~Chapter Fourteen~
~The Trouble with Manuscripts~
Tomorrow the Host Club would be in Okinawa, but for today we were all just hard-working students in one of the most expansive, prestigious institutions in the country.
"C'mon Yu-chan! One more try!" the twins beckoned as they grasped their matching hats.
Well, at least SOME of us were hard-working.
"No! No! No! And it's Tsuyu-sempai to you two!" I growled, it was lunch and the Hitachiins decided to pester me since Momoka invited Haruhi over to join our table. Reiko decided to vacate the cafeteria today and eat downstairs, apparently the Black Magic Club was meeting early about something.
"So Tsuyu, I heard you were attending the business conference in Kyoto this weekend," chirped Momoka.
"My parents are, I might go, but there will be a party the following evening to lift the formal atmosphere." Which should be fun, parties are not my strong point, I'm too much of a wall flower. But I do enjoy watching others having smiled sadly.
"You wouldn't be if you had a friend going, I'm sorry to say I would be attending with my parents, but I told them I had other plans for the weekend." Momoka claimed.
"It's no big deal, I like the idea of window-shopping, Kyoto has a great market place and a lot of history to it. Those are the parts I'm looking forward to the most," Momoka grinned and laughed when one of the twins smashed one of their hats on my head.
"You look good in hat ware Yu-chan!" they observed together, I sweat-dropped.
"You would look good with some silver around your heads," they 'ooed' before taking back their hat and chatting amongst themselves.
Truth be told, I was regretting my decision not to go to Okinawa, but the idea of heading out to Kyoto equally excited me. Not only was there enough historic monuments and sites for me to visit, but plenty of vendors and design buildings to explore as well! Besides, there were plenty of other trips and one big bonus – no cleaning for a couple of days and no frivolous money-spending or-
"My, don't you look happy." Kyouya observed, time had flown and I was spending my last day before the weekend across from Kyouya. I had my elbows propped up on the table with a pen intertwined between two fingers and my chin rested on my joined hands. I wasn't really paying much attention to my work.
"You can say that," I replied, he adjusted his glasses.
"How did you do on our last Physics exam?" he asked, but I'm sure he already knew.
"Average, but that's better than past grades."
"Then these sessions are assisting you."
"They are," it was becoming increasingly difficult to look at Kyouya without my heartbeat going faster than it needed to. It was getting ridiculous and it was all because of that stupid rose yesterday!
"You had private tutors in the past correct?" Kyouya brought up.
"Of course, they were no real help though…I just couldn't remain focused…" the moment the words were out of my mouth my eyes snapped toward Kyouya's. When he glanced back at me with that knowing look I returned my gaze to the Physics tomb blushing like a fan girl.
No! Not a fan girl! Not a fan girl! I tried not to shake my head or do anything ridiculous as I found the number I was on and began writing it out on the paper.
The remaining hour passed by slowly, as if time wanted to torture me. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I kept glancing at Kyouya out of the corner of my eye and he would be smirking softly to himself. This made me frown, but I easily passed it off as having difficulty with the problems. Eventually the after-school activities came to an end with the ringing of the Ouran bell.
I gathered up all my supplies (happily leaving the books on the Music room bookshelf) and clasped my bag shut.
Tamaki and the others politely bid farewell to their guests, I was among the stragglers.
"Have fun in Okinawa," I said to the others, they were not leaving just yet, I knew they would be finishing up any extra plans they were setting for the weekend.
"The same to you in Kyoto my lady," replied the peppy blonde, soon after I was tackled by Hunny (who seemed to think I was going somewhere fatal for my health). To top it off, the Hitachiins were right behind him and made us all fall to the floor.
"Don't get into too much trouble while we're gone!" cried one of them.
"Don't do anything we would do!" the other joked a millisecond later.
I rolled my eyes, but thankfully the twins rolled off and helped Hunny and I up. What I didn't know was that Mori stood behind them to prevent them from pulling me to the floor again.
Kyouya was the one who stood at the door, awaiting my exit.
"Bye everyone!" I said as cheerfully as I could muster, they smiled and returned the small wave I gave them. Turning onto Kyouya, my heart began pounding incredibly hard, but I still managed to keep up that happy smile on my face.
