Pieces of My Heart
Hi again from Yukihime211. Sorry once more! Anyway, Kuragano is going to sound a bit ooc for the good of the story,so thank you for bearing with me. Also thank you for your kind reviews. Hope you enjoy! Disclaimer:Do not own any of Ouran except my OC's. Some of the people might sound AU so sorry.
Chapter 10
Falling Apart
Weeks had passed since New Years had ocurred. It was now the end of January and the feeling of spring was on its way. Valentine's Day was on its way. In the hall students passed by either going to class, the library or club meetings. Chattering was heard throughout the school like any other day. Roughly fourteen days until Valentine's Day and the girls were already chatting up a storm of whether having their cooks make the cake or chocolates, or simply getting it store bought. Girls giggled as the Host Club passed through the halls discussing the latest cosplay. Haruhi and Sakuya were nowhere in sight, which was odd to most of the people at Ouran since the club was always together. A few girls waved and called out the names of the club. Hunny smiled and waved cutely with Mori nodding in aknowledgment. Kyoya smirked slightly with Tamaki waving and calling out the girl's names as well. The twins nodded and slightly saluted the others. From out of nowhere, Momoka Kuragano popped up. The twins were slightly startled.
"Where's Haruhi and Sakuya?" asked Kuragano.
The twins stopped to look down at her.
"Probably in the cooking room. They were talking about some recipe for cake or something," explained Hikaru.
Kuragano nodded in understanding and waved. Kaoru looked over in wonder.
"Where are you going Kuragano-san?" he asked.
She smiled and looked back.
"I'm going to see if they need my help," she explained as she walked off.
The twins looked at eachother suspiciously.
"You know, I've been wondering about this for a long time, but do you suspect that Kuragano has a crush on Haruhi and is jealous that Sakuya is getting her attention?" wondered Kaoru aloud.
Hikaru shrugged. Kyoya watched as the twins sneaked away to look after Sakuya. Tamaki glanced at Kyoya.
"Where are they going?" Tamaki asked.
Kyoya sighed.
"Probably ran off to mess around with Haruhi and Sakuya," informed Kyoya with slight irritation.
Hunny had his stuffed bunny Usa-chan strapped around his back like a back pack. He was now used to carrying around the cute golden retreiver puppy that he had received from Sakuya way back during New Year's Eve. Mori had kept his in the club room where he placed all his precious items.
***
Hair placed in a high ponytail and a kerchief to keep hair from falling into the mix. An apron to protect clothing from spills was a rose colored pattern. A whisker was in one hand, while the other took a hold of the bowl. Slowly the ingredients were mixed watched intently as he stirred his own batch. We were in the home ec room working on a new recipe we discovered inside the book I had given to Haruhi. A lemon custard cake...hmm sounded delicious. I smiled slightly. I really hoped that the recipe would come out okay. I glanced over at Haruhi who seemed to be enjoying the company.
"Wow. You're real good at this. I'd have never expected you to be able to make a cake without over cooking or making amateur mistakes like placing chocolate in direct heat," explained Haruhi.
I nodded in triumph. I glanced around to see the room was pretty clean and as if no one had ever used the place.
"I took cooking classes when I was in middle school," I explained.
The door opened and in walked Momoka Kuragano. She waved slightly.
"Konnichiwa!" she greeted.
I looked over and bowed slightly.
"Konnichiwa Kuragano-san," I greeted back.
Haruhi glanced over slightly and nodded,
"Good afternoon. So, Kuragano what brings you here?" he asked.
She blushed slightly and looked around.
"I was wondering if you needed any help with anything," she wondered.
I scanned the room to see anything that would suffice her thirst for being in the same room as Haruhi.
"Sorry. The only thing left to do is place the batter in the pans and wash the bowls," I explained.
I doubted she really wanted to do any of these activities. She willingly walked over and grabbed the dirty utensils while going to work on cleaning the dirty dishes. I looked over at Haruhi who seemed confused on why anyone would even offer to do the dishes when it seemed like the person never lifted a finger once back at her place. I sighed and began pouring the mix into the pan. Haruhi walked over to supervise. He nodded in approval.
"The technique looks good. Although, next time try to get as much mix from the bowl and into the pan," he surveyed.
I nodded, but cringed when I heard the sound of a plate crashing on to the floor. I spun around to see a plate broken in thousands of pieces with Kuragano on the floor grabbing some of the shards with bare hands. I gasped.
"Wait! Be careful not to touch the glass or you'll cut yourself," I warned as I walked towards her.
She looked over at desperately for Haruhi's attention as he went over to get a broom. Out of character, she absently pricked her finger. She winced. I gasped.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
I rushed to her aid and took a hold of her hand. She grimaced and slapped away my hand. I pulled back and heard a distinct, 'shunk!' I looked down to see a fairly large piece of glass slash my forearm. Red liquid began to bubble slowly and run down my arm. I winced and felt my face pale. Haruhi rushed over and paled at the sight.
"What happened?! Are you okay?" he asked in alarm.
I took a deep breath.
"I slipped and cut myself," I explained.
Kuragano looked over with shock. She stood and ran towards us with a face of pain. The twins walked in glaring. She shrunk. Kaoru grabbed a hold of my arm and put pressure with an unused guided me safely towards the nurse's office while Hikaru dealt with Haruhi and Kuragano. He looked down at me with hard eyes.
"Why did you lie?" he asked.
I looked up in surprise.
"I never lied," I protested
He stopped walking.
"She pushed you, yet you blamed slipping?" he questioned.
I sighed.
"I wasn't lying. She never pushed me. Besides, she looked like she was sorry. She'd never do something like that on purpose. She's my friend," I informed.
He looked at me in exhasperation.
"You don't get it, do you? That girl hurt herself on purpose to get Haruhi's attention. In a way, you ruined her plans. Jealously can break the greatest of bonds," he explained.
I wrenched my arm from him. I glared.
"Well, not these bonds! Besides, its not like I like Haruhi as more than a friend, so I don't see why she would do something so cruel," I cried.
