #1?! He should be pissed off with the fact I can't serve him his favorite breakfast, not bitch about how a guy is trying to flirt with me.
Wait….Kohaku's flirting with me?!
No, he's too sweet for that. He's too much of a gentleman to try to confess to me again after that day…we agreed to be friends and only friends!
"You're being unusually critical." Kyo-Hyung observes and I hear the chair screech or whatever and Hikaru start yelling.
"I'M JUST SAYING! IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THESE GUYS HAVE A THING FOR HARUHI AND MAO! It's sickening to try and watch them flirt! UGH!" Hikaru stated loudly for the whole world to hear and he wasn't wrong, but he didn't know that I knew. Well, that scientifically impossible, but because this is a fanfiction, anything can go. Technically, this is an anime fanfiction and a lot of things can happen in an anime, a simple fact about the whole world hearing Hikaru shout is possible.
Speaking of Hikaru, sounds like someone is jealous~!
"Hikaru, what's wrong with you? Quit acting like such a jerk." Haruhi stood up, looking more annoyed than ever. I really wanted to say something, but I was too busy watching the drama unfold despite the fact that it involved me. Mika was probably walking away and starting to be responsible on doing her work.
PFT.
Nope, we got her video camera and started videotaping, muttering "This is so going to be a new anime drama~!" I want my life to be anything, but an anime drama! Korean dramas are filled with tear jerking, dripping emotions that leave you wanting more!
WHO CAN'T RESIST A PERFECTLY GOOD DRAMA WITH SO MUCH FEELS AND SO MANY HOT KOREAN GUYS!? Well, there's also Japanese guy with amazingly hot voices and sing a bunch of great songs for anime, which I have to admit are awesome! By the way, I like that boy group from Uta No Prince Sama. They have voices of angels and I also like Daisuke Ono and the voice actor for "Smexy William T. Spears". Mika's words not mine. I also like STYLE FIVE's Splash Free.
"Hey, it's no big deal! He's right; I did have a thing for you, Haruhi once!" Arai said. BEEP BEEP. I heard alarms go off. Okay children, I want you to read what Arai said before. The keyword there is DID HAVE. "But, that's already in the past. You turned me down, right?" He stammers. And then everyone in the whole room, even Kyo-Hyung (Not really) looked surprised, even Haruhi looked surprised. Wait, why would she be surprised? As soon as I asked that, like a prayer or something, Kyo-Hyung looked at Haruhi and asked her something.
"Why do you look so surprised?" He asked her. For some reason, I wanted to know the answer to that.
"Uh…..well…I didn't know." She replied back so awkwardly.
Tama-Hyung, recovering from his emo state, jumped up and confronted Arai.
"You have to tell us this story, Arai! Now, when did this happen?"
"Well, it was about a year ago…"
Oh, grab a pillow, we're going to be here for a while….
Okay, because this is my story and I'm pretty sure you guys don't really want to read anything that's super boring and I can't really do flashbacks of other people, I'll try to shorten up what Arai had told us.
So, when Haruhi was going to write the exam for Ouran, Arai came up to her and said that he would like to go where she was going. This was an indirect confession by the way and being typical Haruhi, she took it directly and told him that maybe Ouran allows two students – I say two because like I say countless times in so many places, Haruhi and I never went to the same school – and Haruhi was like they should ask the teacher and stuff, but Arai grabs her hand and stammers that he wants her to go with him – again indirect confession; technically saying that he wants her to go out with him – and Haruhi replies that she wanted to take the application deadline. "Let's go to the staff room together!"
Damn….what a way to get rejected….I've seen pretty bad rejections….but this one. Man, Haruhi should get the award for "Best yet worst rejection ever".
Poor Arai.
"Haruhi…." We suddenly hear Kyo-Hyung mutter in his scary voice. Then, all hell broke loose and an interrogation took place and everyone was dressed up in police uniforms. Kyo-Hyung looked amazingly good looking with his uniform while he was scribbling on his notebook. "You broke this innocent man's heart just to get a laugh from some sick joke." He said. Wait….stop and reverse what I just said! *looks back and reads over it* HOLY SH*T! WHY THE F*** DID I SAY THAT?!
"This crime is pretty serious, huh?" Honey-Oppa asked Mori-Oppa as he nods.
"OBJECTION!" Mika and I shouted, "Typical Haruhi, she didn't understand the meaning! She's not the type to read romance novels!" I said while Haruhi turned on her heels and bows, formally apologizing to Arai.
"Don't worry Fujioka, I'm already over it. You didn't realize what I meant so it means you weren't interested." He said, denying his feelings.
This is such a cute scene, it makes me want to jump up and fangirl like I did when Park Shin Hye and Jang Geun Suk hugged and kissed in You're Beautiful and…..GAH! Too much feels!