"Until next week Kyouya," I said.
"Until next week it is," was his reply.
The following morning I was already packed and ready to greet my parents when they arrived around nine. It honestly shouldn't surprise anyone my mother was fully prepared for the trip.
She even had a portable tank carrier for Gibbous.
"My baby!" cried my mother as she took through the door like Hermes on speed. As soon as I had opened the door she came flying in and hugged me so tightly I felt my eyes were bulging. Swinging from her hands was said fish carrier and a notepad, of which I was sure contained a checklist of all the things I would need.
It's as if I were moving back home or something.
"Long time no see Kiddo," greeted my dad, he was so much more civil than Mom.
I took after my mother in looks, our dark hair and eyes. On the other hand I was no longer as pudgy as they remembered me to be, I had grown slighter from weight loss due to the stress I have undergone these last several weeks. Constant physical labor and a diet of mostly ramen can do that to you.
Dad, thankfully, had not started to bald. His head was still full of ample black hair and his glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. He looked far more comfortable in his suit and pants than my mom did in her blouse and skirt (Mom hates not having pants on). But once we arrived in Kyoto we were going straight to the conference, well, my parents would, I was going to walk around the hall and hope to find a vending machine and a rack of (hopefully) interesting magazines.
"Hurry now-oh good! You packed! Let me make sure you-have-every-thing!" Dad and I watched as Mom busied herself through my bags with her checklist in hand, hastily shoved the small tank in my hands before doing so.
She is very thorough, my mom.
"Here you go, we got you some lunch before we started heading out – knowing how carsick you get when your on the road for a while." My dad laughed as in my other arm I was given a bag of fast food.
"Oh, gee, thanks Dad." I didn't bother faking any enthusiasm, but I was actually very happy it wasn't ramen inside the bag.
By the time my mother managed to cross everything off the checklist, Gibbous in his portable home, and I done with my lunch, it was already pushing ten thirty. Dad was anxious and constantly checking his watch, funny, I don't remember him being the antsy type.
He caught me staring at him right after he checked his watch for the umpteenth time.
"Haha, poor Mitsuru's been having break-downs for these last couple of weeks and it's been making me a bit high strung," he laughed, I nodded.
"There we go!" Mom cried after Dad and I heaved the last of my bags into the back our SUV. I was holding onto Gibbous, apparently we were dropping him off at a friend of Dad's.
"Don't worry, Kazuya is reliable and if he can't get to it one of his sons will." Claimed Dad.
"All right Dad," it's a fish, not a dog. It felt like Dad was considering asking this Kazuya person to walk Gibbous around the block. The image of the beta with a collar around his neck being walked amused me.
By the time we got everything in the car and made our way to the busy streets surrounding the outskirts of Ouran property, Dad was already on the phone with Mitsuru during another one of her hysterical break-downs. Well, they were not so funny to her.
"H-Hold on Mit-chan! I know he's difficult but – listen to me – but it's because he is fond of you! He tells me he enjoys teasing you – yes, yes, calm down – noooo don't do something stupid – wait, hold on Mit – Honey?" My dad turned to Mom and said it, but I instantly looked up and expected to see Hunny somewhere on the sidewalk (even though it was fairly unlikely).
"Can we make a short detour? Mit-chan's jumped off the deep end and thinks the best way out of her job is to hang Sohma-san." I wasn't sure if Dad was exasperated or serious, perhaps both. Mom sighed.
"We are ahead of schedule…" Mom said, Dad kissed her on the cheek as she turned. It would seem she knew her way to the Sohma-san's well.
"Hold on Mit-chan! We're on our way – put the rope down! Wait, where did you even get rope anyway?" My dad had Mitsuru on the phone all the way until we reached the supposed residence of the famous smut writer Sohma Sat. I knew well his actual name was Shigure, but I didn't know what he looked like nor did I know much of him except he knew how to write smut and aggravated poor Mitsuru endlessly.
We found Mitsuru on her phone with very red eyes and tears just pouring down her face, years of battling the drama at the Sohma household had torn her self-confidence apart to the point she no longer cared if her employers saw her in this miserable state.
Interested in the dilemma, I left Gibbous in his tank next to me and got out of the car with my parents.
