XXx Aya xXX
"Quick, quick…slow, quick, quick…slow..." Kanako drawls in rhythm to the music. "Good work Haruhi. Now on the slow you should bring your feet together. Remember, the gentleman always leads. And make sure to look at the lady you're dancing with."
"G-got it," Haruhi stammers.
I look up briefly from my third slice of pumpkin spice cake.
It's been four days since Tamaki announced Haruhi was to learn to dance, and she is still trying to learn the waltz.
She's not doing bad, but the progress is kinda slow. I feel or her, that's for sure. Didn't take to that damn dance either. It's just so, controlled and purposefully graceful.
So basically the opposite of me.
But that's beside the point.
The day after out little meeting, I was trying to teach Haruhi what little I already knew. But it turns out that they let in the girls without letting us know, and as soon as Kanako fund out about Haruhi's incapability to waltz, she kind of…forcibly relieved me of my duty.
A sudden thump has my head snapping up, and I almost drop my cup of tea on the plush carpet.
God she fell….on top of Kanako.
And here I thought the whole point of me stepping in to help her was so that a situation like this did not happen. But Haruhi manages to catch herself before she slams on top of Kanako. Thank god too, it would take a ton of explaining if she hadn't.
She stammers an apology, hauling herself and Kanako to their feet.
All looks ok, so I return to eating my cake, only to interrupted by a not so private conversation between Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki.
"Why so gloomy boss?" they ask in unison.
Tamaki is, as (what I've now deemed) usual, posed tragically in his emo corner. He has depressing shadows and everything that are confined specifically to that corner. I'm beginning to wonder of someone's installed a special lights up there.
"I bet it's because he wanted to be the one Haruhi practices with," Hikaru says with feigned nonchalance.
"I think you may be right," Kaoru responds, throwing an amused look at his twin. "But he's way too tall to stand in as a woman."
"Yeah at least Aya-senpai was shorter than Haruhi," Hikaru says with a muffled laugh.
"Ha ha ha..." I respond sarcastically. "You do know I'm right here don't you?"
"Aw, don't take it to personal senpai," Hikaru coos as he ruffles my hair.
"You're tall in your own way," Kaoru adds.
"I can be tall if I want to," I huff into my cake. "That's what heels are for."
"Then we'll make sure to pick out an impressive pair for the party!" they exclaim in unison.
"You're picking my outfit for this too?" I ask with a twinge of irritation. "I wasn't planning on wearing anything fancy."
"But it's a party senpai!" they protest. "You have to dress up!"
"Ok fine," I growl. "But I have some conditions. It can't be any shorter than mid-thigh or longer than floor length, no plunging necklines, no exposed stomach, no long sleeves, and no yellow."
"Fine," they sigh and take notes of my demands. "We can still do a lot even with these limitations."
"Don't worry Aya-chan," Mitsukuni says as he steps up beside me. "Even if they choose something you don't like, you can always bring something else to change into."
"Yeah," Mori adds.
"You wouldn't dare!" Hikaru and Kaoru exclaim in horror.
"Well," I say with a smirk. "I guess that's your incentive to pick out something good."
And with that I return to my cake and tea. Mitsukuni sits down next to me and I scoot over for him a bit. Mori takes a seat on a couch adjacent to us and begins to slice up more pieces of cake.
"Don't you think this party is gonna be awesome Aya-chan?" MItsukuni asks excitedly as Mori hands him a piece of the spice cake.
"Well If Tamaki keeps moping around then it might kill the mood," I reply, sticking another fork-full of cake into my mouth.
"You heard her Boss!" the twins yell. "Cheer up!"
Tamaki mumbles something incoherent, and slumps farther into his corner. The twins get this creepy smile, and proceed to mercilessly yank him out. They look like they're having entirely too much fun.
"C'mon, pull yourself together Boss!" they yell happily.
"Just don't break him," Kyoya calls from a nearby table. "We need him for the party."
Well, it's good to know he cares at least a little bit. And it's a good thing Kanako is the only other girl in here, or I'd probably be trampled by a hoard of fan girls trying to get a better look.
"Hello!" a male voice calls.
I glance up to see a guy standing in the doorway. He holds a large box in his hands, and steps forward somewhat cautiously.
"I'm here with the new teacups you ordered," he says.