"And what about you?" Kyo-Hyung then turned to Kohaku, who was still perfectly seated at his chair, watching the craziness unfold before him. When Kyo-Hyung was talking to him, he jumped slightly and flashed his sweet smile. Before he could tell his story, I took my seat in front of him and Mika took out her notebook to "write down an idea for a KyoMao fanfiction". Her words not mine.
"Well, my confession happened a year ago just like Arai's. Mika was my best friend's girlfriend at the time…." He began.
FLASHBACK
And there goes another day in paradise.
I thought and cleaned up the tables in one of my friends' families' restaurant. They own a place called Yamaguchi Bakery and I got the part-time job to be their bread maker. Yeah, I made bread and I had to study twice as hard to figure out what the heck I was going to do with the bread and which ingredients I was going to use. However, there was very little I had to do because I was a natural in the kitchen.
I had co-workers too. I worked alongside Mika's boyfriend's friend. He was a sweet kid yet I had some hard times trusting boys again, especially after the incident. Kohaku was different though. He was like the sweet guy of a Korean Drama, he was everything a guy could be in a Korean Drama.
"Hey Mao! We got another order!" Kohaku said, giving me the request for this kid's birthday cake today. They wanted one with strawberries and that edible colored gel. The cake should also be chocolate and fit the theme of Bakugan. Kids these days…..
I nodded my head and worked hard today to fulfil the request. By the afternoon, almost an hour before the kid's birthday, the mother came and I presented her the cake that her son wanted. She was awestricken and paid me extra.
"Jeez Mao. I don't think I saw you leave the kitchen for hours. You sure you don't want a break?" The black haired boy asked me and I winked at him.
"Nah. You know Mika. She wants me to pay for the new home of her manga collection. That girl is so weird." I said, heading to the sink to clean my hands and then got ready for a new batch of cinnamon rolls and some chocolate mint cupcakes.
I didn't know that my co-worker, my boss's son, Kohaku, was watching me with a blush on his face.
Then one day…
"Hey Mao." As always, Kohaku greeted me with a smile that I bet millions of girls would melt for.
"Hey yourself." I greeted back and then walked over to where I always hanged my apron. I tied it around my waist and then began to work. Kohaku was where he usually was and then gave me an order of eight little cupcakes that had letters on them saying "I love you". I got these kinds of requests from people everywhere and I think it was sweet of someone to do this.
When I finished them, I handed them to Kohaku, but he handed them back to me with a blush on his face. I looked at him and he kept looking back at me. I didn't know what to do and just stand there.
"Mao. There's something special about you." He said; the first one to speak, "I only heard things about you and I was kinda curious of how you would be like. You didn't seem like how I imagined, but that was the best part because you were better! Mao Kurosaki! I…I like you! I like everything about you!" He confessed to me.
"W-w-what do you mean by like me? L-like me as in a friendship kind of way?" I asked him and the next thing I knew, he drew his face closer to mine.
"In a sexual way!" He said, blushing more. His blush wasn't helping mine because it just intensified.
I didn't know what to say to him. It was a sweet confession, and he used food.
"Kohaku…I appreciate your confession…but…why me?" I asked.
"I like how hard working you are, and I worry when you over work yourself. I love your determination and don't take no for an answer. I love your selflessness and how you cook!" He told me. This was too much for me….
"Kohaku….I…I'm sorry…I'm not looking for a relationship right now." I said and looked up in his eyes to see a pain stricken face, but he pushed it down and grinned as if nothing had happened.
"Mao," He said, "Thank you. At least you have thought about it. Thank you."
END OF FLASHBACK
"And that's how it happened." He finished off. I was sitting somewhere very far away from the group, but even if I was as far away as I was, I could sense the eyes on me when Kohaku finished the story.
"BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA~! H-h-h-he said-! BWAHAHAHAHA~! It's just too funny!" Mika was probably the only one that was rolling on the floor laughing her butt off while everyone were looking at me as if I was going to confirm it for them. Yes, he actually did say that he liked me in a sexual way because he couldn't think of another word to say what kind of relationship he wanted with me. Can you blame him? I would so say something that stupid if I wanted to confess to the person I liked, but as you can see, I'm single and not planning for a relationship anytime soon.
"Is that really what happened, Mao?" Haruhi was the first to ask me while I nodded and sighed heavily. Kohaku was sporting red right now across his face and trying to hide his embarrassment. Well, at least he didn't run off so quickly after he told the story.
"Kohaku, I…" I started off, but Kohaku silenced me by raising his hand and that magical smile of his.
"It's okay Mao. I understood your situation in a way." He told me, "Honestly, I confessed to you because I really was in love with you. The way you were so determined and how nothing stood in your way despite how big the problem was, you always seemed to find a solution to everything and always had a smile on your face. I found you special when you worked with us that summer. Despite what happened, I'm glad we were still friends." He flashed his smile for the umpteenth time, making the world immediately shinny and bright. OH GOD! MY EYES!