"Nice place," I remembered muttering to myself quietly as I viewed the greenery surrounding me. There was a whole new soundtrack out here, I could hear the birds and soft sounds of wavering leaves whereas I could hear people talking and walking back at Ouran. Not to mention it was very quiet.
"YOU WANNA CALL ME STUPID ONE MORE TIME STUPID RAT!" I nearly jumped out of my skin, I couldn't believe that was coming from inside the house.
"Um…should we stay?" I asked, rather concerned when the same voice started shouting very evil threats consisting of physical harm and chore duty, but mostly physical harm.
"It is only Sohma-san's younger cousins, there there Mit-chan," Dad said, trying to comfort Mitsuru as my mother took the rope from her hands. She stared incredulously at it, we still were not sure where she got a rope so far inland. It looked as if it held a boat tethered to a dock.
"Is it safe here though?" I was rather tempted to hop back into the car and pray for my parents' safety. No wonder Mitsuru was in tears, I was visibly shaking. This place emitted a dark vibe and I'm not entirely certain it came from the voice shouting threats alone.
"I'll get his manuscript for today for you, but you have to take it back to the office and finish it up, remember we're heading out of town today." Dad claimed, Mitsuru's tears cleared up instantly.
"You will? Please! Do it forever I quit!" Mitsuru begged, but Dad wouldn't hear of it.
"Shigure!" when Dad spoke to his clients on a first-name basis, you knew he spoke with them often. I'm sure he has a secret stash of his books hidden somewhere away from Mom's sharp eyes. Dad knocked on the wooden door only once before a boy around my age opened it.
Well, I think he was a boy. He's more beautiful than me!
"Ah, good afternoon Yuki-kun, I hope you're doing well." Dad greeted, my Mom and I shared identical looks of awe. He was incredibly cute from his lithe structure to his amethyst orbs.
"Well indeed, I would save you the trouble of finding Shigure by giving you his latest manuscript, but I fear I would endanger all of our lives by sending you into his…office to search for it." Yuki claimed, he was smiling, but his eyes seemed a little dark. "Please come in, I will find Shigure for you."
Mom and I followed Dad in with Mitsuru grasped in our arms, we couldn't trust her not to hotwire our car to leave the property. We quickly pulled our shoes off and lay them near the door before stepping further into the house.
We followed Yuki onto the foyer and to be honest, I didn't care about the foyer. Especially when another boy came rampaging onto it, another very good-looking boy.
This must have been torture designed for people who chose to be with their parents instead of their good-looking male friends on the beach.
"Hey Rat-hm?" the other boy had the brightest color of hair I have ever seen, it was just so orange, but at the same time seemed to suit him. The dark vibe I got from the house definitely seemed to be coming from the two of them, it was more definite now that we were so close to them. I also recognized the angry voice from earlier to be this orange-haired boy's.
"Be polite, we have guests." Yuki claimed, obviously the most polite of the two. The other snorted as he glared at us in turn, he didn't say much else before turning back around and left the room.
"Would he know where Shigure is?" I asked, Yuki almost seemed to smirk, but he kept himself in check. When he glanced at me I felt my face flush.
"He wouldn't tell us even if we asked, besides, Shigure should be in the next room." Claimed Yuki, I frowned. Even for someone so good-looking, he sure seemed shadowy, like some sort of secret-keeper.
The attitude was reminiscent of Kyouya's, but even Kyouya lacked that kind of dark aura.
"Shigure?" Yuki knocked on the next door, luckily there was a reply.
"Yeeeesss….oh!" The man named Shigure opened the door, my eyes were having a hard time absorbing all this male beauty and Shigure topped it. Yet I wasn't prepared for his forwardness.
"Ah! Mit-chan! You returned!" he came bouncing out of the room to greet us, Mit-chan took advantage of our presence by shielding her body with our own. Shigure seemed awfully upset by this, but then he took notice of my parents and I.
"Guests! And not just any guests, Honiwa-san and Todaizumi-san aaand I hope I'm guessing right, you're their daughter…um…?" he gave me an adorable, questionable look as if he were begging me for my name without asking.
"Tsuyu," I answered, he brightened considerably.
