"Takashi?"
"Hai."
"I think we found her."
"Hai."
Before they had left the evening before, Kyouya had instructed the other hosts to try and console Sayuri, as well as ask her to reconsider. His condition had not been so ridiculous, after all. He had only told her that she would wear and sing what he told her to, depending on the theme of the day. It must have struck a nerve, though, seeing how she had responded. They could only guess.
Now, the loli-shota and wild type stood outside one of the other music rooms, listening to the dainty piano notes coming from within. Hunny gently eased the door open without a sound and stuck his head inside. He grinned when he saw Sayuri, her back to them as she sat on the piano bench playing. When she finished, he pushed the door open fully and clapped.
With a sharp gasp, Sayuri twisted around. She was completely surprised by the presence of the two hosts. "What...What are you doing here?" she asked, her blue eyes wide open.
"We came to find you!" Hunny replied happily, bounding over to where the piano was. "Usa-chan and I were worried about you when you just ran out yesterday," he said, holding the pink bunny up to her face.
"I'm sorry to have caused you any trouble," she apologized sincerely. She smiled down at the littlest host and patted the plushie's head.
"Then you'll come back with us, right?" he asked, his eyes glowing in hope. He leaned towards her. "Please?"
"Mitsukuni," Mori said simply, speaking for the first time in Sayuri's presence. He looked down at his cousin, his dark eyes telling the boy not to push it.
Sayuri looked at the tall host with curiosity. What was it about this dark, quiet, mysterious boy that made her want to know him? Was it the fact that she could barely read him? Perhaps it was the fact that she was prone to his "type." And since when did she have a type?
Snapping out of her thoughts, Sayuri blushed when she saw Hunny and Mori staring at her expectantly. "It's not that I don't like you guys or anything," she started. Her breath caught in her throat when the little host began to look crestfallen. "I don't do well with crowds," she continued, making up the first excuse that came to mind. "And imagine what my grandmother would say if she knew I was spending all my time with a group of boys," she pointed out. Her grandmother was rather protective of her only granddaughter after all. "Then again, I always spend time with my cousins, who are all boys..." The last part she muttered mostly to herself. She was babbling now and she knew it. She tried giving her reason again. "It's just..."
"Just what?" Hunny's little voice asked.
"Anoo..."
Sayuri was scared, plain and simple. At all her previous schools, no one had ever really approached her. She was always the new girl, and all the little rich brats in their little cliques had never opened up to her. Now this group of boys, and a girl, were inviting her to be a part of their clique. They were offering to let her belong. But she couldn't accept their gracious offer because...Because then she would be stereotyped, or something. She knew that little rich kids were judgmental, she was too sometimes, and she didn't want to be judged.
She had no idea what people would think of her if she joined this club, even just as their musician. Image was one of the keys to success, according to her grandparents. She wanted her peers here at Ouran to like her as an individual, not as part of a group. If she wore what Kyouya and the other hosts told her to, played what they told her to, then she would just become a part of their group. She'd be that one girl from that one group of people. That was how it had worked at her old schools, and she doubted that it would be different now.
"We can't help you unless you tell us what's wrong," Hunny said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Why would you want to help me?" Sayuri asked, thoroughly confused.
"That's what friends do, they help each other."
Sayuri opened her mouth to protest that they couldn't possibly be friends because they had only met yesterday, but instead she closed it and smiled. What the hosts were offering her was more than just a way to belong, they were offering her friendship. What more could a new kid ask for?
"Domo," Sayuri said, thanking them.
Although he had no idea why she was thanking them, Hunny smiled. "Well let's go then! You have a lot to do before tomorrow night," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door.
The brunette looked back over her shoulder questioningly at Mori, who only gave her the smallest of mysterious smiles.
A/N: My apologies for not getting this out sooner. Life has been...Well, life. I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP. In the mean time...
Amaya: sticks tongue out at
Mieko: 'Soba' and 'Gawa' essentially mean the same thing. I saw it ats'Gawa' first, so I'm sticking with that.
Leaf: After spending a year learning about Japan, her culture, and the language in preparation for a short trip there, I feel that I am entitled to using conversational, single-word Japanese phrases. However, I do acknowledge the fact that I ough to have continued using 'Konnichiwa' because it was only 5 pm when evening is generally thought of as after 6 pm.
athrun and contour: Again, my apologies for taking so long.