Hikaru opened the door to his penthouse after spending an extra two hours away, trying to stall the inevitable, and was greeted with Aoi sitting in a chair and asking immediately with an expectant smile, "So, how'd it go?"
He raised a brow. Why did she think he would get along with a bunch of commoners? Hikaru closed the door behind him, and then smiled so wide it hurt. "OMG! It was fantastic! We're, like, BFFs now! Crazy, right?" he gushed, Aoi frowning.
"A simple 'not well' would suffice." She sighed, standing up. "At least tell me you're willing to get to know him more."
Hikaru dropped the act, and decided to look around the tiny kitchen to see if they had any snacks, preferably something spicy or with maple syrup. "Nope. We mutually agreed to never see each other again," he told her nonchalantly.
Aoi nearly had a conniption. "What?" She was stomping towards him, and Hikaru briefly wondered how she managed to do so in heels. He had located some spicy hard candy and a soda, and was now ready to crash onto his bed and watch stupid Youtube videos, because contrary to popular belief, that's how exciting he was during his down time. Aoi blocked his way, demanding, "Hikaru, what did you say? Is Kaoru mad at you now? What about his friends? Did you even talk to them?"
"Slow down, Business Lady," Hikaru soothed, although it did nothing to calm her, "We talked it out, and we both agree it would be within our best interests to pretend we never met. We can both go back to our daily lives, and it's not like we're missing out. I - we know we can handle not knowing each other for the rest of our lives." He brushed past a silent Aoi, throwing his candy and soda onto the large, plush bed, and then grabbing his laptop from his bedside table and following his food's example.
His personal assistant was quiet, too quiet, and after he had gotten comfortable and was waiting for the web page to load, he looked over at her, watching as she began to silently mull something over in her head. He smirked, thinking he was finally in the clear. Victory was sweet as he opened his soda, careful not to let it explode with fizz, and taking a satisfying sip. No more glitch in the system, he thought.
He didn't even notice Aoi pulling out her cell phone. "I'm calling and asking Kaoru."
Hikaru's head snapped up. "No."
"Oh, and why not?" She was taunting him now. Hikaru put his laptop back on the bedside table, soda next to it, and began walking over to her. "Could it be because you're lying?"
"I'm not lying; Kaoru will lie."
"That's also a lie. Oooh, look, I'm dialing the number!" Now she was just being childish. She knew she had more control in the situation, and she was enjoying it far too much.
Hikaru was equally childish, reaching out to try and grab the mobile, Aoi using one arm to try and push him away, and the other holding the phone as far away from him as possible. "Give me the damn phone!"
"I'm pressing call!"
"I said give me the goddamn phone!" He was reaching out wildly, trying his best to snatch it, but to no avail. Whenever he moved, Aoi moved as well, blocking him. "That stupid commoner will blow things out of proportion and make me look like a total jackass."
"You are a total jackass."
"…More so than usual. Give me the phone!" He began jumping when she began waving her cell phone in the air again, and she had to hop onto a kitchen counter to keep him from grabbing it.
"It's ringing," she taunted, holding it to her ear, Hikaru growling. "You look so- Oh hello, Kaoru. So, how did things go with Hikaru?" The ginger could only silently fume, knowing he was defeated. He began the walk of shame back to his bed, now intent on pouting and pretending to ignore the conversation while he settled back down to watch whatever video some idiots had posted of themselves doing something stupid and getting hurt.
"…That bad, huh? Oh, no, he's not here, don't worry about it." What was the commoner saying about him? Hikaru shot Aoi a glare, to which she stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, he's a real pain sometimes, but maybe you two should try again, except with less people, it might help. Say, a dinner with your parents at your house?"
Hikaru twitched as Aoi began going over the details with Kaoru. If he didn't like his friends, he most certainly wouldn't like his adopted family. What the hell was he supposed to say, anyway? "Oh hey, thanks for adopting the twin that I hate, lovely home you have here." He huffed, scrolling through the newest videos posted.
"And thank you so much for giving him a second chance, Kaoru. I promise he'll be on his best behavior." Was he a dog, now? Aoi hung up, getting off the counter and brushing imaginary dust from her skirt, telling Hikaru, as though he wasn't listening the entire time, "You'll be having dinner with Kaoru and his parents at their apartment Wednesday at six."
"Whatever." He knew now that she was on a mission; she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted. He might as well go through with the dinner, and hey, maybe he could get Kaoru's parents to agree with him, and that would be the end of that.
Aoi sighed once more, heading towards the door. "You're going to be on tour for two weeks after the next. You need to spend as much time as possible with Kaoru and his friends before you get even busier."
Hikaru listened to the door close shut. All his life, he had been alone. That was how he wanted it. He had seen friends and business partners betray his mother, other celebrities' marriages fall apart, scandalous affairs. In the world he grew up in, friends would get you nowhere. He figured he was doing himself a favor by cutting all ties to the rest of the world. Looking out for number one was working out just fine for him.