"Mao….you broke this man's heart…" Kyo-Hyung said out of nowhere. What went up his ass?! I thought he was more into the confession Arai made to Haruhi!?
"Me?! What about Haruhi-Noona!? She did more damage than I did since she obviously didn't get the message! Why Haruhi!? It was such an original way to confess and you blew it! WHY?!" I started crying at a corner, yelling "the gods of drama" have strike again and this time a sweet guy was turned down.
"Don't worry, Mao. I'm over it already. Besides, I'm dating Hana right now." He meekly said and all heads turned to his direction, especially Mika and I.
"Hana?! You're dating Hana now?" Mika asked excitedly, "She never told me that!"
"Yeah. Who knew we had so much in common?" He said to Mika while I stood there and thought things through more. I thought…he….
Are you starting to like him now?
NO! He's a friend of mine! I can't like him! I thought he was still in love with me, but I guess he moved on! Yeah! He moved on from me and he seems happy again. I exist to make sure those around me are this happy.
But what about you Mao? How will you be happy?
I'll be happy once I know everyone else is happy. I don't care about me right now.
After Kohaku told us that he was dating Hana, I heard Hikaru scoff at this new found information.
"Even when he tells Mao that he's in love with her, he gets rejected and goes off to some other girl! Some gentleman he is." He said.
Wait, could that be true? Did Kohaku really go out with Hana because he's trying to recover his broken heart after the rejection?
No. That's not possible; Kohaku isn't the type of guy that would disrespect girls that way. I know because we kinda grew up together, going to the same elementary and middle school.
"No matter! These two will forever be in my hearts for their gallantry!" Tama-Hyung said, holding Arai's and Kohaku's hands in a gayish way. No, I don't have anything against gay people. Hey, when you love someone, you love them. Just…don't hit on me because I don't want to be confused on my sexuality.
Well, as that was going on, I heard a loud slurping sound coming from Hikaru and noticed his pissed off look.
What's up his ass?
~/+/~
"Wow!" Honey-Oppa exclaimed, "You guys went to Kyoto for your middle school field trips? How unusual that you stayed in the country." He said, holding his Usa-chan and eating cake at the same time. Somehow, we were all seated on a rounded table that included Mori-Oppa, Tama-Hyung, Kyo-Hyung, Arai, Honey-Oppa, Haruhi, Kohaku, Mika and I. The twins were in their own little world behind us.
"No. It's quite normal for us really?" Arai said, being so modest! How could Haruhi-Noona turn down such a nice guy?!
"Well, I've always been a fan of Kyoto." Tama-Hyung said.
"I can't tell you how many times I've had to tour the temples with him." Kyo-Hyung said.
"I remember Kyoto. We fed the deer and there was that time Mao ate 300 bowls of sushi at this restaurant that was giving away a free laptop!"
"MIKA!"
"Oh, yeah! I remember that! She did win that laptop! We celebrated with a cake back where we were staying at. We all had a great time I think." Kohaku commented while I tried to hide deeper into my chair to escape this horrible nightmare.
"No! I'm not going to! I can't believe the boss is actually hanging out with those jerks." I secretly heard Hikaru say from behind me.
"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tama-Hyung stood up and tried to persuade the twins to come over and talk to both Arai and Kohaku for our sake. Arai, Honey-Oppa and Mori-Oppa turned their heads around to look at the twins. Kaoru was the only one that seemed to pay attention while Hikaru just had his back turned like the big jerk he was.
"Get over here! This could only be our only chance to hear how Mao and Haruhi were like in middle school!" He said, smiling like the idiot that he was.
Hikaru leaned back and replied with an annoyed tone.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested!" He sat properly back down and looked back at us with the same face he had when he gets annoyed. The only one that you should worry getting annoyed is me and Mika. Mostly me since I know some boxing moves!
"Man, how stupid can you guys get?" He said and what he said next was going to get him slapped in the face, "What's the fun in sitting around and talking about somebodies past. I don't see the appeal." I stopped listening after that because…. I'm interested in talking about my past. I'd like to know more about my past!
"Can't those two see that Mao and Haruhi don't want anything to do with them? They got plenty of friends." Like I said before, I stopped listening and instantly stoop up, making everyone turn their heads around toward me. Haruhi also stood up, but instead of staying still, she walked up to Hikaru as he was talking.
SLAP
That's the only sound that had echoed around the room.
I may be a violent person when I reach my point, but I wouldn't have done the same Haruhi did.
"That's not something for you to decided Hikaru! Mao and I are not going to tolerate insulting our friends anymore, you got that!?" She said. From this angle where I was looking at, you could see the slap mark Haruhi gave to Hikaru.
"But why? Why should anyone else even matter to you two? I thought we were your friends! Are we or are we not!?" Hikaru shouted out in anger and I had my last string of relaxation snap. I couldn't take in any longer that I started staring at things in anger.
