A/N
Okay, I know, I know. I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN MONTHS! I'M SO SORRY! D: *sit's in Tamaki's corner* Okay, so seriously I have no excuse other than things in my personal life and that my muse went on a long, happy vacation to the Bahamas and DIDN'T INVITE MEEE~ *grows mushrooms* so, yes, back with a new chapter! I was reading back over my story and realized something very important; Ranka isn't in it! Well, fixing that with this chapter ^.^ Also more Nekozowa and Kasanoda friendship! Read and review!
Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC but I do own my OCs :)
~The Thorn of a Rose~
Chapter 9
I dragged the bow across the strings of the violin. Melodic notes tumbled out of it into a scale. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on hitting the correct notes. Suddenly, Kyouya's smirking face appeared in my mind, and the violin screeched as I hit a wrong note. Sighing, I put the instrument down and touched my lips for what had to be the millionth time that day.
Images flashed through my mind, of Kyouya kissing me. Why did he do that? Did he actually like me like that? But, why? The twins had filled me in on everyones' family story, so I knew everything about the pressure of being the third son. Shouldn't he go for someone with purer blood? I was nothing but an American commoner. My mother and father came from Japan to Maine some years before I was born. My dad then died 2 years after my brother AJ was born. He died in a car accident.
A knock on the door startled me out my swirling thoughts. My breath hitching in my throat, I opened the door to find Haruhi. I breathed out, out of relief or disappointment I didn't know. "Hey, Haruhi."
"Hi, Emiko. Is everything alright?"
"Huh?"
"I was listening to you practice. Is something wrong?" Her chocolate-brown eyes looked at me questioningly, and I could tell that she cared about my answer.
I sighed. "I just have a lot of things on my mind right now."
"Would you like to come and have lunch?"
I set my violin down. "Sure. I don't think I'll get much more practicing in, anyway." I followed her out of my apartment and into hers. We idly chatted while making lunch.
Once we sat down to eat, Haruhi looked at me. "Does your distractions have to do with Kyouya?"
My chopsticks clattered against my bowl. "Wha-what?"
She chuckled. "I'm not blind. I know that you like him."
I looked down at my bowl. "I-I don't know..."
She didn't answer, because at that moment the door opened and a woman walked in. "HARUHI! DADDY'S HOME~!" She/He sang. She/he blinked seeing me, before squealing and grabbing Haruhi. "OH HARUHI~! YOU HAVE A GIRL FRIEND OVER~!" He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically. "I'm Ranka, dear~! So glad to see that Haruhi has a girl friend to make her start weraing more girly stuff!" He giggled.
I blinked, still confused by everything. "Uh, pleased to meet you, Ranka-san. I'm Emiko Kobayashi. I'm your neighbor..."
"OH! That sweet violinist from America! Tell me dear, what sort of fashions do they have there?" He beamed at me.
"Daaaad," Haruhi groaned from behind us.
I shook my head. "It's fine, Haruhi. I should probably go. There are some things I want to do." I stood up and waved to the two of them. "Thanks for lunch, and it was nice meeting you, Ranka-san!" I walked out of the apartment, and headed down the steps.
I'm not blind. I know you like him.
Is it...true? Do I like Kyouya? My heart suddenly leaped out of my chest when I saw a guy with glasses and dark hair passing me, even though it wasn't Kyouya. I closed my eyes. I'm doomed...
What about Mark?
My eyes snapped open at the unwanted thought. Where had that come from? To hell with Mark! He can't rule my life anymore! I came here to be free of him, not to waste time worrying about him!
I walked down the street towards the supermarket. I had almost reached it when I noticed a head of blonde hair and bright blue eyes. I paused, and saw a small girl of about six crying her eyes out on the sidewalk. I hadn't seen anyone with blonde hair and blue eyes since I left America.
Except for Tamaki...
I crouched down beside the girl. "Hey. Are you lost?"
The girl looked up at me. "I was searching for Big Brother, but I don't know where he is!"
I bit my lip. "Does your brother have blonde hair and blue eyes, like you?"
She nods vigourously. "Yes! Have you seen him? He's a prince!"
I took a deep breath. Yeah, okay, description fits Tamaki. So...Tamaki has a sibling...?
"What's his name?"
"Big Brother!"
...Okay that helped. I looked around, but barely anyone spared us a glance. Sighing, I took out my cellphone and scrolled through the address book searching for Tamaki's number. I paused at Kyouya's number. The twins had added everyone to my phone, with pictures included. Kyouya's was him sitting at a table, on his laptop. Big surprise.