He looked at me with serious eyes and traveled to check the still bleeding arm. It didn't seem so deep that I needed stiches, but enough to probably need bandages wrapped tightly and antiseptic to disinfect my cut. I winced slightly and held my arm close. Arriving at the Nurse's office, I noticed that there was no one in there. I sighed.
***
Hikaru stopped Haruhi and Kuragano. Crossing his arms in anger he looked over at the perpetrator.
"Just what did you think you'd accomplish coming here? Were you honestly driven into pushing your own friend over a guy that she doesn't even have romantic feelings toward? That's low," Hikaru muttered loudly.
Her eyes widened.
"So, Sakuya-chan never had feelings for Haruhi?" she asked with shock.
Haruhi looked at her with surprise.
"Of course not. We're friends and that's it," explained Haruhi.
Kuragano looked down in shame.
"I'm so sorry. I never wanted her to get hurt," she apoligized.
She bowed deeply, but Hikaru still frowned.
"The one who you should be apologizing to right now is Sakuya. Don't know, but I feel like you betrayed her trust as a friend," explained Haruhi.
Kuragano sighed and nodded. She walked sullenly with Hikaru and Haruhi trailing behind her.
***
I sat on the chair with a blood soaked towel and I was starting to feel queasy. When was the bleeding going to end? I felt light headed. Kaoru sat on the waiting chairs but stood up immediately as he rummaged through the drawers of of the nurse's desk. I dared not to look over. I was still mad at the accusation of a friend's bonds being so easily broken. A hand was placed on my injury. I looked up to see Kaoru with a roll of bandages and some antiseptic along with a cotton swab. He removed the towel and began to dab at the injury while spraying the antiseptic which of course made me wince. Was he intentionally trying to cause me more pain? I looked away from his intense gaze. While I heard the unravelling of the roll to get the bandages ready, I felt the sudden stop of Kaoru's "caretaking" and felt warm contact just above the injury. I looked over to see his lips planted on the spot where my sleeves had been rolled. My eyes widened and for some reason, my skin felt ticklish. I slipped my hand from his grasp and looked at him with wide eyes.
"What was that about?" I asked.
A smile played on his lips. Ugh. Trouble. He leaned in closer.
"Kissing your owie to make it feel better," he stated.
I leaned back and glanced at the bandages. I snatched them and turned away from Kaoru's gaze. I looked over suspicously.
"I'd rather treat my own wounds. Stay at least five feet away from me, you pervert," I retorted.
As I began wrapping the bandages around the injury, I glanced over to see Kaoru chuckling to himself. Trying to get the binds extra tight was going to be hard since I couldn't wrap with one arm. Realizing the situation, I glanced over and had no choice but to look upon the aid of Kaoru. He sighed and walked over to wrap the bindings.
"I thought you didn't want help from the pervert," he teased.
I looked at him with the same cautious look.
"Well, I might have said that, but at the moment I'm kind of an invalid. So go ahead, but I'm watching you," I explained.
He grinned and made the bandages extra tight. I flinched and glared at him.
"All done," he stated.
I pulled my arm away as he sat down next to me contemplating what to do with the towel.
"You didn't have to tighten it so much. Jeez, do you know how much that hurts?" I questioned.
He chuckled and grinned with his hand balling up the towel.
"Oh, I should have taken into account how...fragile you are," he teased.
I crossed my arms, but flinched when pain seered through my arm. I straightened my arm to keep from feeling any pain.
"What do you expect? I am a girl you know," I mumbled while looking down and not looking at him.
He looked down at me and placed the towel in a trash can along with the cotton swab. He sat back down and smiled. Kaoru took a hold of my waist and pulled me into his lap.
"That's too cute. Who would have thought I could get that reaction from you?" he said aloud as if thinking to himself.
This guy really doesn't know what the word personal space means. My cheeks pinkened. It seemed anytime I was alone with this guy, he acts out of character. True the whole touchy feely thing is normal, yet he gets me pretty worked up sometimes with his spontaneous ways. I looked down at my hands and sighed. I was definitely felt tired from the whole incident. Yawning slightly, I decided I was going to ignore this weird feeling. I was pretty sure Kaoru wouldn't mind if I just took a quick nap.
***
Kyoya was walking through the halls when a few people talked about Sakuya getting injured. Curious, he walked over to hear the rest of the story.
"Good afternoon. I couldn't help it, but did you say Sakuya was injured?" questioned Kyoya.
The girls nodded and explained that Kuragano had gone over to the kitchen where Haruhi and Sakuya were located. He listened silently as they finally ended the story by saying Sakuya was in the infirmary getting her wound treated. He smiled and bowed slightly and swiftly made it to the door reading,'Nurse's Office'. Quietly, he creaked the door open. Upon entering, he looked over in surprise. Sakuya sleeping soundly and then there was Kaoru. The youngest twin had the sleeping girl in his lap. Her head was resting in his shoulder. Kaoru blushed faintly and placed Sakuya on the bed tenderly. He stood up and was walking away, when he froze and saw Kyoya looking over curiously. He felt his face warm as he suspected that Kyoya was there for a while.
"Uh, did you just witness that?" he asked quietly.
Kyoya, with crossed arms, nodded slightly.
"I see, so you have romantic feelings for Sakuya. This is interesting," surveyed Kyoya.
The two walked out of the room. Silence was all that really could describe the tension between Kyoya and Kaoru. Kyoya tensed slightly. He squeezed his hand in slight anger. Jealousy? He shook it off. A small plan began to form in his mind.
***
News traveled fast it seemed, as about half the school had heard about the incident that had taken place in the cooking room. All class A's of every grade had the inside story. Hunny was crying with Mori petting his head. Tamaki had rushed over to the classroom also in tears.
"We must visit her in the nurse's office at once!" he cried out.
The other two nodded and trekked on over to the office. Kyoya, Haruhi, and the twins were nowhere in sight. No one was in sight and it seemed as if the office was empty. Hunny closed his eyes and nodded. He pointed over in a random direction and the three witnessed a dozing Sakuya. The three looked down at her quietly and wondered what the extent of the damage was.
"How did you know that Sakuya was there?"questioned Tamaki.
Hunny smiled broadly.