"SHUT UP!" I yelled and made every heard turn to me. I don't give a crap anymore. I don't give a damn if I revealing this side of me right now. I just want everything to calm the f*** down!
"YOU DON'T KNOW IF THAT PERSON WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PAST! AT LEAST YOU REMEMBER THINGS LIKE YOUR FIRST FIVE BIRTHDAYS AND NOT STAYING AT AN ORPHANAGE FIGURING OUT WHY YOUR DAD LEFT YOU OUT IN THE COLD!" I shouted more than I should and started sprinting away towards my room in anger. Realizing that I was reaching beyond the breaking point, I made my way upstairs and to the room Mika and I shared with Mika following me.
"Mao! MAO!" She shouted, leaving Kohaku, Haruhi, Hikaru and the others downstairs.
I think…my outburst shocked everyone. I think I did this to let them know that I was going to hurt them and I didn't want to do the same thing I did to Mika while we were in middle school. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again.
How dare Hikaru say such hurtful things like talking about the past? The past is there to teach us in the present and create a future. I see the past as a treasure that anyone can explore into.
Even if he was jealous…..
Why did he say such an awful thing about something that I adore to no degree?
Dad…why does no one appreciate the past?
((Mika's POV))
After five minutes on knocking our door, I gave up and headed downstairs where the host club or what weren't pissed off about the fact that they were meeting a past friend of Mao's and Haruhi-chan's. Haruhi spotted me just as I was midway downstairs. She ran up to the stairwell and looked worried.
"Well?" She asked and I shook my head.
"She's not opening the door anytime soon." I said and looked down at the floor in worry.
"I'm so sorry Kohaku! I'm also sorry about Mao as well! You know how sensitive she is to that topic." I apologized to the sweet Kureno look alike and living up to his nickname; he smiled back and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"It's okay Mika. I don't know what I or Arai did to make him upset, but I guess it made Mao upset as well." He said, putting on his hat again and mounted his bike. "I'll see you later and hopefully Mao's feeling a little better. Bye everyone." Kohaku then paddled off into the distance and every host club member, minus Hikaru and Mao waved Kohaku off. Oh, I said Hikaru didn't I? Well, I do know how to tell twins apart. How else am I going to tell who is Hyung Bin and Hyung Kim while I visited South Korea last year?
"Say Kaoru, why were you pretending to be Hikaru?" said Haruhi. Man, she's good. Well, she would be better if she could tell what a confession is and what's not.
"Hey, what happened to that scratch on your cheek?" She asked, grabbing Kaoru-kun's cheek – the one that had the scratch.
..
MIKA IS PROCESSING
MIKA IS PROCESSING
MIKA IS PROCESSING
Ah! He concealed it with concealer!
"I don't think Hikaru's temper is going to let up so soon." He said, "He's no fun when he's like this. So I got a small favor to ask of you." Kaoru asked to Haruhi, who was looking back at him with those faraway looking eyes of hers.
"How would you like to go out with me tomorrow on a date?" He said and smiled.
….
…
"KAORU! SHOW ME MORE OF THAT SMILE! It's perfect for the Doujinshi I'm making!" I quickly said and whipped out my phone, taking as many pictures without overloading my GB.
"Doujinshi?" He said. "You're a hardcore Fujoshi aren't you?"
"Only the best Kaoru-kun!" I said, skipping back to the pension and slowly walked back to my/Mao's room.
"YOU DON'T KNOW IF THAT PERSON WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PAST! AT LEAST YOU REMEMBER THINGS LIKE YOUR FIRST FIVE BIRTHDAYS AND NOT STAYING AT AN ORPHANAGE FIGURING OUT WHY YOUR DAD LEFT YOU OUT IN THE COLD!"
"Go away Mika! Please go away!"
I think I know why Mao-chan acted that way towards Hikaru and the others. She even pushed me away as I was trying to help her. It's because she's afraid that she'll hurt the other or me like last time.
Oh Mao, even if you hurt me, I'll still love you. You're a sweet girl and I know you are no matter what you say or do.
Mao-chan's my best friend – my first best friend and will always be my best friend.
"WHY DID YOU CALL ME HEARTLESS!? HUH?! YOU THINK THAT DIDN'T HURT ME!? I LOST ANOTHER DAD WHILE YOU'RE STANDING THERE BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE TWO DADS! YOU STUPID BITCH! YOU HAD NO DAD UP UNTIL NOW AND LOOK AT ME! I LOST TWO! GO TO HELL BECAUSE I HATE YOU!"