I studied the picture. He looked tired, overworked. Poor thing. Maybe if he slept a little more, or even ate!
The little girl tugged my shirt, yanking me out of my musings. "Have you seen him?"
"What's your name?"
"Kirimi!"
"...Creamy?"
She laughed. "No, silly! Ki-ri-mi!"
"Oh," I said, feeling foolish.
Before I could say anything else, a limo pulled up to the curb. A woman with dark hair in pigtails and a bald man stepped out. "Kirimi!" The woman took Kirimi's hand. She looked at me. "Please step into the car so the master may talk to you."
I was about to refuse, but the bald man guy kinda looked threatening, so I decided to comply. Besides, it was just Tamaki...right?
Nervously, I slid into the car, with the woman sliding in after me, closing the door. Kirimi and the bald man I heard get into the front of the limo.
The back of the limo was pitch dark. "Umm..." I said nervously.
A candle suddenly appeared, with Nekozawa's grinning face. I jumped and yelled, but relaxed when I saw it was him. "Nekozawa-senpai! Don't scare me like that!" I scolded.
"Fufufufu~ Please accept my apologizes, Kobayashi-san. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Wait...I'm confused. Are you..."
"Yes, Kirimi and Umehito are indeed siblings. It's tragic! Kirimi is afraid of the dark, and Umehito, the light..." The maid went off into a huge rant about how they could never be together, they're the Romeo and Juliet type of story...
"But I thought Romeo and Juliet were lovers..." I murmured.
The maid's eyes suddenly turned frightening. "Don't interrupt!" she spat, and I cringed backwards into my seat.
"I thank you for helping out my little sister," Nekozawa said, waving Belzeneff around in the air. "When she went missing, I volunteered to look for her, although I am cursed and cannot step out into the light!" He went off into his tyrant about doing occulty stuff to get her to embrace the darkness.
I shook my head and put up a hand. "Hold on. Look at the facts. You can't go into the sunlight, Kirimi hates the darkness. She also hates your black cloak and stuff. So...try to find a happy medium. You know, compromise."
"Compromise...?"
"Yeah, try to find somewhere where middle grounds meet. And work with Kirimi to try to at least alleviate her fear of the dark somewhat. I'm sure that things will turn out for the better," I said cheerfully.
"I will indeed try this. Thank you once again for finding my sister~ See you at school, Kobayashi-san~"
I waved to him, and let myself out of the car after Nekozawa retreated to a dark corner. The limo sped off, with me covering my eyes, adjusting them to the sun's rays.
I looked after the limo, and smiled a bit before heading to the supermarket to do some shopping.
~..*..~
As I was making supper, the phone rang. Seeing it was Lia, I immediately picked it up. "Hey!"
"Hey hey hey! How ya doing?" the cheerful voice of my band geek buddy rang through the phone.
"...Moral dilemma."
"Spill before I set my evil yellow banana-like minions on you."
I paused. "Despicable Me?"
"Hey, I'm babysitting eight and nine year olds!"
"Excuses, excuses." I laughed.
"Anyway..." Lia said impatiently.
I paused again. "Well...you know about Kyouya..."
"Sheesh, the way you were talking about him the other day? Holy crush-a-moly!"
"...Is it that obvious?"
I could picture her rolling her eyes. "Der! The way you were talking about him all affectionately?" She imitated retching sounds.
"What about James?" I teased.
5 bucks she was blushing. Or, 500 yen...whatever. "That's different."
"Mhm. Anyway...he kinda...kissed me today?"
"...HOLY FLYING SQUIRRELS! Are you serious? Was it all romantic? Did he, like, just kiss you, or was he flirting first? Or did he just pull a Sean and-"
"BANANAS!"
Silence.
"Thank you. And...he was flirting with me, big-time. It was also because I was kind of threatening to leave Ouran..."
"What? Why?"
I explained the whole Lobelia incident, and at the end she was basically drowning from tears from laughing so hard. "HAHAHAHA they dressed up like girls and HAHAHAHAHAHA! I NEED TO MEET THESE PEOPLE BWAHAHAHAHA!" It was some time before I could get her to make intelligent conversation again.
"So...I think I really like him..."
"Good! You need this, after Mark!"
"...Well..." I hesitated. "Lia, is it weird that even after everything that we've been through, I still...kinda miss him?" I felt revolted saying those words aloud. They sounded so...wrong! Missing Mark? That abusive jerk!
But yet...
Lia was quiet for a bit. "Well... Emiko, if you truly loved someone, that love will never die. You don't miss Mark; you missed the Mark that he first showed you, the funny and sweet person that made you fall for him. You don't miss the abusive side of him. It makes sense...I'm so sorry that you had to go through this, Emi."
