Thank you for all the wonderful and thoughtful reviews! Replies are at the bottom!
Aspen: I'm really neglecting my Disney fanfics for your story Kyouya, you know that right?
Kyouya: I'm aware, yes.
Aspen: As a muse, you should be a little more supportive. Where are my plot bunnies?
Kyouya: Perhaps you would be happier with Hunny-sempai as your muse then?
Aspen: ...don't think you can get out of this!
Kyouya: Who said I was trying to?
Aspen: ...I see how it is...
Kyouya: *smirks*
~ Chapter Six ~
~ Of Tea Parties and Labor ~
A lot of people in the world say nothing is impossible, celebrities, characters in movies, maybe even your own parents. Yet there are a good number of things that are, in fact, impossible. Such as slamming a revolving door and getting Kyouya into a pink, bunny costume.
Ever wonder what those kind of people (who believe everything is possible) would say if you asked them if a literal bottomless pit existed within a person? They would probably correct me, saying that was just a phrase, nothing more than figurative.
They would be wrong.
Mitsukuni Haninozuka is a bottomless pit – which should be impossible.
I hadn't so much as touched the small slice of white cake with a cherry on top in front of me, as my mouth was too busy hanging open as my eyes stared in wonder at the short blonde in front of me. Fourteen ten-inch cakes had already come and gone, some in a blink of an eye. At the moment, Hunny put himself to the challenge of devouring a five-layered wedding cake single handedly, complete with rose-icing décor and sugary fondant.
Eventually I took note of how I was the only one staring, Hunny did explain he came here regularly, which explained the other customers' normal behavior around the glutton.
Yet the situation calls for an answer – where was he putting it ALL? I mean, seriously? Where?
Polishing off the wedding cake meant for a more formal occasion, Hunny gave a smile to one of the employees at Lolita Café behind the counter, asking for a ten-inch carrot cake so that he could share it with Usa-chan. In turn, I shot the stuffed rabbit a savage glare as if it had done me some great wrong (in an indirect sense, it did!)
"Do you not like cake Tsuyu-chan?" Hunny finally spoke to me, I looked down at my watch.
"Oh uh…I do,"
We had only been here for fifteen minutes….
The employee, a tall, scrawny boy around our age clad in a pastel blue outfit, fitted with a white apron with the café's icon and title on his chest, approached our table with Hunny's next cake in hand. He politely placed it in front of Hunny and Usa-chan (great, the stupid animal is considered a customer) on the smooth, crème colored table.
The rest of the interior of the café followed the same color palette, the walls matched the blue of the boy's uniform, floral patterns (which eerily reminded me of Hunny's mini-atmospheric ones) lined the vertical surfaces inches below the ceiling. The ceiling itself, had numerous frescoes of frilly-attired girls, pink rabbits, and blue bobtailed cats frolicking through fields full of bright-colored blossoms.
The counters were as beige as the tables, a thin layer of glass curved over displays of cakes, pies, cupcakes, cookies, and other pastries not far from where we sat. Every time someone came or left the café, a bell would give off a twinkling ring that was more whimsical than annoying. Small wall lamps illuminated the café with a soft, yellow light.
Needless to say, the place was fairly popular with Hunny and female Ouran students. I scanned the room around us, sure enough, there were about eight other tables occupied by buttercup yellow dresses. Peering down at my cake, I decided it might be a good idea to eat what I could before it somehow mysteriously vanishes under my lack of supervision.
Hunny finished the carrot cake, although with no help from Usa-chan, but the rabbit did have icing and crumbs all over its face. Apparently the third-year attempted to share his cake like he originally said.
"Mamo-" Hunny went to call out, but a sharp squeak from my fork against my plate cut him short, I happily relished in the silence that swiftly occurred afterward.
"Don't you think that's enough Hunny-sempai?" I asked curiously, sounding somewhat bewildered.
Hunny blinked innocently.
"I only ate a couple," he replied, his eyes growing big and soft. I had to peer away for a second to regain my initiative.
"You ate fourteen – no – sixteen cakes, Hunny-sempai. How much does Mori-sempai normally let you eat?" I asked, Hunny looked up in thought.
"I ate sixteen cakes? Wow, Takashi usually says thirty," I nearly fell out of my chair.
"How do you not have any cavities?" Granted, I didn't know if he had any or not, "And stay small?"
Hunny shrugged, almost nonchalantly, if he weren't so innocent-looking I would've felt a surge of envy.
"I exercise and brush my teeth a lot, see?" Out of his Ouran briefcase, Hunny pulled out a pink toothbrush complete with a tube of toothpaste with a design of pink bunnies hopping around on the smooth material. I nearly rolled my eyes, but caught myself in the midst of the thought.