She didn't mean all that. She was sad that something awful was about to happen to me and then turned her anger towards me. I don't blame her for anything that she's done to me or herself. She's just been through so much that I even consider myself lucky that it didn't happen to me. Mao was right about one thing though. I don't know what it's like to lose two dads. Masato, our adopted dad, was my only dad while he was Mao's second dad. I never really knew my dad because I've been raised at the orphanage since I was a baby. Maybe my parents didn't want me or didn't have enough money or supplies to take care of me anymore. Maybe they were killed in an accident and I was the only survivor and I was sent here. Whatever the reason was, I never decided to go and look for my family that left me at the orphanage there sixteen years ago. I was happy as of yet and I couldn't be happier. I love the people that I'm surrounded with, especially Mom and Mao.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Mao, are you okay?"
Silence.
"Mao, Kohaku's gone and wished for you to get better."
Silence again.
"Mao. Can I please come in? I'm worried."
Whether it was her knowing I wasn't going to move away from the spot or the fact that I was going to barge in anyways, the door was unlocked.
"Mao. I want to respect your privacy by knocking, but as your sister I'll be coming in any way!" I said, quickly opening the door and spotted Mao sitting on the bed, looking out the window and the T.V. on with Tomorrow's Cantabile showing. The guide was on and up next was Hello Counselor. She turned her head around to look at me and she had the same look on her face when she was annoyed at what I did. In a really small way, she reminded me of Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan.
"Well, at least you knocked at first." She said, smiling.
"Yeah, well I can be polite. How else am I going to get a British guy to fall in love with me?" I said, taking my place next to her.
"British, really?"
"Oh, you know they're smoking hot! Why do you think girls fall in love with them anyways? One: they're hot, Two: their accent, Three: they're gentlemen, Four: Their accent, Five: the way they dress, Six: their accent. Did I mention their accent?"
…*Giggle*
Yes! Operation: Make Mao Laugh is a success! I don't know if you know, but her laugh is so adorable! Think of….the most adorable laugh in the world from your favorite anime! Think of how cute a Scottish Fold is! That's how cute her laugh is! My sister is adorable! She's cute and she was quite a looker if you ask me.
"You're right. A girl does like a guy with accents." Mao said, smiling a little more than before.
"That's the spirit. Oh, and everyone's waiting for you."
"Everyone?"
"Not really. Hikaru-kun's still being a jerk and Kaoru asked Haruhi on a date! I think I found another OTP!" I said, explaining the news to Mao as she carefully listened, but while she was doing that, I saw her shoulders falter and smiled less.
…..
Does she like Kaoru or something?
Well, I can promise you writers something, I'm not letting my sister get super depressed or anything!
"Hey! We should have a Girl's Day Out tomorrow! Misuzu-chan is letting us take a break tomorrow to have some fun in town! I was going to make it ought to be the guys and us, but I wasn't expecting 'that' to happen. We can go into town and get souvenirs for Mom and for us! What do you say?" I finished and watched her ponder over it. She gave it a thought and I was happy when she finally answered.
"I guess. I hear Karuizawa is a good place to shop for imported goods from Korea anyways."
Smashing!
Mao's going to be one happy girl tomorrow!
~/+/~
((Mao's POV))
You know the Girls' Day Out thing Mika promised me?
You remembered now? Okay good, because she forgot to mention that the host club was going to come along with us. Actually, everyone was going to spy on Haruhi's and Hikaru's date! I say Hikaru because Kaoru ended up being sick and couldn't take Haruhi out so instead, Hikaru took Kaoru's place, but I know it was all bullcrap because Kaoru's standing right next to me!
I gotta admit though, it's a pretty clever plan for Hikaru to become more mature than how he acted yesterday.
"Someone remind me why I'm here again? And why I'm dressed like this?!" I pointed down to the outfit I was wearing right now. It looked too girly for my taste and it looked like something Mika would wear. Speaking of Mika, she was standing right beside me.
"Aw. But I got Kaoru-kun's maids to help me out on picking the outfit! This so screamed you!" She said.
"But did I have to wear heels!? God, if I knew I was going to dress up today, I would have stayed home and worked or watched Korean Dramas." I said, hiding behind a post light and tried to make the dress I was wearing seem longer than it originally was. If only I knew how to sew.
"I think it looks cute on you Mao-chan!" Honey-Oppa said to me and I just let it pass if it was Honey-Oppa.
"You think so?"
"I know so!" He said. Why do you have to be so cute Honey-Oppa?!
"IT'S CUTE! IT'S SUPER CUTE!" Tama-Hyung yelled. I didn't know if he was talking about my outfit or Haruhi's outfit because what she wore was really cute.
"I so wanted to check out the shops. I can't do that knowing that you'll be watching over my shoulder! This is supposed to be my fun summer break!" I yelled, walking back and forth with the shoes I was wearing. Well, since I wasn't used to these three inch heels that I made a misstep and tripped.
"Mao!" Kaoru yelled and quickly caught me before I made floor to face contact. My whole body froze from his touch even when he picked me up and I was standing again. "Are you okay?" He asked me.
No, I'm perfectly fine despite the fact that I could have broken my nose or my ankle! YES I'M FINE YOU HOSER!
