A red-haired boy stood in a dark room, enshrouded by the shadows. A cell-phone rang, and he picked it up without bothering to check and see who was calling him.
"The company will be handed over you by next Monday, sir," said a man's voice from the other line. A small smile crept up on the boy's face, and feeling satisfied, he replied:
"Good work, " he hung up, and smirked to himself.
"Soon...it'll be all mine," he whispered. Even though the room was completely silent, his voice was barely audible. The red-haired teen was unaware, however, that he wasn't alone. In a dark corner of the room, completely veiled by shadows, a tall figure had seen and heard everything. Erai sauntered out of the room, and the boy hidden in the shadows waited a few moments after he had left before stepping out into the light.
"Don't be so sure, Yukimura," a calm voice said. The boy pulled out his own phone, and made his own phone call.
I was so happy that I didn't have any classes with Erai. Strangely, no one seemed to know that he transferred. Maybe he skipped today or something. I'm pretty sure I would've punched somebody or broken something if that jerk ended up in one of my classes. I'm usually a very tolerant person; I put up with the Host club and all their crazy antics. But, when it comes to people who I genuinely hate, I find it hard to control myself. He took my best friend. I spaced out from the math lesson, Arashi openly snoring next to me. The teacher ignored him, or...I don't think he heard him. The girls in our class were gazing dreamily at Arashi, probably thinking about how attractive he looked even when he slept. His floppy, caramel hair shadowed his closed-shut eyes, and he appeared to have flawless skin. He was definitely the more attractive twin out of the two of us. I still got pimples from time to time because of all the junk food I eat(but it's totally worth it). I noticed one of the girls had strawberry blonde hair, and she was wearing it in a braid. She reminded me of her. Sighing, I turned away so that I wouldn't be awkwardly staring at her.
Leaning my cheek on my hand, I absently stared at the chalkboard filled with numbers that resembled some language of the aliens, and spaced out.
Flashback...
"Hey Arisa! Let's pull a prank on one of the boys!" Wrapping my arm around the girl, I gave my friend a huge grin. She only sighed while shaking her head. She wore her strawberry blonde hair in a braided crown as usual, and her clothes were wrinkle-free.
"What chemical reaction do you want to use this time?" She asked in a flat voice. I grinned mischievously before whispering my plan into her ear. She always smelled like vanilla and mint. She stifled her laughter by biting down on her lower lip.
"Can do. This is why I love science," I beamed at her when she agreed.
"You're doing it because you love me, right? Because I'm your bestest friend ever, right?" I poked her arms to see if she would get annoyed. She only rolled her icy-eyes, and playfully punched me on the arm.
"No, I totally hate you." I gasped in feign shock, and pretended to burst into tears,
"I thought we were friends! How could you betray me like that? I thought you cared!" I continued to pretend to sob, while Arisa patted my head in mock comfort.
The shrill bell echoed across the school, indicating that class was dismissed, and snapping me back to reality. I slapped Arashi's shoulder with the back of my hand, and he jerked up.
"I didn't do it!" He said. His eyelids were narrowed, and he seemed to be having a hard time keeping them open. I arched an eyebrow at him.
"Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty," I stood up and started packing up my things, and Arashi did the same. He was still in a daze since sleep hadn't worn off of him yet.
After I had returned to the Host club yesterday, to my surprise, no one said anything. I'm assuming Kyoya told them not to question me since I didn't want to talk about it, but the members all averted eye-contact with me and looked as if they pitied me. When I got home, I received similar treatment from my brothers. Well, Osamu acted as if nothing happened, but he did seem a bit distracted when I got home.
"Did you space out during class?" A familiar voice said from behind me. Without having to turn my head, I already knew who it was.
"Hey Kyo," I said as I gathered my belongings in my arms. Tamaki skipped in front of me, with a huge grin on his face.
"We're gonna discuss what our next theme should be at lunch!" He said.
"Alright! We haven't dressed up in a while, so we should make it good!" I beamed at him.
"But of course!" Arashi only yawned, clearly being disinterested in our conversation. Standing up, he walked away without even saying hello to Tamaki or glancing his way.
"Arashi hates me!" Tamaki burst out into tears as he buried his face into Kyoya's shoulder. I laughed, seeing the annoyed expression on Kyoya's face.
"Get off of me, idiot," Kyoya pushed off the emotional blonde from his shoulder, and after brushing himself off he walked away which further distressed Tamaki.
"No! Not you too Kyoya!"
"Don't worry," I slung my arm over Tamaki's shoulders.
"At least Haruhi still likes you~" I whispered so that only he could hear. Tamaki started to blush violently as he stuttered nonsense.