"Welcome then to my humble abode!" he cheered, but I faintly heard Yuki mumble under his breath "humble?"
Taking a sneak peak behind Shigure, I saw a severely cluttered room, whether it was an office or his bedroom I couldn't tell for sure, but it was definitely scary in there.
"Sorry to trouble you Shigure, but we're on our way to Kyoto and it would be nice for Mit-chan to make deadline – for once – while we're away." Mom said, looking Shigure in the eye, but even she couldn't hold his gaze for long. The dark vibe glittered behind Shigure's dark orbs, whatever the problem was with this man and his cousins I felt I didn't want to know.
"Oh yes, she would be needing my manuscript then, why ever did you not ask Mit-chan?" Shigure asked, laughing all the while Mit-chan made whimpering noises behind me.
"Let me get it – er, it could take me a moment or two – uh! Yuki! Have Tohru-chan put on some tea or something while they wait!" he ordered as Shigure vanished into his bedroom/office. I felt no desire to follow after him and neither did my parents, despite how they were shoved back into Yuki's company. The gray-haired youth sighed. He was now standing beside me, his arms calmly resting by his side.
He didn't seem to appreciate the responsibility.
"I'm sure Tohru already has tea ready for the afternoon, please follow me." Claimed Yuki, we nodded and padded after him.
Tohru was definitely not what we were expecting. Not only was Tohru a masculine name, but she was very demure and…a bit too cheery for a housekeeper. As Yuki had said, she did indeed have tea ready and upon seeing us, she happily obliged in providing more cups.
"Hello! I didn't know we were having guests today!" she cheered, Yuki smiled softly.
"I didn't either, Okamura-san must have called in back-up." He joked lightly. Mom, Dad, and I felt relieved when the atmosphere seemed to lift, it must have been Tohru's doing. We were invited to sit at the large kotatsu in the room and were waited on by Tohru. She didn't seat herself until we were all served to our satisfaction (even Mit-chan, whom seemed to be comforted by Tohru's hospitality).
"Pardon me saying, but you said your name is Tsuyu right?" Tohru asked, I nodded after taking a sip of tea, it was delicious. My surprise at the marvelous taste must have been noticed by Yuki (who was sitting beside me).
"Tohru is an excellent cook," he complimented, Tohru blushed and stumbled over her words.
"I-I'm not that good," she said modestly, but her bright eyes landed on me again, "I don't believe I saw you before at school, where do you attend if you don't mind me asking?"
"Ouran," I said, Yuki nodded and Tohru's eyes widened.
"Wow! I could never hope to be in there! Is it any different than a regular school?" she asked, apparently very curious.
"What school to you attend?" I asked.
"Kaibara," she answered, I nodded.
"Very different, everyone is…rather eccentric over there." I replied, trying not to discriminate rich people as I knew the Sohmas had an entire estate to call their own. I didn't know Shigure, Yuki, or the other boy well, but I didn't want to offend them.
"I can understand that," said Yuki, his eyes never leaving the contents of his own cup, he seemed to be in deep thought.
There were some heavy footfalls and a few seconds later Shigure came tumbling in, manuscript in hand.
"Found it!" he exclaimed, Mitsuru nearly burst into tears again when she took it from him.
"Ah-thank you Shigure-san!" she replied, hugging the manuscript to her chest. Mission completed, now it was time to leave.
"Will you at least leave after having tea, we don't get many guests." Shigure asked, Mom and I were eager to get back on the road, but Dad didn't seem to have a problem. Mitsuru definitely had a problem.
"I would but, well, bye!" she found her way to the front of the house with absolutely no problem, she didn't even give the rest of us a chance to say farewell.
"Ah, always in a rush, that Mit-chan." Shigure said with a sigh, but took her unoccupied seat without shame.
"New cup please Tohru-chan," he requested, Tohru hopped up and replaced Mitsuru's abandoned cup with a new one. Yuki was frowning into his tea, obviously annoyed with Shigure's bossiness.
"So you are heading to Kyoto for the weekend hm? For the business convention I've been hearing about?" Shigure asked, not revealing he wouldn't have known about it if Hatori hadn't informed him about his brief absence from the Sohma Estate to attend it.