"Her scent," he explained.
Tamaki looked at him questioningly, but shrugged. A yawn escaped Sakuya's lips as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eye. Her usual high ponytail came loose with her hair cascading past her waist. A few strands were in her face. She looked over with half closed eyes at the three. Tamaki's hug-o-meter rose to its peak and he let his emotions overtake him. He hugged her tightly while yelling out the ocassional,"Kawaii!" She gasped and was finally fully awake.
"Tamaki senpai?" she questioned.
She glanced over to see the other two. She waved slightly and winced. Tamaki immediately let go. His eyes traveled to her left arm that was bandaged. He then began crying hysterically.
***
What a wake up call. I sighed. I moved some of my hair from my face and glanced over at the overly hysteric Tamaki. What else was new? I'm starting to think I'm a full out klutz or something. I sat up and looked around.
"Where's Kaoru? He was here a while ago," I wondered out loud.
The three shrugged and Hunny looked over at me with teary eyes.
"Are you okay, Saa-chan?" he asked with concern.
I nodded.
"I'm alright. Just cut myself is all," I explained.
Tamaki looked over in surprise.
"You mean, Kuragano-san didn't push you?" he asked.
My eyes widened.
"What idiot told you that lie?" I questioned bitterly.
Tamaki looked taken aback.
"Well, the news was traveling everywhere, so I just assumed-" he started.
I glared. I think I had an idea on the person.
"Well, you thought wrong," I snapped.
He took a step back with hurt in his eyes. Hunny looked over with curiosity.
"Saa-chan, did something happen?" asked Hunny.
I sighed and calmed down.
"I'm sorry Tamaki-senpai. I shouldn't be snapping at you like that when you went through the trouble of coming over. Its just that, Kuragano is my friend and I know she would never do that," I explained.
The three nodded. I slipped out of the bed and fixed the sheets. Walking out with my friends, I saw Haruhi and the twins walking over in concern. Hikaru eyed the bandages and looked at me with wonder.
"How deep was the cut in the first place?" he questioned.
Sighing, I calculated roughly the length of it running from the forearm sliced across to the elbow. Glad it didn't get an artery. Sorry too graphic.
"Just a small cut," I explained.
Kaoru looked at me in disbelief but kept his mouth shut when he saw that I placed my index finger near my lips in silence him. The others were unaware of that. Haruhi looked over at me in curiosity.
"You know, after the glass was picked up, and we guided Kuragano-san back to class, Hikaru and I went back to get the cakes out from the oven," he explained.
My ears perked in wonder.
"Were they any good?" I asked.
Rummaging through a bag, my cake was placed on the counter. The color was a golden brown and looked like the recipe was a success. All that was needed was the custard filling and glaze. Hunny glanced at the cake with shining eyes. Of course he was entranced with its rich and sweet aroma. Looking over with pleading eyes, I had no choice but to cut him a slice. It may smell good and look appealing, but I wasn't sure if I actually baked it properly. With an intense gaze, I waited for the response. A bite and his face lit up like a light bulb. My relief was realized when another bite entered his mouth and swallowed.
"Yum. It's so delicious," he said happily.
I smiled. Guess it was time to head back to class. We all walked our seperate ways with the twins and Haruhi behind my trail. I still had not forgiven Kaoru for his accusations, but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to talk to Hikaru and Haruhi.
"Anything happen over the weekend?" I asked innocently.
Hikaru and Kaoru shrugged.
"We didn't do much. Just stayed home and hung out," explained Hikaru.
Kaoru agreed with a slight nod. I looked over at the silent Haruhi.
"What about you, Haruhi?" I asked.
He looked around through the window and looked back up smiling.
"Did my homework and hung out with my dad on his day off at home," he explained.
Hm. Must be nice. My father was rarely home. Although, strangely, I heard he was coming back sometime this month. Shrugging off the thought, we entered the classroom.
***
Kyoya sat in class with Tamaki sitting next to him listening with anticipation. The class was math. An easy A for Kyoya nonetheless. The time spent with critical thinking was being wasted on the plot that would keep the twins away from Sakuya. It seemed as if the demon lord was coming out slowly but surely from the usually calm and collected young man. Scribbling the thoughts down in his notebook, he knew that the plan would be flawless. He then placed his full attention back at the teacher. Tamaki glanced over in wonder of what Kyoya was writing in his notebook. He was curious of what was distracting the usually focused best friend. Yes, Tamaki was an idiot that even the most oblivious of things always passed his sight. When the ordeal came to romance, the King of hosting was full aware of the feelings of others. (That is, as long as it didn't involve Haruhi or himself.) Leaning over, he squinted to read the small handwriting. The sound of a ruler slamming the desk startled Tamaki as he stood and knocked over Kyoya's belongings on the floor. The entire class looked over in awe. As for the teacher, irritation was very evident.
"Suoh-kun! I would have expected better from you! Please pay attention and help Ohtori-kun pick up his items. I'll let you off with a warning, but next time, I'll gladly hand out a detention slip," said the angered teacher.
Tamaki bowed deeply and looked over with fear.
"Yes sensei! Forgive me," he bellowed.
The teacher noddded and went back to the lesson as Tamaki picked up Kyoya's school supplies. His hand drifted for the blue notebook, which was quickly slipped out of his reach. He looked up to see Kyoya smiling his evil grin as if to say,"Touch this and you die." Tamaki whimpered and snapped his hand away from any contact with the notebook. Lessons continued as planned, uneventful of chaos.
***
Hunny and Mori were in class listening to the science lesson. Hunny felt worried over Sakuya's injury. Although she tried to pull of the whole thing as nothing, he was sure that she was in real pain. He stared at his golden retriever puppy which was planted in front of him on his desk. He played quietly with it and smiled. The girl may have some trust issues, but she was a nice kid.
"Saa-chan is a good girl. Plus, her cake is delicious!"
Mori absently looked out the window in wonder. He wasn't much of a talker, but of course he could tell that Sakuya was loyal to her friends and was a bit gullible. The whole denial of her friend pushing her was of course a cover up. He remembered her angered face which was directed at someone else entirely. He felt as if she was always hiding something from them. He couldn't quite place it, but he knew the evidence in her face that there was something tormenting her every now and then when she felt as if she were really happy.