"What I feel for Kyouya...It's similar in some ways to what I felt for Mark at first. I just want to forget Mark ever happened and move on with my life!"
"You can't ever forget him, Emiko. You just have to accept it and move on with your life."
This conversation was getting a little too heavy for my taste. "When did you get all wise?" I teased.
She laughed. "Ousch, I'sh shlain!" We both collapsed with laughter.
"You's mah fraaaaaand!" I gasped out, and we both died of laughter again. We spent the next 5 minutes continuing to say phrases from Rudolph's Shiny New Year. I went over to her house on New Years Eve, and because she had a 5 year old sister, and a 3 year old brother, we watched it. Lia and I spent months making fun of it after.
We ended our conversation a little bit afterwards, and I fell asleep, feeling content, until I remembered that I had school tomorrow.
And tomorrow I would see Kyouya...
~..*..~
The next day I walked to school with Haruhi, chatting. We had just reached school, when we noticed a tall guy standing outside. Grinning, I skipped up to him. "Hey, Kasanoda!"
He looked down at me, blushing a little. "Good morning Kobayashi-san!" he yelled.
"How are you today? Hey, how's that sparrow that you helped?"
"It's good! The vet said that the wing should heal and it should be okay to fly again."
I grin. "That's great!" I introduced Haruhi to Kasanoda, and we chatted for a little bit, before we went our separate ways to our classes.
On our to class, Haruhi and I talked about minor things. "You're coming to the Club this afternoon, right?" Haruhi asked.
I hesitated, and Kyouya's face flashed into my mind. As cowardly as it sounded, I was too shy to face him. Where did he and I stand? "Umm..."
"Please Emiko? Don't let me stay with all of them, I need you for my point of sanity."
I gave a weak laugh. "Alright. Yeah, I'll come." Yay...
~..*..~
After escaping from Orchestra Club, (Raiden took forever to end the conversation, what was up with him?) I made my way to the Host Club. As I pushed open the door, I heard Kasanoda yelling, "I'd like to request Emiko Kobayashi-san!"
What…?
Everyone froze, and looked at where I had just entered the room. Kasanoda was cringing, like he would get yelled at for his choice. I walked into the room, but before I could say anything, Kyouya said, "Of course she would be happy to. Right, Kobayashi-san?" He sent me a fake smile, and a look that clearly said, Don't try to wriggle out of this.
I ignored him and smiled at Kasanoda. "Alright. Let me just put my stuff down and I'll be with you in a moment." I walked into the changing room, and took a deep breath. Stupid money-grubbing miser. I had no idea how to be a host! I took another deep breath, trying to calm myself and my emotions at seeing Kyouya again. Calm down. Focus. You've seen Haruhi and the others do this a million times. Besides, it's Kasanoda. He's a friend. Just be yourself. I set my violin case down, and my bookbag. I went back outside, and walked over to the couch where Kasanoda was sitting. Haruhi handed me a coffeepot and a sympathetic smile, and I managed a weak one back.
I walked over and sat down. "Hey, Kasanoda! I normally don't entertain guests, so this is as new to me as it is to you! How are you today?" I made small conversation with him, as I poured the instant coffee.
He was sweating, as if there was something troubling him, and I wondered what it could be. Was he nervous about something? But what was there to be nervous about? Trying to set his fears at ease, I chatted about anything that came to mind.
When I noticed that our time was at an end, I thanked Kasanoda for the visit, and he left. I cast a small glare at Kyouya, which he didn't notice because he was typing away at his laptop. My heart leaped at the sight of him doing something so familiar...so...Kyouya. I looked away, and went to the adjoining room to grab the guitar. Walking out, I strummed gently away as the guests were finishing up and leaving.
Hunni bounded over. "Play something, Emi-chan!" he beamed.
I hesitated, but the twins came over too. "Pleeeeease?" they begged in sync.
I sighed. "Fine." I mentally went through some of the songs I knew on guitar, before deciding on one that I had sang at a summer camp I went to, for the camp's version of their own woodstock.
"And when you cry, be sure to dry your eyes
Cause better days are sure to come
And when you smile, be sure to smile wide
Don't let them know that they have won
And when you walk, walk with pride
Don't show the hurt inside
Because the pain will soon be gone"
I allowed myself a smile as I plunged into the chorus.
"And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
Because when you dream it might come true
And when you dream, dream big.
And when you laugh, be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry, all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty
All around and in yourself
And it will help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength, to help you carry on
For when the troubles come your way."