Hang on a minute. A video caught his attention, and he clicked on it, watching as the camera bobbed up and down in the sea of paparazzi, whoever was filming trying to get a better shot. A girl with brilliant red hair stepped through the crowd, large sunglasses covering her eyes. Ayanokoji, Hikaru thought, a pit forming in his stomach. She was an actress, and he had recently refused to do a song for her latest romance movie, stirring a few rumors over whether or not her popularity was fading. She must hate my guts.
"Ayanokoji! Is it true you're accusing Hikaru Hitachiin of underage drinking?" the camera holder asked when she passed by on the sidewalk. Shit.
She lowered her sunglasses, stating simply while looking directly at the camera, "I'm not accusing anyone. I'm simply stating the facts." Hikaru was unnerved by the coolness in her voice, and it didn't help that it felt like she was staring right at him, a malicious glint in her eyes. "I have several witnesses who can testify, and if Hikaru Hitachiin would like to do the responsible thing and admit his mistake, it's up to him. I, for one, don't want to sit around while the guilty look innocent."
Wait a minute; she wasn't invited to that dumb party. Hell, I don't think she was even in the country, how could she know?
"Are we done here?" a silky voice asked, as a young French woman with caramel hair and blue eyes appeared next to Ayanokoji in the shot. Hikaru's heart sank, and the pit in his stomach grew. Éclair smiled. "My friend and I were hoping to go home now after such a nice lunch." The bodyguards came in and blocked the camera, allowing the two girls to walk through to a limo, driving off.
The person filming turned the camera around so the audience could see his face, and the young man asked, the excitement in his voice hardly contained, "Is this the beginning of the end for Hikaru Hitachiin?"
Hikaru paused the video, looking at the smile on the guy's face. Why is he so happy? He'd never done anything to the guy, so why would he want to see him crash and burn? People loved Hikaru.
Didn't they?
And then he realized what that moment at the party with Éclair was. That was no warning; that was a challenge. She wanted a war. Already, she had allies lined up, and if total strangers wanted Hikaru publically disgraced, then no doubt she had plenty of people willing to help her bring him down. His entire lifestyle was being threatened. No doubt this video would go viral, and then it was just a matter of time before Éclair attacked once more.
He thought back to all the people he had been rude to, all the girls he led on, and all the paparazzi he had smart-mouthed. There were a lot. He had never been rude in public, but now that didn't matter. United, with Éclair leading them, they had a fighting chance. Hikaru, for the first time, was on the losing side.
He slammed the laptop shut and threw it to the side, not wanting it in his sight. He sat cross-legged, resting his head in his hands.
Hikaru Hitachiin was scared, and alone. No one was standing loyally at his side, or comforting him.
But isn't that what he wanted?
Monday morning, right after class started, Kaoru decided he gave second chances too quickly. He was a complete and utter push-over who believed people could change. Of course when Aoi called and said Hikaru should have dinner with him and his family he agreed, because he was a nice guy. Nice guys finish last. Kaoru was never going to win in this situation. It was kind of pathetic, really.
Haruhi poked him with a pencil, and he jolted out of his thoughts, realizing their teacher was going to go over something on a future test. He mouthed Haruhi a thank you, and she only smiled, continuing on with her notes. Kaoru decided now was the time to focus, and kept his mind completely on school up until lunch.
While Kaoru stood up, stretching, Haruhi turned to Anzu, who sat behind them, and asked, "Are you still busy with photography for the newspaper club during lunch?"
The girl blinked. "No. I finally get a break."
"You can sit with us, then," Kaoru chirped, smiling at her. Anzu nodded, and the three headed out into the hall towards the cafeteria. Anzu had only heard of the others, and he was excited that she was finally going to meet them.
Halfway towards the lunch line, Anzu tugged at Kaoru's sleeve and whispered, "Lock, I need to tell you something."
"Hm? Is it really important? Because we need to get in line before it gets too long."
Anzu bit her lip. Haruhi noticed the two trailing behind her, and she piped up, "I'll go and tell the others you two are buying." She always brought leftovers from home, and so she waved with one hand and headed off to the courtyard, towards their usual spot.
"Sorry, Anzu, you wanted to tell me something secret?" Kaoru asked, getting in line.
She thought for a moment, but told him, "No, it's probably nothing."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Because you know I'll keep it confidential."
"It's nothing."
"It sounded kind of urgent."
"Believe me, you'll find out soon enough."
"What's that supposed to – Hi, can I get…"
And we end on that cliff-hanger. :D
So what is Anzu's secret? What will become of Hikaru's career? What in the world is Kaoru's adoptive mom going to make for dinner?
All the answers (probably) and more, in the next installment of... Two Worlds, One Face.
Until next time, read and enjoy!