"I wonder if this might have to do with her mother," he thought to himself.
The thought was something he never would say out loud to anyone except maybe if the chance ever came, to Sakuya.
***
Classes ended and everyone was filing out. While grabbing my bag, my left arm winced at the slight flexing of the arm. Ignoring the pain, the four of us were making our way back to the Host Club. During the day, I was getting a bunch of concerned looks from others about my health. I was pretty sure that the one responsible for that had to be Kyoya. We arrived to find everyone sitting in anticipation. Great. Don't tell me another boring meeting. Sitting in our usual seats, we waited for the Vice President to begin the meeting. Kyoya walked around and stood in front of the club.
"For about 2 months, we've had Sakuya do meager errands and only attended a party. I've decided to make the progress go along quickly and would best be if she were to join our ranks," Kyoya explained.
Wait...what?! The twins looked over in shock along with everyone else besides Kyoya.
"Are you saying that I should become a hostess?" I questioned.
Tamaki was in deep thought. He was weighing the pros and cons of the hostess thing.
"You know, that wouldn't be such a bad idea," Tamaki thought out loud.
This can't be possible. I have no intention of even pursuing such a career.
"Are you crazy?! Do you even have a brain?!" cried out Hikaru.
Kaoru nodded in agreement and stood at his side with an angered look on his face.
"You've forgotten who you're talking to dear brother. Of course his brain is made out of mush. Why he really said it was okay to have her be a hostess is only to have more time hanging out. How selfish," tutted Kaoru.
Hunny looked over at me with his adorable eyes.
"Are you going to join?" he asked.
Honestly, my mind always came to the same conclusion. Only two letters come to mind. N and O, which of course spells no.
"I don't think so. I've already gone through the whole servitude thing and for some reason, I feel like becoming a host is just a step back," I concluded.
The twins nodded, but looked over at me with hurt in their eyes. Mori glanced over with his usual stoic face. Haruhi sighed as he knew that the usual set up the guys put on.
"Why the sudden urge, Kyoya?" asked Haruhi.
Kyoya plastered on his cold and calculating smile which sent shivers down my back. He was not going to answer the question.
"Sorry Kyoya-senpai, but you don't have the power to force me into something like that," I countered.
He chuckled slightly.
"Don't I? I seem to recall a certain incident that was breezed by after our outing near-" he whispered near my ear.
Argh! More blackmail?! There was no way I could get out of this now. Cutting him off was probably the wrong thing, but I needed to stop him from saying anymore.
"Fine," I said softly in defeat.
He smirked and nodded.
"Good," he said in approval.
I felt like punching him, but I didn't. Of course, I'm a pacifist. The twins looked at me as if I had deceived them.
"Don't look at me like that," I whispered while not meeting their gaze.
The two crossed their arms with scowls on their faces. They huddled close and ever so often looked my way with curious eyes.
"Alright its settled. Then let the training commence. This will take grueling work which might require long hours of isolation from certain trouble makers," Kyoya explained.
Hunny walked closer with a strange look on his face. He looked like he was trying to analyze the sort of tension that was clearly starting become evident between the twins, Kyoya and I. Sighing, I knew there was trouble ready to rise at any moment.
***
Tamaki and Kyoya were in an enclosed room with Sakuya working hard on her training. They were not as harsh with her as they were with Haruhi before they discovered she was a girl, although. Sakuya intook a deep breath and took a cup while placing her pinky underneath to make it more elegant. Tamaki nodded in approval.
"Beautiful! Very graceful," he commented.
She looked over rather boredly but nodded. Kyoya's cheeks reddened slightly as he saw a fluffy aura of Sakuya as she gracefully took a tray and practiced walking. He noticed a slight wobble from the tray as he saw the tea cup shake slightly. Kyoya gallantly came from behind and placed his hands on Sakuya's own to stable her trembling. Leaning forward, he caught the sweet scent of lilies. Her light brown hair was loose and undeniably tempting to take a hold of. Resisting the urge, he encouraged his young kohai.
"Nice form. Although, try to keep a steady hold so that there won't be any unnecissary spillings," explained Kyoya.
Sakuya nodded and straightened her posture once more to get a hold of the new found information to make her work more smoothly. The difference was rather impressive. She went from amateur to professional in just a few short seconds.
"You really are a natural. We should have done this a long time ago. I'm glad you brought the idea up, Kyoya," complimented Tamaki.
She groaned internally at the thought. Being a hostess was never her plan to begin with. Now that she thought about it, how was being a personal servant helping to pay off the laptop? The thought dawned on her that maybe the twins were never really going to set her free. For some odd reason though, Sakuya didn't seem to feel angered at the discovery. Shrugging, she went back to the enclosed door...
Hikaru and Kaoru placed their ears next to the door in order to hear what was happening inside the forbidden room as Tamaki had dubbed the area. Haruhi glanced over while sighing. Hunny sat down with Mori next to them as the two began discussing the feeling of jealousy in the air.
"Kyoya hasn't realized it, but he is slowly falling for Saa-chan. As for Kaoru, he seems to have liked her since the day she transferred here. Only, there hasn't been any progress. Hikaru...I'm not too sure. Maybe the same as Kaoru and that's why there hasn't been much going on. Saa-chan is left in the dark of the fact and looks like she is starting to get along better with Hikaru and Kaoru," commented Hunny.
Mori nodded as he too had figured that it was something complicated. A love square? Sakuya's feelings were still unknown to the group. Although, the grimaces that were usually apointed to Kyoya seemed to slowly fade. Hunny was pretty sure that Kyoya had made up the plot for her to become a hostess to prevent anymore bonding between the twins out of fear. High school life was complicated. Haruhi sat on one of the benches reading a book silently hoping that the whole curiosity thing would fade. She was pretty sure that there was cram training going on behind closed doors and nothing else. Ignoring the thought, she continued her reading.
"Do you think that the demon lord and M'lord are making any progress?" wondered Kaoru.