I quickly glanced up at the host club, to see their grinning faces. I quickly glanced at Kyouya, and noticed him listening with a rapt look of attention on his face, as well as a hint of a soft smile. Blushing I quickly looked down at the guitar again.
"And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
Cause when you dream it might come true
And when you dream, dream big."
I hummed a little as I played the guitar solo.
"And when you laugh, be sure to laugh out loud
Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty
All around and in yourself
And it will help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on, for when the troubles come your way
And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
Cause when you dream it might come true
And when you dream, dream big."
I finished the last chords of the song, and I looked up. Tamaki grabbed me spinning me around in a hug. "IMOTO-CHAN THAT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFULEST THING IN THE WORLD YOUR SO TALENTED ONII-SAN IS SO PROUD OF YOU~!"
"Tamaki! Squished! Can't breathe! Guitar!" I gasped out, and Tamaki finally let go of me. I winced, feeling where the guitar had imprinted into my side from his murderous hug.
Hunni bounded up to me and climbed onto my shoulders. He was surprisingly light, considering all the sweets he ate on a regular basis. "That was so pretty, Emi-chan!" he grinned.
"Yeah!" the twins said. "You should sing songs like that more often!" Mori nodded in agreement.
I laughed. "Thanks, you guys. That means a lot to me." I tried not to look at a certain bespectabled boy, trying to ignore the flip-flopping feeling in my stomach. I'm hopeless...
The hosts started to leave, and I slowly helped Haruhi clean up after the day. Eventually, she left too. I slowly picked the guitar up, putting it back on the rack. I picked up my violin case and bookbag, and walked out of the room. It was empty – except for one person.
I quickly started walking towards the doors, and the click! clacking! of keys stopped. "Leaving without saying goodbye? How rude," a familiar voice drawled.
I hesitated. "Goodbye, Kyouya." I tried to leave, but he stood up and blocked my way, raising an eyebrow.
"Is there something wrong, Emiko?"
I blushed, trying not to meet his gaze. "No, nothing."
I could just imagine him smirking. "Then why are blushing and avoiding looking at me?"
I snapped my head up. "I am not!" I immediately regretted looking at him. I immediately got lost in his eyes, his beautiful onyx eyes... My heart thumped erratically.
He chuckled, and reached out a hand, stroking my cheek. He leaned in to whisper in my ear, "Of course not."
I tried to make sense in my muddled brain. "Where – where do I stand with you?" I felt him pause, as if he was unsure of what I was asking. "What do you feel for me?" I amended. Please don't let him say something that I don't want to hear...
He drew back to look at me, and I was surprised to see dark amusement in his eyes. "Is that why you're acting strange?" I blushed, and he chuckled again. "Well...let's see. Your facial expressions, the way you randomly laugh at memories... I found myself fascinated by you from the beginning. Also, you're strong. You've been through so much, but yet... you try not to be affected too much by it. You still live your life, despite what happened to you in past. I like that." He chuckled, and I felt a glimmer of hope as to where this was leading. "You are also heartbreakingly beautiful," he murmured, and I felt surprised. Me...beautiful? I always thought I was plain looking...not like a lot of girls in America and here at Ouran... I blushed, feeling flattered.
He tilted my chin to make me look at him. His eyes shone with some hidden emotion, and I felt myself trembling...this was it...please please don't blow me off...
"Emiko..." he said, trailing off, before smiling at me. Yes, smiling. It was a real smile, not a sadistic smirk, or a fake smile. It transformed his whole face, making him even more handsome than he already was, if that possible in my opinion. "Emiko...I love you."
In that instant, I felt all of my breath leave me. I felt as light as a feather, and like I could float away on the smallest drift of wind. I grinned, feeling a swell of happiness course through me. Kyouya...was in love with me! With me! And I knew in that instance, that I loved him back.
"Kyouya..." I whispered, but leaned up and kissed him softly, pouring my unsaid emotions into it. He understood what I was trying to tell him, responding to the kiss and snaking an arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
I was...complete.
A/N
There, 7 pages! I hope that makes up for my absence!
….Yeah guess not.
...I'm really sorry about that... *hides in corner*
So, yes! (Insert sing-song voice here) ~Guess whose coming into the story sooon~ (evil chuckle) muhahahahaha! Soo... I realize I'm not really following the story timeline anymore, but OH WELL! Well, not really. Maybe I'll do another episode before having Mark come back into the story...or two...depends on what all of you want!
And I am truly sorry about the delay :/ Forgive me?
Review and you get one of those yellow banana-like minions from Despicable Me! :D
By the by, the song that was used was Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. I wholeheartedly suggest checking it out!
Until next time...