"I think that's enough Hunny, you need to balance out your food intake and exercising schedule, you may be small now, but one day it'll all come at you at once. Do you understand?" I asked after my short explanation, Hunny gave a look of something akin to mild understanding, but didn't want to openly admit it.
Time seemed to stand still while I awaited an answer, seconds ticked by like whole minutes and I suddenly felt the urge to let him do as he pleased, but held my ground.
If I'M paying for this I'M making the rules! I thought fiercely, even rich, pampered boys needed to know where the line of tolerance was set and to know which side to stand on.
"Okay Tsuyu-chan," Hunny said, I blinked, almost not believing it.
"I'm getting full anyway," he said with a cute smile, I gave an inward sigh.
"Does Mori-sempai never stop you from eating so much?" I asked, believing I already knew the answer, but Hunny just smiled and hugged Usa-chan, their cheeks smeared with icing.
"No, not that I can recall." He replied innocently as I took my first bite out of my slice of cake.
"…" I said nothing in response, granted, everyone in Ouran knew of the Mitsukuni and Morinozuka family bloodlines of master and servant, that even though the time of servitude had since long passed, future descendents still felt bound by some invisible contract. Mori and Hunny were perfect examples of that.
Mori probably didn't feel that it was his place to stop Hunny from doing whatever he wanted, but what if it meant Hunny would become incredibly unhealthy in the long run?
Or am I simply thinking too far into this? Maybe I should give Mori some more credit, he's not the first to serve a Mitsukuni, I shouldn't pry.
"Mamoru! We're done!" Hunny cried seconds after I ate the last of my cake, the waiter came by with the bill and handed it to me. Blood left my face quickly, a chill settled on my shoulders.
"Hunny-sempai…is there anyway…at all…that we could get less to eat next time…?" I asked rather slowly, afraid if I picked up speed I would reach across the table and attempt to strange the small blonde in the process.
"How about if we bring more people?" he asked, obviously I was hesitant.
"Meaning they could help pay for it?"
"Hm, I don't see why they wouldn't," he replied, suddenly his eyes brightened – that could not be a good thing in this current situation. "We could get the whole club to come here!"
I didn't know about Haruhi or Kyouya, but the very thought of having Tamaki around sugar downright terrified me and the Hitachiins made my skin take on a hint of blue. Mori wouldn't come for the same reason he couldn't be around today – kendo. I would be left alone to pay for all those boys – god knows they have much larger appetites than girls!
"That's not possible, you know that. The reason I'm here is because Mori-sempai couldn't come-" I quickly ran my words through my head again, "-and you invited me."
"Well then, you should bring your friends! Usa-chan would love some company!" Hunny stated, I frowned. He couldn't have been referring to 'me' to bring my own stuffed animals would he?
"You would like that wouldn't you Usa-chan?" Hunny spoke to the bunny, not that there was a response to speak of. I sighed.
"I suppose I could bring Kira-chan…."
"Kira-chan! I want to meet him-"
"Her," I corrected, but instantly felt I shouldn't have.
"Hear that Usa-chan! You'll have a girlfriend!" Hunny cried, I sweat-dropped.
After paying the bill we made our way out of the café where Hunny's limo had been sitting and waiting patiently since our arrival twenty minutes ago. Before Hunny's driver even opened the door he looked up at me with wide eyes.
"Would you like a ride Tsuyu-chan?" he asked, I shook my head.
"I'll be fine," I replied, waving him toward the car.
"Are you sure? It's supposed to rain tonight,"
"It's still midday," I retorted calmly, "besides, Mori-sempai is probably waiting for you,"
It was almost four (midday? Sure,) I had to hurry back to Ouran before heading home. I was assigned a mopping job in the west corridor and five windows to wipe down in the floor above that. Not to mention I had to change the garbage bags in the cafeteria with Itoki-san…
"Okay, see you tomorrow then," Hunny said before heading to the car door held open by his driver, but before he ventured inside he spun around spontaneously.
"Do you need a ride tomorrow Tsuyu-chan?" Oh crap, tomorrow is the trip to the park. My Physics exam for next week also flashed across my mind, but I reluctantly pushed that aside – spending the day with the Host Club could prove fulfilling.
Or detrimental to my bank account.
"Man, Tamaki, Kyouya, then you, you guys are smothering me," I replied with what I hoped was a sweet and joking voice, "I promise I'll be there,"
"Okay…." Hunny appeared slightly downcast for some reason I have yet to fathom – what was the deal? It was almost as if half the club was obsessed with driving me from my residence to Koen Gardens!