Hikaru shrugged as if he really didn't care.
"Why the hell would I care? I'm pretty sure this is some excuse of Kyoya's to have the three of us seperated or something," concluded Hikaru.
The comment was not far from the the week...
The past eight days were used to train and prep. The twins, Hunny, Haruhi and Mori were working on the promotions to bring in the customers for their new hostess. Posters were placed around the high school and flyers were being distrubuted. The twins were not very happy with the idea of sharing their beloved toy with the other guys in the school, but there wasn't much they could do. For now, they'd just deal with it. But if it ever got too serious, they were sure to have a plan to rescue her. During classes seemed to be the only time that the twins and Sakuya really had to hang out. Working on assignments as a group activity was more frequent and usually when the guys would mess with her. While working on a art assignment, Sakuya decided to bring up an interesting subject.
"Valentine's day is coming up in a few days," she noted.
Hikaru and Kaoru glanced up in surprise. Haruhi shrugged.
"That's right. I almost forgot about it," noted Haruhi.
Hikaru groaned as Kaoru sighed.
"Great. You just had to bring up the taboo holiday!" exclaimed Hikaru.
Puzzeled, Sakuya glanced at Kaoru for an explanation.
"Let's just say, that we're glad that there's no school on that day. Last year, we had lug off with 3 car loads worth of chocolate back home," Kaoru explained.
She nodded in understading.
"Too much trouble. I mean, the whole white day thing would be madness if we were to give back a gift to those that gave us chocolate," mumbled Hikaru.
Sakuya glanced at him with disappointment.
"I feel sorry to all your fans. So mean," she commented.
Hikaru just shrugged as if he really didn't care. The four continued their work and chattered with one another. Easy going laughter was clearly evident as they hung out like close friends. There was a knock on their class door and then the group was broken. Kyoya entered the room and scanned the area. Walking up to the teacher, he placed a note on the table. The art teacher nodded and looked over at the table of four working on their art.
"Mazaki-san. Get your things for early dismissal," ordred the teacher.
Curiously, she grabbed her things and waved to the twins and Haruhi. An angry aura illuminated the twins as she walked off with Kyoya.
"Kyoya is definitely trying to come between us. It can't be a coincidence that the minute we're having fun, he just goes out and ruins it with a lame excuse," spat out Hikaru.
Kaoru nodded.
"Let's follow them," whispered Kaoru.
Haruhi sighed.
"Maybe you should stop being so paranoid and pay attention to class. I know what Kyoya did was probably blackmail or whatever, but there really isn't much we can do," she pointed out.
The twins sighed and sat back down.
***
I walked down the hall with Kyoya beside me. I glanced over curiously.
"Exactly why was I called out? I know that the whole early dismissal thing was a lie," I noted.
He chuckled.
"You're sharp," he surveyed.
I sighed and looked at him expectantly.
"Well, what's up?" I asked getting slightly impatient.
Sighing he looked down at me.
"More practice," he informed.
Really? This was real irritating.
"That could have easily been taken care of after school," I noted.
He stopped in his tracks and faced me abruptly. He looked at me with his deathly looking smile. A hand was placed on the wall with me cornered. I gasped.
"Does there always have to be a logical explanation for what I do? You do realize that I am liable to give out information that may cause a rift between you and your best friends," he explained.
The hallways were empty with the only sound of my heart echoing in my ears constantly. This guy was really scaring me. Dark brown eyes felt like they were boring into my inner being. The sound of heels clearly showed that someone was coming. Quickly, he pulled away.
"Why would he do something like that?" I wondered.
He glanced back over his shoulder as he walked away.
"Well, aren't you coming?" he asked.
I grimaced and nodded.
***
Walking into Music Room 3, the twins were prepared for the worst. Opening the doors, the two witnessed a raven haired young woman in the high school uniform. She sat at the table with her back turned to the others. Her pale hands toyed boredly with a tea cup while tracing the round rim with her index finger. No one was in sight and they wondered how she got in there.
"Hey. Sorry but we're not open yet. Come back later," called out Hikaru as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Kaoru felt as if she was familiar. He glanced sideways as she turned to face him. Familiar blue eyes stared into honey colored ones. His eyes widened.
"Sakuya?!" the twins asked in unision.
She nodded haggardly. The twins wondered why she was wearing a black wig.
"Kyoya insisted I wear this wig for some strange reason," she informed.
The twins looked around the room.
"Where is Kyoya anyway?" asked Hikaru.
She shrugged slightly.
"His cell rang and he stepped out. Since then, I haven't seem him," she explained.
Hikaru sat on the right while Kaoru sat on the left side of Sakuya in a chair. They felt happy to have Sakuya alone and at least a bit of time out of class together without the demon lord around.
"How long do you think training is going to last?" asked Kaoru.
Looking out the window, she just shrugged.
"I don't know," she confessed.
Hikaru felt angry. It felt like the stupid training would never end. Kaoru was more cool headed, but he still felt a slight jealousy over the fact that Kyoya was slowly seperating the three friends. Haruhi had left early that day because she was out buying groceries as her dad had the day off today, so it was just the three of them. The door creaked open and Kyoya walked in. Hikaru glared slightly, but tried his best to act normal.
"Hey Kyoya," greeted Kaoru.
He nodded slightly and slowly walked inside while taking a seat in his usual seat.
"What brings you here?" he asked.
The twins looked at each other.
"Decided to hang out with Sakuya," explained Hikaru.
Kyoya looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
"You do realize that we're in the middle of training," he noted.
Hikaru and Kaoru nodded crossed their arms. Sakuya glanced at the three curiously.
"Yup. We're staying. I mean, we barely have time to hang out with Sakuya anymore because all you ever do is try to seperate us," accused Hikaru.
Kyoya looked slightly annoyed.
"Is that what you think? What I'm trying to do is train her for hosting. But, the two of you are always trying to interfere so you can just play around like small children," criticized Kyoya.
The twins were taken aback. Sakuya stood up in surprise.
"Really, well you're just an old man stuck in a teenager's body! I mean, what 17 year old goes around always thinking of profits?!" exclaimed the twins.