"Y-yeah. I'm fine." I said.
"OTP! OTP! OTP! KYAH! IT'S SUPER CUTE!" Mika yelled.
"SHUT UP!" I yelled back at her and grabbed her head to make her shut up. She was not listening or anything.
Meanwhile, there were a few host club members that were glaring at Kaoru while he was not looking…. *COUGHCOUGH*TAMAKIKYOYA*COUGHCOUGH*
So, while we were following Hikaru and Haruhi, there were times when Tama-Hyung was getting really annoyed and asked Kyo-Hyung to do some really ridiculous stuff like….going up to them and act like a punk.
Kyo-Hyung as a punk?
"Oi! You there! You owe us eight million yens worth of debt! Pay up or deal with the Ootori Gang!"
"Where do you dream this stuff up?" Kyo-Hyung said, fixing his glasses. I agree with him, I can't see Kyo-Hyung act like a punk. I can see him act as a heartless tax collector, and a ruthless general obsessed with money, but not a punk. It would be really awkward.
It was also awkward to see Honey-Oppa pretend to be an ice-cream man and appearing in front of those two on the date. Mori-Oppa snatched him up and explained to him that it was a bad idea. Haruhi disappeared, but we all found her near the ice cream stand.
"You shouldn't run off like that." Hikaru said. AWWWW! SO LIKE A DRAMA! Only….the heroine is really, really, really, really, really, really, dense.
You guys want to know what else happened. Tama-Hyung tried to be the ice cream clerk for the ice cream shop, but it didn't work out and we had to pay for the "On the House" ice cream Tama-Hyung gave to the Haruhi. We also apologized and I said that the girl was a girl that has never experienced romance and we're helping her out and told him the story. Mika told him the story that she got inspired by the Fruits Basket manga/anime – the story about the son and his mother.
His reaction was so unpredictable that even Kyo-Hyung and I never understood.
"What a beautiful story!" The man said, crying.
"Just what about that story is beautiful?" said Kyo-Hyung.
"Nee nee papa, welcome to hell." I said, pointing to Mika who sang the Hetalia theme song after my comment.
And then she sang the demon summoning song.
~/=/~
"Feels good, Feels good. Feels good, Feels good." I sang as we were passing the shops while we were still following Haruhi and Hikaru. All of us stopped when we saw Hikaru stop somewhere. I pulled off my earbuds and looked at Hikaru's direction.
"Hikaru, is something wrong?" Haruhi asked Hikaru as he was just staring into the window.
"No, I'm good. I was just looking at this lip gloss that looks to have Taemin on it. You know, the singer on one of Mao's favorite boy bands." He said.
GASP!
HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE LIMITED EDITION LIP GLOSS THAT WENT INTO MARKET SINCE DECEMBER! IT'S FOR PROMOTIONAL SALES FOR A CD I THINK AND THERE WERE ONLY 3,000 MADE PER EACH BAND MEMBER!
"Oh yeah. I think I see Onew on there as well."
*Here lies Mao Kurosaki who has died of too much fangirling in the middle of the street*
"I think we should get them for her along with a Super Junior CD and a Winter Sonata DVD."
"Yeah, I agree." Haruhi said.
They're saints! They're know exactly what we love!
I KNOW RIGHT!? Haruhi, you're the best!
"Why is Mao smiling and crying at the same time?" Tama-Hyung said while I bit into a handkerchief that I had with me.
"Oh. She's just overly happy that those two are picking out a lip gloss that she's been ranting about for quite some time."
"So the infamous Bipolar Tiger has a feminine side." Kyo-Hyung said with an amused tone.
"She only likes them because they have the SHINEe band on them."
"I HEARD THAT!" Is it my fault that I love Korean Boy bands? No. Is it my fault that Mom's family introduced them to me? No.
I love Japanese boy bands too, you know! Kat-Tun is one of them and ON/OFF! Oh, there's also Linked Horizon, Perfume, Yui Horie. Did I mention SID, SuG, and Blood Stain Child? I have the same name as the lead singer from SID so, ha!
"I think we should head back. What do you guy say?" asked Mika.
"There's one slight problem though." Said Kyo-Hyung.
"What's that?"
"Where's Mao?"
…..
"THAT SON OF A BISCUT EATER!" And that's the story on how a girl in America in New York went deaf.
~~ MEANWHILE WITH ME ~~
"Wow, that's really beautiful." I said, looking through the glass window and looked at a really elaborate jewelry box at this second hand store that I was able to find. The streets were pretty full where I was so I really didn't have to worry like I did back in Okinawa where I was alone and the halls were empty. To be on the safe side, I had to be quick so I made my way inside the store and tried to find the jewelry box. When I found it, an employee noticed and made their way to me and the jewelry box. Well, I think it's a jewelry box.
"You have a good eye Miss." The employee said, leaning over and looked at the box.
"Yeah, it's really beautiful."