"B-but...ggah! I-I-" Laughing, I shoved my hands into my pockets as I jogged to catch up with Kyoya, who seemed a bit distracted. I decided not to say anything about it, I'm sure he's just busy calculating the club's expenses in that complex brain of his.
During lunch, it was decided that the next theme would be my idea! I suggested that the theme should be Steam punk, and everyone was okay with going with it. Tamaki called me his "brilliant apprentice." I'm glad none of the Hosts tried talking about Erai with me, I'd rather not think about him as much as possible; I appreciated that everyone still treated me the same. I didn't see any of my brothers during lunch and Kyoya left early. I decided not to think to much of it, but I could tell that Arashi was getting suspicious.
After school, the Host club carried on its activities as normal, but I couldn't help but feel that something was off about Kyoya. He wasn't typing anything into that laptop of his, and he wasn't scribbling any notes into that black notebook of his either. Haruhi and Arashi also seemed to notice, but, like me, they were too busy hosting to approach him.
"Akari senpai, you seem distracted," said one of my customers.
"Sorry! I was thinking about ice cream!" I gave them a big smile, and they all started giggling.
We talked about ice cream until the club closed, and the girls apparently never had "commoner" ice cream, the type that an ice cream truck would sell. I explained to them to the best of my ability the concept of ice cream being covered in plastic wrappings, and packaged in boxes. But of course, these girls of luxury couldn't wrap their heads around such an "absurd" idea.
The Host club closed, and just as I was about to approach the club's accountant, he called me over.
"Wassup? Having a rough day?" I asked as I gave him a smile. He adjusted his glasses, while wearing a grim expression on his face. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but then he looked away. My smile fell.
"What's the problem?" I tensed up, and I noticed Arashi do the same from the corner of my eye. After several moments of silence, Kyoya finally spoke up in a calm, even voice.
"Erai has left Japan, and he has stolen critical documents from your father's company. Erai and his father's business has gone bankrupt; it's safe to infer that out of desperation, Erai hired some men to steal the documents that would allow him to take over the Hamasaki Electronics business. My theory is that Erai hired some hackers to do the dirty work for him, and after obtaining the desired documents he fled with his father. I have my private police force searching for all of them, but if we don't find Erai before Monday, then your father's company will be his. I'm sorry." Silence loomed over the room, no one said anything. The other hosts looked away from me, averting eye contact. The twins were the first to break the tense, hushed atmosphere by clearing their throats.
"Well, you have every right to hate him," said Hikaru and Kaoru.
"That horrible man! Don't worry Akari, we'll catch him and then he will have to answer to the wrath of the Host club!" Tamaki said loudly and passionately.
"We'll teach him a lesson once we catch him, so don't worry, kay?" Even though Honey senpai was smiling, an evil glint in his eye sent shivers down my spine. Mori senpai only grunted to agree with him.
"Everything will be alright Akari-senpai," Haruhi gazed at me with concern swimming in her big, brown eyes, and I felt a little reassured just by seeing that I had everyone's support. Taking in a shaky breath and sighing, I gave them all a small smile before turning back towards Kyoya.
"How long have you known,"my voice was steady.
"Since this morning. I heard Erai making a suspicious phone call, and I decided to investigate. Unfortunately, by the time I took action it was to late. I believe Erai at the moment is heading towards Brazil on one of your family's private jets." My eyes widened.
"Did you say private jet?" Kyoya rose his eyebrows.
"Yes, why?"
"All of our jets have tracking devices, but I don't know if they're still active," Kyoya nodded.
"I see. I'll inform your father about this," I sighed while running my fingers through my hair, almost at the exact same time Arashi did.
"Where's Haku and Osamu?" I asked Kyoya.
"With your father," I glanced over to Arashi to see that he was staring off into the distance, and his facial features were contorted with anxiety and...betrayal. The fact that his childhood friend attempted to steal our company and render us penniless was a shock to him. I bet Haku and Osamu are enraged, but Arashi probably is hurting more than I can see. Although his face only reveals a portion of his true emotions, I can tell that a storm of pain, rage, hurt, and confusion is brewing inside.
His usually clear, honey eyes are muddled and almost seem opaque. His moppy mess of hair falls into his eyes, and casts a dark shadow across his facial features. And yet, Arashi stands completely still, and to outsiders he would've only seemed slightly irritated. If Arashi can't control himself, I'm not sure what he will do. I calmly walked over to him while placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Arashi," he didn't respond or look at me. I noticed his hands clenched into tight fists.
"Arashi, calm down," I said in a soft voice.
"You were right about him," he whispered. I flinched, and then didn't say anything. Arashi walked out of the room, his quiet footsteps echoing across the grand school.
To be continued...