More irritation loomed overhead the three bickering teens. Sakuya stood in front of them.
"You guys calm down," she pleaded
The three glared at one another. Hikaru, Kyoya and Kaoru pushed her out of the way. Her eyes widened. Grabbing her things she made her way to the door. She looked back.
"I've got to go," she whispered softly.
Kyoya snapped out of his irritation and took a hold of her hand before she had the chance to open the door and leave. She gazed up at him with surprise and slight fear. Swiftly, she slipped out of his grasp and ran out of the room blushing. The twins looked over at Kyoya with wide eyes as he stared down at his hand. Tamaki entered the room with Mori and Hunny trailing behind. Curiously, the three looked over at the twins and the demon lord.
"Hey guys. What's going on?" asked Tamaki.
The twins and Kyoya glared at him.
"Stay out of this," the three chorused.
Tamaki backed away into the corner. Hunny looked around in wonder.
"Where's Saa-chan and Haru?" he questioned.
Mori shrugged whilst Tamaki glanced at the angry pack with sad puppy eyes.
***
Whisking by trees and stores, my mind felt jumbled and confused. Wrapping both arms around my legs which were pressed close to my body, I felt my heart beating wildly. Why were the twins and Kyoya acting so strange just now? Was it...because of me? Glancing at the window, I realized I was still wearing the black wig. I quickly removed the disguise and hid it in my bag. I needed to be extra careful since my last adventure of sneaking out. Strangely, when I returned home, I noticed that the lock was broken. When I pointed it out to Yoneko, she laughed nervously and had a professional come and fix the lock. I had a good feeling that Yoneko was somehow involved with the lock incident. Upon stopping in front of the steps to my house, I noticed a red sports car parked in the open garage next to the house. Entering my house, I came to realize that the staff was frantic with preparing food and other assortment of things. What was all the commotion? Searching the area, I couldn't seem to find Yoneko. I slipped out of my shoes and quietly walked up the stairs where I was pretty sure I would find Yoneko. Turning the corner, I saw her dark brown hair in a tight french braid. I smiled and speed walked towards her.
"Hi Yoneko!" I called.
She forced a smile and waved. I stopped in my tracks. What happened? Looking closely, I saw that her eyes were slightly red from crying.
"Hello Sakuya-sama. Did you have a nice day at school today?" she asked in a wavering voice.
I stepped closer in concern.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She shook her head and tried to hide her emotions.
"Nothing is wrong," she explained.
The door at the very end slammed. I spun around in alarm and witnessed the entrance of a man in his late thirties. Dark brown with slight streaks of grey in his close cropped hair. Pale and fairly thin with tiny crows feet near his eyes. Eyes were a hard hazel color. He wore a navy blue suit with silver cuffs. Standing at 6'0, I was perfectly certain of who this man was. It was my father back from Germany.
***
Hikaru and Kaoru sat in their usual seats waiting for Sakuya to arrive. Haruhi sat in her usual seat as well getting a good read into her book.
"Isn't it weird that Sakuya hasn't showed up yet?" questioned Kaoru.
His twin and Haruhi agreed. As the statement was left in the air, the door opened and Sakuya walked in with a tired look on her face. She walked up to the teacher and handed a note. Sensei nodded and looked around the class.
"Akiko Wakamura, would you be so kind as to change seats with Sakuya?" asked the teacher.
The dark haired girl nodded and sat in the chair where Sakuya usually sat. (Which was in between the twins.) Swiftly, their toy was placed in the back row several seats away from the twins. Her face was hidden behind her history book. Haruhi and the twins felt that this was way out of character.
"What's up with her?" wondered Hikaru.
Haruhi stared hard at the twins.
"Did you say something to her yesterday while I was gone?" she questioned.
They shook their head, but then slowly their brains began to process the incident that had taken place in the music room.
"Wait...does yesterday's incident count as that?" wondered Kaoru.
Curiously, Haruhi waited for the two to continue with expectant eyes. The twins glanced over at Sakuya and her unreadable expression which was driving them crazy. Turning back, Hikaru and Kaoru decided it was best to talk about it with Haruhi.
"Well, it happened like this..." began school...
Sakuya had been totally distant from the twins and Haruhi. It seemed that maybe the whole Kyoya incident had left Sakuya hurt from having them push her away when all she tried to do was help. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that she was embarrassed about the fact a guy had held her hand. Whatever the case, Hikaru and Kaoru felt hurt. Mostly Kaoru felt slightly depressed about the fact. He really thought that the two were starting to go somewhere. Sakuya left the room first with the twins and Haruhi not far behind. While the double H single K group (Hikaru, Haruhi and Kaoru) walked towards the music room, Sakuya was making her way out the school.
"She's skipping club duties?! Boy is Kyoya going to be pissed," surveyed Hikaru.
Kaoru watched in concern. He knew that something was not right. Sakuya would never act irresponsible without saying anything about going to skip the week...
For the past week, there was clear evidence that Sakuya was intentionally avoiding the club members. Not only did she stop going to club, but by Friday, she had ceased coming to school. This was a huge concern with the members, that they decided to pay a visit to her that very day. The whole club piled in about two fairly expenisive cars which were lead by the twins to finally visit the Mazaki Mansion. Haruhi wasn't really in the mood to go, but as usual she was forced to go as a 'back up'. Arriving at the mansion, Tamaki looked rather impressed. The gates were at the moment closed, but were quickly opened when one of the free spirited maids noticed the twins. The seven club members entered with Hunny noticing that the walls were bare of any family photos. Passerby staff members looked curiously at the bunch, but were busy preparing a spectacular meal for dinner. Mori's eyes traveled around the spacious room in order to locate Sakuya. Strangely, there was no sight of her.
"Let's head upstairs. That's where her room is located," explained Hikaru.
Haruhi felt like they were intruding and like they really had no right to just parade into someone's house uninvited. The twins, Kyoya, Tamaki, Hunny and Mori slowly made their way to the stairs, when from behind, a booming voice echoed the hallway.
"Just where do you think you're going?" demanded an elderly male voice.