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then Tsuyu-chan!" Hunny cried happily, suddenly resuming to his usual, cheery persona. After he let I let my feet guide me along the sidewalk, back to Ouran a couple of blocks away…
Cleaning was considered a menial and laborious occupation and certainly wasn't very popular, but a job was a job. Money was money, and unfortunately, it played a huge part in life. If you wanted to earn money, you had to spend it. If you wanted to spend it, you had to save it. Acquiring the money was one thing, taking on a job of back-staking labor in return for high education was another.
Swiping the last bit of glass cleaner liquid from the highest panel of one of the fourth-story windows, I sighed with relief before making my way down the ten-foot ladder.
Once my feet hit the shiny floor, I collected my cleaning equipment before heading back to the janitor's suite. The last task to get done before I could call it a day was the awe-inducing garbage bag exchange down in the cafeteria.
Yippee.
Approaching the janitor's suite, an oblivious Ouran student would never guess that an elaborately designed flower vase full of healthy white roses was the 'secret entrance.' The rest of the staff interpreted it as the 'secret entrance,' but in truth it merely signified where the 'secret entrance' was.
The walls down in the basement (where the janitor's suit and the Black Magic Club were located) were cleverly designed based on the Baroque art period. Therefore it was easy to overlook one of the walls as a door, the janitor's suite sat to the vase's immediate right where a door knob wasn't needed to open or close it. Between the dry wall and insulation and whatever else made up the inside of a wall structure, was a hollow space, allowing the door to the suite to slide open after entering a four-digit security code (Ouran students couldn't just waltz into a suite irrelevant to their studies now could they?)
To reveal the security pad, I tapped on the door with my knuckles twice, a small compartment on the right side of the door slid open. Entering the password, the compartment slid shut then following immediately after, the door opened.
Dragging along the mop bucket by it's ringer, rags and extender, I put the items on a nearby conveyor belt (this allowed the equipment to be cleaned and fully sterilized before future use by leading it all into the school's specialized boiler room where machines did the scrubbing.)
Itoki was nowhere to be seen, possibly already up in the cafeteria waiting for me. With a sigh, I grabbed a roll of garbage bags (in case Itoki forgot them) and exited the suite in the same fashion I entered it.
What I wasn't expecting was Ayanokouji waiting outside for me.
Oh boy, does she look ticked. I thought almost wickedly.
"You really put a toe out of line the other day Tsuyu-chan," Ayanokouji practically spat out, pointing an accusing finger in my direction.
Talk about taking the trash out, I thought as I peered down at the roll of bags in my hand, ignoring the redhead.
"Why are you still here?" I asked, not really in the mood to patronize her as I usually did.
"I heard you owe the Host Club," she claimed, still sounding bitter.
"Look, if you want me to put a good word in for you so you revisit the Host Club, just apologize to Fujiouka-san and Suoh-sempai," I said without really thinking, Ayanokouji gave a dark smirk as she casually ran a slender hand through her long tresses.
"Like you have anything good to say about me," she said, mostly to herself, "besides, I've been banned forever."
She managed to bite out the last word with such bitterness I didn't put forth the effort to stop myself from rolling my eyes. This was so incredibly shallow of her.
"Look, if you're here for an apology – get real, I meant every word that I said." I growled, my mood shifting into stormy, gray clouds. So much for that cake earlier, the happy atmosphere that Hunny brought with him everywhere was ebbing away.
"Just because your parents are…enthusiastic about your choices, don't believe, for even a second, that mine are." Ayanokouji continued to rant, then her eyebrow ticked. "What was with Ayano-san anyway?"
"Your name is a mouthful." I replied simply without hesitation, "and don't think you can fool me – I know regardless of what our parents think, you'll always think the way you do – you were begging for exile since the moment you started visiting the Host Club."
"It was so annoying how you kept sabotaging me-"
"To keep you from messing around with first years," I cut in.
"Not that you were very successful, might I add." Ayanokouji retorted smoothly, I glared at her.
"You're a third year, grow up a little," her dark eyes glinted faintly.
"You're inferior, throwing away your status and taking on such a lowly, petty excuse of a job. Wouldn't surprise me if you dropped into a B or C class…then your disgusting family would-"
"Shut it Ayanokouji Kamiko!" I interrupted once more, feeling the unusual sense of forming muscles and adrenaline rippling beneath my skin.
"What if I don't?" she asked, her eyes sneering. "What if the headmaster found out one of his staff members broke an expansive floor polisher?"
My face paled, but I feigned innocence.