"Ah, thank you very much," Kyoya says as he walks up to meet him, taking the suspicious notebook with him.
If only he'd set it down for a second, I'd love to see what's on it. Somehow I find it hard to believe that he only keeps spreadsheet s of their budget in there.
"Every item you've chosen for us has been extremely popular with the ladies," Kyoya says, flipping his notebook back open to jot something down. "I'm quite impressed."
Whoa…Kyoya, impressed? That's an accomplishment for the books all right.
"Well that's good to hear," the boy says with a smile that's soft and yet somewhat nervous.
"So, do you sell teacups?" Haruhi asks as she walks up to them.
"No, I'm just a regular student here," he says, passing the large box over to her. "Can't you tell by the uniform?"
Honestly, no I can't. Instead of the normal blue blazer that every boy in the high school seems to wear, this guy is wearing a yellow sweater vest. Is this the university uniform or…?
"Oh, Haruhi, you're so funny," Kanako suddenly giggles.
Well, it sounds way to loud and more like a weak attempt at flirting to me but, whatever. It just seems like she's trying too hard to sound like she has a genuine thing of Haruhi.
"I can't really blame you for not knowing," she continues in her know it all tone. "After all, he doesn't really look like the heir to a first class company."
Ouch. The boy's face falls at her comment, and he resembles a small kicked puppy. Kanako herself suddenly seems to realize how her comment must have sounded, because as soon as she looks him in the eye, her smile falters. She grimaces and quickly slips her gaze back to the floor.
"First class company?" Haruhi asks curiously, trying to resolve the tension.
"His family's business, the Suzushima Trading Company, deals primarily in the importing of tableware," Kyoya explains quickly. "They currently have the top market share in the country."
Haruhi quickly looks down at the box in her hands.
"Wow," she says quietly, probably wondering how valuable the stuff she's holding was.
"So whenever something exceptional comes in, we've asked him to send it our way," Kyoya continues. "He has a great eye for fine china. Don't you Suzushima?"
Suzushima, who's been staring at Kanako this whole time, seems to be knocked back to reality by that comment.
I don't blame him. Praise from the Shadow King is extremely hard to come by after all.
"You think?" he asks, suddenly all bashful. "I still have a lot to learn, but thank you though."
Well, at least he's modest.
"Aren't you leaving next month to study abroad in England?" Kyoya asks.
Kanako flinches slightly in her chair. Ah, so that's it. But if she likes this guy, why is she wasting time pretending to like Haruhi? Then it dawns on my and I almost smack myself square in the forehead. Relationships are so irritating.
"Yes, I am," Suzushima says. "Well, I better go now."
And with that he turns and shows himself out, leaving Kanako brooding over her teacup.
Tamaki finally takes this opportunity to get up out of his emo corner, and walks over to her.
"So are you enjoying the Host Club?" he asks.
She just nods as Haruhi walks up behind her, placing the box on the table.
"So I get the feeling you and that guy are kind of close," she says nonchalantly.
Though it was just an innocent observation, Kanako jumps a mile outta her seat at the comment.
"D-don't be ridiculous, we hardly know each other!" she squeaks. "What makes you say that Haruhi? Now if you'll please excuse me, take care."
And without waiting for an answer, she books it out of the club room.
XXx Honey xXX
"Haru-chan!" I yell while pouncing on her. "Guess what? They do know each other! Suzushima is Kasuga-chan's fiancée!"
"Kyoya," Tama-chan asks irritably as crosses his arms. "How long have you known about this?"
By this time we've all gathered around the table, waiting patiently for an explanation. And sure enough, Kyo-chan is flipping through his notebook.
"About the two of them being engaged?" he asks calmly.
We nod all. I jump off Haru-chan's back and stand between Takashi and Aya-chan again.
"Well as you know, I conduct general searches on all of our customers."
I feel Aya-chan stiffen beside me. I glance over at her and see her face has paled a considerable amount and her hands are trembling.
So her personal life in Paris is a touchy subject then.
"The two of them were childhood friends," Kyo-chan recites as he reads from his notebook. "It seems that their engagement was arranged by their parents. I didn't think the information would benefit us, so I disregarded it."
"I see," Tama-chan says as Kyo-chan flips a few pages.