The entire club spun around in alarm. A man in his late 30's with stern hazel eyes glared at them. He was evidently taller than most of the members. (Besides Mori) His arms were crossed in anticipation for their response. Wearing a black suit with a red tie, he looked rather important and professional. Curiously, none of them had any idea what the man specialized in or what he ran. Kyoya's mind clicked. It was Kou Mazaki which happened to be Sakuya's father. Kou was fairly new to the industry of a company. Kyoya recalled the other executives and his father that had come to hear the new plan at the holiday party in December, which was still unknown towards him. Thinking back, he wasn't even sure what Kou even did. However, this was not important at the moment. An enraged father was boring holes through their heads. (And what father wouldn't? Having a handome young man enter the house to see his daughter is one thing, but six?! This would give any father a heart attack.) It was up to Kyoya to subtly get them out of the mess.
"Good afternoon sir. I'm Kyoya Ohtori and these are my friends. Sorry for the intrusion. We just came to see how Mazaki-san was doing since she wasn't at school today," he explained eloquently.
The same hard stare penetrated their very being. This was the first time that the whole club actually felt scared for their lives.
"What are you, her boyfriends," he accused.
They took a step back in alarm. Tamaki took a step forward and smiled his ultra charming smile.
"N-no sir. Forgive our intrusion. We're friends of Sakuya. After all, we would never dare to lay a hand on your daughter. She is like a daughter to me," boasted Tamaki.
The twins groaned. Kou's face turned an alarming red.
"GET OUT!" he screamed.
The twins stepped in to calm the bull.
"Can we at least see Sakuya?" asked Hikaru.
Kaoru nodded.
"We're really worried about her. She's our best friend," pleaded Kaoru.
Kou's anger subsided slightly.
"No. I'm sorry but she's grounded right now. So could you please just leave?" questioned Mr. Mazaki.
Sulkily, the twins and Hunny, followed by the rest walked out of the door.
"Well, that was weird," commented Haruhi.
The Tamaki agreed and the twins glared at him.
"Idiot," the two murmured.
If it wasn't for Tamaki's stupid comment, they would have been kicked out. Kaoru's cell began buzzing. Curiously, he saw a text from the MIA hostess. There were only two words. Which must have meant that her father had taken away her phone, or he just so happened to walk into her room.
"HELP ME," was printed in bold letters.
Tamaki's eyes twinkled as he glanced at Hunny and Haruhi.
"Looks like its time for plan B," he said while chuckling.
Haruhi looked at him skeptically. Hunny smiled in his usual chipper way.A few hours later...
Haruhi sighed with Hunny giggling happily. She was wearing the school's uniform and wearing a dark brown wig with straight edge bangs. The hair went a little past the shoulders straight across. Hunny walked over wearing the girl's uniform with a curly light brown wig and Usa-chan in his arms. The two walked over to the house and knocked on the double doors. From the corner, the rest of the club watched in anticipation. Tamaki smiled and whispered,"Cute." at seeing Haruhi in the girl's uniform. The twins shushed him as the doors were opened and Kou looked down at the unseeming girls. He looked down curiously.
"Uh, hello. May I help you?" asked Kou.
Haruhi akwardly waved slightly. Hunny smiled and waved cutely.
"Hi! I'm Mitsuki Haninozuka, and this is Haruhi Fujioka! We were wondering if we could see Saa-chan," Hunny intervened.
Kou smiled slightly.
"Are you friends with Sakuya?" he questioned.
Haruhi nodded.
"Yeah. We came to talk about our project we're supposed to work on," she explained.
He bit his lip slightly, but opened the door wider and let the two inside. Back outside, the twins cheered in triumph with Tamaki joining in. Mori and Kyoya glanced at them quietly. Inside, Kou directed Haruhi and Hunny up the stairs and to the light blue door. The head maid, which Haruhi recalled was Yoneko, took a key from her pocket and placed it in the key hole. The door turned and Hunny with Haruhi trailing behind walked in. Sakuya was on her queen bed wearing a pair of jean shorts and a white tank top. Her eyes widened when she saw Haruhi and Hunny. Her mouth curved into a smile and she began to laugh.
***
When the door opened and I saw the familiar faces, they made me laugh out loud. Haruhi and Hunny in the girl's uniform.
"Ahahahahaha! What are you wearing?" I asked.
Hunny leaned close.
"Just call me Mitsuki!" he squealed.
I turned away and buried my face in my pillow while slamming my fist on the mattress. I was shaking uncontrollably and tried my best to calm down.
"Seems like you're in a good mood. I would have thought you were being tortured by the way you sent the text to Kaoru," noted Haruhi.
I looked over seriously and took a good look at Haruhi. My eyes widened.
"Oh my god! You're a girl, aren't you?" I asked in realization.
Haruhi sighed and nodded. Wow, how could I have been so blind?! (It took her 10 chapters for her to figure this out!) I must really be stupid. Hunny came over and hugged me tightly smiling.
"I haven't seen you in such a long time! I missed you so much," commented Hunny.
I smiled and sighed.
"I'm sorry. My father just grounded me. He wouldn't let me out of his sights for some reason. At first he'd let me go to school, with the conditon of coming directly home after school. But then, he locked me in my room. So, here I am. With no idea why I'm even here," I explained.
Haruhi nodded and looked at me skeptically.
"There's one more thing I'd like to know. The guys really felt hurt that you'd been avoiding us lately. Was that because of your father as well?" she asked.
I sat on my bed and sighed as the dreaded question came up.
"No. I'm not 100% positive, but I think there's an insider who's relaying my time at Ouran and the people I'm with, so I needed to protect you guys so that my father wouldn't find out about my mostly guy friends," I explained.
Haruhi groaned. Hunny sat next to me and glanced out the window.
"I guess your plan was created for nothing. Now your father knows all about your...er friends," she commented.
I stood up in alarm.
"Oh my God. What happened?" I asked.
She explained the whole 'father incident' with Tamaki and how they all got kicked out.
"What?! I know Tamaki is trying, but he is getting me pretty agravated here," I explained.
Haruhi nodded in agreement.
"So, how long are you going to be stuck here?" she asked.