"My boss said that it has seen a tragic fate toward a young man some years ago. The jewelry box has gone down in price since no one seems to buy it no matter how beautiful it is." They said. While they said that it was a jewelry box, something inside me told me that it wasn't a jewelry box, but something else. It's small like a jewelry box, but I really wasn't sure.
"I'll buy it!" I said and that made the employee really happy.
"Okay. Since we've tried to find his box an owner, you get to buy it at a discount of course. I'll ring you up." He said and I smiled happily at the jewelry box that I close to buying.
"That will be 450 yen, Miss." He said.
~/=/~
Once I got out of the shop, I realized that it was getting late and the clouds looked like it was going to rain with some thunderstorms. Not only that, the streets looked almost empty and there weren't any people left, but about three, excluding me.
I started panicking and tried to run somewhere to a place that was filled with people. I started becoming anxious and hallucinating things that really weren't there like tall guys dressed in all black and smirking evilly at me or thinking that there was someone following me. I tried to push the thoughts out of my head and tried counting to put me at ease. All of it was just too much and I really wanted to go home.
Just my luck, it started raining and my whole outfit was starting to get soaked.
Great, another thing to add to my never ending list of things that go horribly wrong.
Wait, I have my cell phone and maybe I could call someone to get me.
LOW BATTERY: 20% LEFT
Dammit. I only have enough battery left to make one phone call and I might as well make it count and I should call Mika.
Mika, please pick up. Please!
"Hello?"
"Ah! Mika, I'm-!"
"Bonjour, Guten Tag, Privet, Bueno. Annyeong. This is your friendly neighborhood anime otaku here, Mika Kurosaki! I'm not here at the moment, but if you'd like leave a message, feel free to leave a voicemail and I'll get back to you at another time! Hasta la Pasta!"
…..
"Mika! I need you or anyone one to pick me up please! I don't know where I am! I'm-I'm lost and there are barely any people out! Please come get me!" I said, sounding a bit desperate and scared than usual.
If I could say any more I would have, but my phone made a beep noise and that told me that my phone was dead. Son of a biscuit eater, now I'm really all on my own and I didn't like it.
"My phones dead and I can't walk anywhere else. I don't want to get more lost than I am already am…what am I going to do."
Dad. Daddy….Daddy…please come back! Please!
"Mao!" A voice screamed out my name and I saw someone picking me up and threw me on their back. "Hold on, my uncles' place is not far from here." He said.
That black hair and that polite voice…It was no mistake…
"Kohaku…."
~/+/~
An eerie silence…..
An eerie silence that didn't last long because I woke up and jumped up from my sleeping position and then saw Kohaku smile, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"Kohaku! What happened?!" I asked him.
"Well, it was raining and your clothes got wet. That happened because rain is made out of water and water is an essential item t-"
"NOT THAT!" I yelled while I had a laughing Kohaku on my hands.
"Sorry. I couldn't help myself. But anyways, I was on my way back home from a delivery when I saw you. You looked like the time your dad died and…well, being same old Kohaku, I carried you here and waited for you to wake up to give you these." He finished and held up a pair of clothes that seemed to be about my size and less girlier that what I was wearing.
"They're my sisters and I think you two are about the same size." He said.
"Hina's here? Where?"
"She's not; she's at her study abroad program to England."
"Oh. I forgot about that. She just left her clothes here."
"Yep. Oh and your phone's been ringing ever since I brought you here." He finished, handing me my completely charged cell phone – in perfect condition and everything.
"Thanks." I said and turned it on to see one of the most amazing things I will ever see on a phone.
20 voicemails from Hikaru, 100 missed calls from Kyo-Hyung, 40 voicemails from Tama-Hyung, 300 missed calls from Mika and 40 text messages from Kaoru.
WTF!?
WHY 100 MISSED CALLS FROM KYO-HYUNG?!
Really, that's what I'm worried about. Mika got 300. Typical.
Oh, I'm actually getting a phone call from Mika right now. Being the loving sister I am, I decided to answer and then I instantly regretted it.
"Hello?"
"MAO KUROSAKI! WHERE THE BLOODY F****** HELL ARE YOU!? WHY HAVEN'T YOU ANSWERED THE HOST CLUBS AND MY CALLS?!"
And…there goes my left ear…
"Ow. Mika. That was too loud."
"I'll scream however I want to scream! YOU'RE EVEN WORSE THAN HARUHI! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!"
"I'm guessing it's 9 P.M.?"
"No you git! It's after midnight!"
*turns head to clock on the counter and sees its 1 A.M*SON OF A B****!
In the background of Mika's phone, I started hearing yells like "Where is she?" or "Speak quieter! There are people in this pension you know." That so was Misuzu-san, no doubt about it.
"Give me the phone! MAO!" Another voice spoke and then there was a pause. Who was it going to be this time? Honey-Oppa? Mori-Oppa? Kyo-Hyung? Tama-Hyung? Haruhi?