"We are, we're hoping to gain a couple more clients." Dad confessed, Shigure nodded in understanding.
"Surely that would be too boring for you Yu-chan-" my hair bristled, Yuki cast me a sympathetic look, "whatever are you going to a convention like that for?"
"I'm only attending the gathering the day after, otherwise I'll be roaming about Kyoto. I'm really interested in their historical sites there." I said.
"They're very inspiring, I hope you'll take advantage of your parents' business and write a few books! It is so difficult to publish one without connections," Shigure sighed and I felt a twinge of irritation.
"Maybe I will," I managed to say.
We never saw the orange-haired boy (Tohru said his name is Kyo) again that day, nor will I see him again or Tohru for that matter until they married. The dark vibe I felt within the Sohma house disappeared after we drove out of the surrounding property and made our way to the highway. The goose bumps I had while there settled back into my skin and the drive from there to the house that would pet-sit Gibbous was a short one.
I would never know of Kazuya Hatanaka's new stepson, as he wouldn't marry again until the following spring.
Yet Shuuichi (his young son) was very pleased to see Gibbous.
"Afternoon Kazuya," Dad greeted, he and I left Mom in the car as we made our way to the front door of a very modern, one-story house in a more urban location than the Sohma's.
The man named Kazuya appeared similar to mine in appearance. Of average height and thin build, but with broad shoulders and a kind face, Kazuya returned the greeting with warmth.
"It has been a long time Shinn, would you like to come in for a bit?" he asked as his son squeezed through the door to step outside. His face instantly lit up at the sight of my fish.
"We would love to, but we had a bit of a delay earlier and we have to move on unfortunately." Said Dad, Kazuya nodded with understanding.
"All right then, we won't keep you long. Hello Tsuyu," his gaze landed on me and smiled in return.
"Hello Hatanaka-san, he isn't much work I promise." I tried to joke.
"She looks so cool!" he said as I handed him the tank, Gibbous bubbled.
"Actually, Gibbous is a he." I replied, Shuuichi looked at me as if I just told him to dress up in princess gowns.
"No way!"
"Yep, male betas are very colorful." I replied, taking the chance to educate him in stride. He still didn't believe me after we left, even when I kept saying "he will need to be fed three to four bits twice a day" and "he will need to be kept out of the sunlight."
"Have fun!" Kazuya shouted as we turned to leave.
Finally back in the car and on our way to Kyoto I couldn't help but wonder how the Host Club was doing. They were supposed to leave by now (via plane, limo, jet, submarine, etc).
It was then I got a text message, well, not just one.
"MIS U!"
"Enjoy ur quiet time"
"…there are a lot of nice dojos in Kyoto…"
"EAT LOTS OF HOT CAKES!"
"You have…"
"…seven days to live…lol"
I rolled my eyes at the last two from the twins, even though I was fully Japanese I did not enjoy horror films, thankfully I did understand the reference.
It was a couple minutes later that I got another I wasn't expecting and I was earlier disappointed I didn't get one.
"I rationalized you would need a moment or two after that text onslaught, enjoy your time in Kyoto."
My heart soared and what was even better, Kyouya and I texted all the way to Kyoto, granted there were long pauses between each, but it would seem the entire club (excluding Haruhi and Mori) was competing to see who could text me the most.
A/N: Omg people! TWO crossovers! And I haven't written in the Fruits Basket universe in SOOOOO long! It was so exciting! Anyway, the other crossover will probably take a bit of research if you are not a hardcore fan of the series like me. But anyway, I think it goes to show how far I've fallen for my own pairing when I'm all fangirl-y for KyouyaXTsuyu! I'm trying to decide how much of the Host Club I want to write about in the next chapter...it is the episode that Haruhi gets all brave and tries to save some girls (including Momoka) from non-wealthy boys. I'm sure I can have some fun with Hikaru and Koaru texting poor Yu-chan about Tamaki and Haruhi's "intimate" relationship lol.
Friendship is more important to me than romance, but it is a win-win situation because you should be the bestest of friends with the one you sincerely love. Think you guys can give me some of your favorite fluff scenarios? Maybe even cast me a few ideas for Kyouya and Tsuyu?
And the drama will soon be coming to light. Muhahaha!