I shrugged and sighed.
"I don't know," I confessed.
The doors whisked open and the first thing that came to mind was to play it cool. I smiled over at Hunny.
"Mitsuki-chan. You're not wearing any lipgloss. Here, let me put some on for you," I said cheerfully.
Hunny smiled and stood still as I applied a cherry flavored lipgloss. Haruhi sat there nervously looking down at the homework. I glanced sideways to see my dad had brought up some snacks. Smiling he set down the tray and sat in my chair.
"So girls, are you making any progress?" he questioned.
We nodded just as I grabbed a pencil and began working on the papers.
"Yup! But we have to present this tomorrow. Would it be okay she came back to school?" asked Hunny.
He looked slightly grim and sighed.
"I don't know. I'll have to think about it. I'll be up in a little while and then I'll give you my answer," he said.
We nodded as he left. I sighed and collapsed on my bed.
"It was worth trying, but I knew he'd never listen to my friends," I explained.
I looked over at Hunny with the lipgloss still on. I grabbed a kleenex and wiped it off.
"Sorry Hunny. Help yourself to some cake," I pointed to the snacks.
He smiled and greatfully took a slice of strawberry cake.
"Thank you Saa-chan," he answered.
Haruhi sighed and took out her cell phone which had been buzzing off for quite some time.
"Hello?" she answered.
She walked out of the room.
***
Kou sat in his study room where he kept all his books and sighed. He wasn't too crazy about letting his daughter go back to the school. With eyes and ears always near his daughter, there was a certain issue that needed to be resolved. One of the students in Ouran was keeping him posted on his daughter's every move. There was some concern with the people that she was supposedly hanging out with. Trouble makers at the most, but still able to turn his daughter against him with rebellion. He turned on his computer and went directly to his email. Scanning his mail, he came across one that really grabbed his Haruhi...
"Yo, Haruhi. How's it going there with Sakuya? Did the old man crack?" asked Hikaru.
She sighed. He really had no manners for adults.
"We're still working on it. I'm not sure that Mr. Mazaki will change his mind. We should probably just accept it and go home," explained Haruhi.
A groan was heard in the background and he hung up. Haruhi shrugged and walked back into the room where Hunny and Sakuya sat eating the snacks laid out for them. They looked up at her curiously.
"Who called?" asked Sakuya.
Haruhi sat on a chair.
"It was Hikaru. He wanted to know if their was any progress for-" started Haruhi.
The door burst open and there was Kou Mazaki. Sakuya jumped slightly.
"Couldn't you at least knock?" she asked.
He shrugged and handed me a letter. He sighed.
"Well, I've thought about what Mitsuki-chan said, and I've decided to let you go back to school without my interference," he said smiling.
Sakuya gaped in amazement.
"You mean it?" she asked.
He nodded. She smiled and glanced at her friends. Hunny jumped up in happiness.
"Yay!" he cried as he bounced up and hugged Sakuya.
Haruhi nodded and smiled slightly.
"That's great," she commented.
***
Once Hunny and Haruhi had left, I glanced curiously at the letter that my father had given to me. There was no name on the outside, so there was no choice but to open it. Slowly, I slipped out the letter and began to read. When I had finished reading, my eyes widened. This couldn't be possible! This was probably why my dad was so eager for me to head back to school. I next day...
Walking into class, I was rather happy that the whole father thing was over. I sat in my usual seat in between the twins. I waved slightly.
"Hi guys," I greeted.
The twins grinned.
"Long time no see," commented Hikaru.
Kaoru nodded.
"Glad to see you back," commented Kaoru.
I nodded and leaned in close to the twins.
"Glad to be back. Although, now that you've met my father, don't expect things to go smoothly if you ever come to visit. I was pretty surprised to see Haruhi and Hunny dressed up as girls. It was a pretty good disguise. It had my father fooled. I can't believe it took me such a long time to finally figure out that Haruhi was actually a girl," I whispered.
The twins froze. I giggled softly. I knew that would shock the guys. The guys shushed me.
"You better keep that a secret," they whispered.
I looked over with an arched eyebrow.
"Oh, and what will you do if I don't? Just kidding. I would never let that slip. What kind of friend would I be if I did?" I asked.
The twins laughed nervously. I knew that would get to them. As the three of us chattered, Kuragano walked over with a sad face. I looked up in curiosity.
"Uhm, Sakuya-chan. I just wanted to apoligize to you for acting so mean and injuring you. You're my friend and I should known better than to get all upset over a boy," she explained.
I smiled and smirked over at Kaoru.
"It's okay. Apology accepted," I replied.
Kuragano smiled back and bowed slightly and returned to her seat. I looked over expectantly.
"So, our bonds are broken, eh?" I asked smugly.
Kaoru laughed nervously. Haruhi walked in and sat down near us. She waved. Thinking back, I think I unconciously knew that Haruhi was a girl. Not many guys enjoy cooking or are that good at it.
"Hi guys," she greeted.
I smiled and stood up.
"Hi Haruhi," I greeted back.
Sitting back down as classes began, I glanced out the window. I felt my smile fade as the letter came to mind. I just couldn't believe that he was coming back. Permanently?! This really frustrated me. If he were to come back into my life, then everyone would be asking questions to which I wouldn't be able to answer. Ryan was coming classes...
When I entered the club room, I was greeted in the arms of the Host Club King.
"Sakuya!!" he cried.
I sighed and slipped out of his hug.
"Glad to see you too Tamaki-senpai," I answered back.
Mori nodded and waved. Kyoya walked up to me and handed me a bag. I looked up with puzzlement. The twins walked in and grabbed a similar bag to the one I was holding. They disappeared and reappared wearing the most ridiculous looking outfits I had ever seen. Togas. The two looked over at me.
"Aren't you going to put yours on?" they asked.
What!? I opened the bag slightly, my eyes widened.
"You want me to wear that?! Are you crazy?!" I exclaimed.
Kyoya's glasses glinted.
"Oh, so you object? That's perfectly understandable. Well, I have an announcement to-" he began.
I grumbled and walked out of the room to get changed. One of these days, karma would be sure to fall generously on him.