"What are you ranting about now Kamiko-kun?"
"It's Ayanokouji-no-kimi to you!" the redhead snarled back, I winced at the noble suffix. She smirked darkly. "What if that information were to leak into the Administration?"
"You wouldn't," I barely managed to say, then I remembered something, "you wouldn't get away with it,"
"Are you trying to back yourself up with Ootori Kyouya? Do you really think losing one customer would really matter to the Host Club?" Ayanokouji continued, I inwardly fumed, hating how I couldn't rely on my own family connections to get me out of this mess.
"Well, if the surname Ootori isn't an indication enough…" Then, I'm screwed. The Ayanokouji family only had so much influence in comparison to the Ootori Estate, but could I honestly risk it? Then again, if I got expelled I would still owe Kyouya for paying for another polisher and the broken window (which still wasn't my fault.) With that kind of debt looming over my head, I might not graduate with promise, let alone get into the college of my choice.
CRAAAAASH!!! The elaborately designed vase of white roses fell to the floor. Despite the shattered glass, the flowers lay delicately on the smooth flooring as if the sharp fall of gravity did little to their pale complexion.
I looked up into the sneering face of Ayanokouji, her expression was distorted into mock ignorance. She promptly stepped on one of the roses, its pristine petals gave a soft cry from beneath her polished school shoe.
"Watch yourself Honiwa," Ayanokouji shot at me, despite myself, I smirked in return.
"Maybe another day, Ayano-san." Was my sarcastic retort before Ayanokouji pivoted on the spot and left, stomping on another rose in the process. I sadly stared down at the broken flowers, suddenly graduation from Ouran seemed further out of my reach.
Something vibrated in one of my pant pockets, with a start I slid my hand into the one of my right then pulled out my cell.
"We will be seeing you at Koen Gardens at 12 P.M." from Kyouya, I frowned.
Earlier that day, Tamaki claimed we would be meeting earlier than that.
Wonder what changed his mind.
A/N: Oh Tsuyu, if only you knew of his low blood pressure!
Thank you Aurora-16, Kinthinia, Gail-chan, Maelie, and The Last Novelist (from the last chapter.) I will reply to only questions~
Maelie: There are few stories that really talk about money problems and I feel that's one thing A LOT of people can relate to, myself included.
I had to think quite deeply about Tsuyu's encounter with Ayanokouji, although what it came out to be compared to all my other ideas was better, so I stuck with it.
And yes, I did think Tsuyu would be dropping to her level a bit, but I thought that would be fine since everyone has their moments. Don't forget Tsuyu knows quite a bit about Ayanokouji, their relationship hasn't developed enough (in front of the viewers anyway) for readers to know much about them yet, so I won't say much more on that matter. :P I love developing villains as much as the good guys, especially when it comes to giving them redeeming qualities.
I also wanted to show how Tsuyu didn't know Tamaki that well - yet. Remember we have seen the anime, most have read the manga, Tsuyu is a complete stranger to Tamaki and vice versa. There will be no yoai in this story, but there's a lot of it in Japanese culture and Tsuyu is Japanese, so by revealing how ok she is with homo-sexualism I was hoping to make her seem more sensible. Of course, she would never assume/believe it unless Tamaki openly said it, I'm just saying if that were the case, Tsuyu would stand by and be supportive as Tamaki is friendly towards her and naturally, would want to be friends with him.
I had a funny image of Tamaki recoiling in shock then cultivate mushrooms in the corner of the cafeteria (the twins prodding him in the back, Haruhi sighing, and Tsuyu apologizing saying "if, Tamaki, if...") if he overheard the conversation.
In the end, you can just see Tsuyu and Ayanokouji's relationship as verbally belligerent at this point in time. You'll have to see the depth of their relationship as you read on~
As for Reiko, I wanted to give her a quirky trait where she found things funny that her wealthy society normally didn't deem funny. I wrote the chapter after having a giddy field day with some college friends, so that could be a prime factor...
Kinthinia: 'Split end on fire' was referring to the event when the burner was taken away from Tsuyu's group, in a rare moment of ignorance, didn't listen to her teacher about pulling ALL her hair back lol. The scene was inspired by my wood shop orientation several weeks ago, the guy in charge was super strict about the smallest pieces of hair falling over our eye protection gear.
Gail-chan: Oh no, don't worry about the romance genre 'just yet.' Like most (if not all) people come to a point where they begin to merely wonder, nothing is being set in stone yet - I have much more planned in terms of Tsuyu befriending the club and various girls and other classmates. I don't want just Tsuyu impressing Kyouya, I want him to impress her as well.