Chapter 8 Hikaru Hitachiin

"I'm gonna take you on a real date."

Hikaru and Amy were sitting on the famous pink couch that every couple in the host club seemed to share.

Hikaru was sitting on the end of the couch and Amy was in the middle of it. She had her legs outstretched and propped up on his lap. He had his fingers entwined in her hair and was intently watching her read.

"Really?" Amy looked up from 'Alice in the Country of Hearts'.

"Yeah, you free Friday?"

"I can be," she smiled mischievously.

"Hmm…I have an idea of what we can do."

"What are we doing Friday?" Amy obviously couldn't stand the surprise.

"I'll tell you…on Friday."

"Hikaru!" Amy dropped her manga and attacked him with a pillow.

They were laughing and yelling happily. Hikaru tried to fend for himself but failed as Amy beat him with the pillow. Finally, he just pinned her to his chest and hugged her tightly.

"I win," he whispered and she laughed into his shirt.

Hikaru knocked on Amy's front door.

It was Friday and he was picking her up for their date.

She opened the door and he just looked at her. Her long, wavy, dark brown hair was down and framed her chiseled cheek bones. Thick, dark bangs covered her eyebrows and almost covered her eyes. Those lovely brown eyes—so large and doe-like—were framed by a thick fringe of lashes.

She hugged him and he savored the softness of her sweatshirt. She smiled up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. He was still amazed at how much they had both changed.

"So, where're we going?" She seemed very excited and obviously could not stand not knowing where they were going.

"That, my dear, is a surprise. Now, this may seem worthy of a red card, but I'm going to have to ask you to put this blindfold on." He pulled out a bandana from his pocket and waved it in front of her face.

She gave him a look that could kill baby animals and turned around with a defeated sigh. He tied it over her eyes and led her to her little red Beetle. He opened the passenger door and helped in. He stole the keys from her and got in the driver's side. He took her hand and backed out of the driveway.

"Hikaru?" she said with a voice as soft as a feather.

"Yeah?" he replied with a stone cold voice—a leftover from his previous bad attitude.

"Do you act like this around everyone else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Around everyone else, I'm really shy and quiet, but with you I feel like I can be myself and do stupid things and I won't be embarrassed," her voice was quiet and thoughtful. "Are you the same way?"

He considered the question.

"Well," he started slowly, "around the host club I'm a bit more reserved nowadays; then around my brother I joke around a bit more; but with you…I'm myself, you know? Around you, I feel like I can fall flat on my face and cry like a baby and you won't look at me any differently. I just feel so comfortable around you."

She smiled.

"Me too." She replied gleefully.

About ten minutes later, Hikaru parked the car and whispered, "We're here."

He helped Amy out of the car and led her a few steps away. He took her blindfold off and let her take the beautiful garden in.

He himself wanted to look at it again.

The grass was a lush green and the trees were tall and heavily decorated with leaves—forming a thick canopy. Fountains dotted the landscape and caused a break in the leaves, through which brilliant sunlight poured in. Happy, stone cherubs and angelic women poured water from jugs into the fountains. A tall, stone wall surrounded the garden and was very much adorned with ivy vines. An exquisite wrought iron gate was propped open and had obviously been that way for a while due to the vines covering it.

Hikaru knew she would love this place. It was her garden. Such a beautiful escape was so well hidden outside the city.

"Oh, Hikaru, it's beautiful!" She ran over to a statue of a Grecian goddess and looked back at him. "It's like a dream," she said softly.

He walked over to her and took her hand. "There's more."

He led her to the back of the garden where another lovely wrought iron gate decorated with ivy stood open for them. They walked out onto a path that led into a forest so lush it was almost overgrown.

A small stream gurgled alongside the path and turned into a waterfall as they walked further into the forest.

Hikaru knew they were almost to the secret location and smiled slightly. He looked back at Amy and saw that her eyes were closed. He stopped and she opened her eyes.

"I love the sound of water," she said serenely.

"We're almost to the mystery location. So I need to cover your eyes." He walked behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. He felt the soft flutter of her lashed on his palms and could smell her floral shampoo.

They continued down the path and Hikaru saw the secret setup for her. He hurried her down the path and stopped her in the center of the pavilion.

"Ready?"

She nodded eagerly and he lifted his hands from her face.

She gasped as she took in the old, Greek-styled pavilion; the clear blue pond that surrounded it; the grand crystal chandelier; the mosaic design in the floor; the unbelievably green trees towering over them; and the tall stack of books and manga in the middle of the floor.

After a few moments of shocked silence, Amy and Hikaru sat on a blanket in the floor and laid side by side.

"What's all this doing out here?" she asked in awestruck wonder.

"Well, there's a bit of an urban legend behind it." Hikaru said softly. "They say a man, named Akihiko, used to live in a mansion somewhere around this garden. He was young and successful but didn't have and couldn't buy the one thing he absolutely desired."

"What did he desire?" She scooted closer to him and was entirely absorbed by the story.

"Love. He just wanted someone to love him. But he didn't want her to love him just because he had lots of money. So, he moved into a homeless shelter for several months and he met a beautiful woman there. Her name was Youko.

"They fell in love and, one day, Akihiko asked her if she would love him no matter what. Of course, she said yes, and he told her about his lie. But Youko felt tricked and lied to, so she asked him to leave her alone forever. He never saw her again, but he constructed this garden in her memory."

"But what happened to Youko?"

"They say she died of starvation on the streets because she refused to stay at the shelter in fear of seeing Akihiko again."

"And what happened to him?"

"It's said that he lived alone in his mansion until he died."

She looked at him with the most upset look in her eyes.

"That was a really sad story." She took his hand and sighed. "I wouldn't break up with you if you did that to me."

He chuckled. "Nice to know."

"But a garden is gladly welcomed."