"Mao….I was so worried…" They spoke softly and it took me a second to realize who it was.
Hikaru.
"I'm sorry." I apologized quickly and heard more silence until another voice spoke again only this time, it was much different.
"Mao, I want you to tell us where you are!"
Definitely Kyo-Hyung because his voice was a bit commanding and you know how Kyo-Hyung is like.
"Er…I'm at the Yamaguchi Bakery. Second floor and with wet clothes." I said
"Okay. Don't move, we'll be there in half an hour or less." And then the phone call ended. Kohaku stared at me to recollect what just happened and then broke into a smile.
"It seems like they were very worried."
"You got that right. Maybe I shouldn't have wandered off." I said out of nowhere. There was brief silence until Kohaku spoke again, but this time it was something that I would never forget.
"Do you like them Mao? Your new friends I mean? They seem to care an awful lot about you." He said, not really noticing how stiff and silent I am.
"They're an interesting group. They do seem to put aside their selfishness sometimes to make others happy."
"Just like you. I remember when you went up for show and tell and then said that you wanted to make others happy no matter what. My only wish is that you can make yourself happy, Mao."
Just when I was about to respond to that, the two of us heard knocking on the door and Kohaku went downstairs and opened the door. There were footsteps that mixed in with his own and I saw the host club – well, who came that is. Kyo-Hyung, Hikaru, Mika, and Kaoru.
"Thank you Kohaku, we owe you one." Mika said, bowing down. Kohaku sheepishly smiled and put on that modest personality that he's so known for – and it's not fake either.
"It's fine. I'm just glad I found her before she got even more lost. Well, I hope you guys get home safely."
"Once again, thank you Kohaku." Kyo-Hyung said and pushed me behind him in the waiting hands of the twins.
"It's nothing, like I said. Good night."
~/+/~
Well, I slept peacefully that night and I had an excuse to oversleep this time – something that I rarely do unless there was a night shift at the restaurant. I didn't care much and I didn't even want to get up to face a whole new day. My reason?
ACHOO~!
"Look at you. This is what you get for wandering off! You know what I call this? Karma! Karma is getting back at you for running off like that." Mika scolded at me and I put a pillow over my head, muttering "Shut up" at her and she wouldn't listen.
"Hey everyone." Kohaku and Arai come in into the pension just when I thought I was feeling better.
"Good morning Arai/Kohaku!" Haruhi and I exclaim together.
"I brought you a watermelon. My uncle's got the best in town." Arai informed.
"And I brought some pastries that you guys might enjoy. Perfect for the summer." Kohaku said.
"Wow! It's huge and the pastries look amazing!" Honey-Oppa exclaimed.
"It's certainly impressive." They say and I took the pastries to the kitchen and got out a tarp to smash the watermelon, just in case if they decided to do that or to have a picnic.
Kohaku stared at the girl that he was once in love with, but he has grown over her and the only thought about her is if she'll ever find someone that will mend that closed off heart of hers after so much pain has been through it.
That question was now answered as he stared once again at Mao and then at the host club members who were glancing once or thrice at the infamous "Bipolar Tiger."
'Whoever that guy will be, I hope he can control her. She has the right to be happy as well with one of these boys, whoever that will be. I just hope with either of them, they'll make her the happiest girl in world….
I have but one wish….lean on to someone Mao…have someone else to look up to when you're in trouble…have someone else care for you…' Thought Kohaku.
"Say, Mao. Is it just me or do you look prettier than from the other times I've seen you?"
"Eh?"
"You're right! Mao-chan does look prettier than yesterday! She's glowing!" Honey-Oppa exclaimed again while I blushed and tried to utter at least a perfect sentence. That really wasn't going well for me since the others wanted to know why I was "prettier" than yesterday. I don't even know how they notice that! What good eyes!
Little did I realize that two host club members *COUGHKAORUKYOYACOUGH* were looking at me funny from up above. Not only that, there was also Tama-Hyung and Hikaru who wanted to help me out in the kitchen.
"Okay okay! Hey, be careful with that! You can cut yourself!"
"Kaoru...what do you see in Mao Kurosaki?" Asked Kyo-hyung to Kaoru, who with no doubt, knew that Kaoru was watching me from up those stairs. Kaoru was surprised; he thought that it wouldn't be that obvious, but it showed enough for the Shadow king, a.k.a Kyo-Hyung, to know about his feelings.
"Why do you want to know Kyoya-senpai?" Kaoru asked, a bit interested. Kyo-Hyung merely smiled with an arm on the railing and his eyes fixed on someone that interiged him.
"To know my compitition of course." He said. Kaoru did not like this; he already knew his brother liked me and he didn't want anyone else involved in all this. This is going to be one hell of a fight for the girl that they all liked, Mao Kurosaki. Hey, that's me!