"Tohru Suzushima," he reads. "Outstanding grades, fair social status. He's ordinary looking, but he's reliable. If it had to fault him for anything-"
"He doesn't have much presence," Hika-chan interrupts.
"And he's faint hearted!" Kao-chan adds.
"So in other words," Kyo-chan says. "He's boring."
"That's awful," I hear Aya-chan mutter to herself. "An arranged marriage."
"Alright everyone!" Tama-chan yells. "We'll have to work on our strategy."
"Which one?" we all ask.
"It is our responsibility, as members of the elite Ouran Host Club, to make every girl happy!" he declares.
"We're elite?" Aya-chan asks.
And her comment sends Tama-chan back into his corner again.
XXx Aya xXX
"It's so good to see you tonight my little lambs," Tamaki announces to the crowd in front of him while bowing deeply. "The Ouran Host Club would like to bid you, welcome."
The sea of bright dresses applauds as Kyoya signals for the giant orchestra to start up. A slight breeze floats into the room, carrying in a few cherry blossom petals from outside.
"As always ladies, the Host club members are here for your entertainment," Kyoya says. "So we invite you to dance to your heart's content.
Based on her dancing skills, one lucky young lady will be crowned tonight's queen," he explains. "The queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek, from our king."
How a kiss on the cheek can be called passionate is beyond me, so I just watch the girls swoon over Tamaki and retreat into a corner.
The twins certainly went all out for this party.
And the thing is, I really like the dress they picked for me. It was made of layers of black tulle, and went exactly to my mid-thigh in the front, but the train trailed down to my heels. The top was sleeveless, and laced up like a corset in the back.
The top and skirt had splashes of sparkly glitter material peeking through the layers of tulle, and surprisingly, they paired the dress with a pair of silver Doc Martens.
They placed my hair in a bunch of loose spiral curls and pined it in a voluminous half-up-half-down with Tahitian black pearl hairpins leftover from the mermaid costume. Tied together with some smoky shadow and soft pink lip, I think I looked pretty damn good if I may gush.
But this kind of party really isn't for me.
I watch the rest of the hosts fearlessly mingle into with the crowd to pick their first dance partners.
I grimace as I watch them vanish into the swirls of silk, lace, and velvet. After a few seconds I lose them all completely with the exception of Mori, who still towers over all the girls despite their heels.
Sighing heavily from my place on the balcony, I consider just ditching like I had first intended to. It's not like anyone would notice. Tamaki saw me here, so Haruhi will get her break on the debt.
As I'm about to give in, I spot the buffet table. Everyone's out trying to dance with their favorite host, leaving no line for the glorious spread.
My stomach growls so loudly I can hear it over the music. Well, Kyoya would notice if I snuck away, so I might as well just take advantage.
I slink down the grand staircase and make a beeline for the table, hoping they'll have something good.
Once standing in front of the table, I begin taking one of everything I see.
A slice of prime rib, a spoonful of mashed potatoes, a little pasta, some crab, a few cubes of cheese, a roll, some strawberries and cubes of cantaloupe, and some carrot sticks.
I've run out of room on my plate, so I find and empty table in a corner I kick back and watch the rest of the girls dance. I wonder how they feel, watching the guy like willingly dancing with hundreds of other girls.
How do they deal with it?
During the span of several songs I make five more trips to the table. But mostly because the strawberries are so just damn good.
As soon as I've cleared my plate again, I just sit back and watch the cherry blossoms blowing around outside. Maybe I should just go.
"May I have the next dance?"
I glance to my right to see Mitsukuni holding a hand out to me. He smiles brightly, his eyes willing me to say yes.
"I dunno," I sigh. "I'm not really good at dancing."
"Come on," he encourages before giving me a childish pout. "You danced with Haru-chan, so why won't you dance with me?"
"So you're resorting to the guilt trip?" I say with a smirk. "Childish much?"
"You bet," he says with a smile. "Now come on."
Without waiting for my answer he grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet in one fluid motion. I try to resist as he all but drags me onto the dance floor, and again I'm astonished that I can't pull my hand out of his.
This kid is freakishly strong.
"Just one dance ok Aya-chan?" he says with a smile.
"Fine," I cave. "But just one."
"Ok," he says with a laugh.
I try not to stiffen to much as he takes my hand in his and places his other on my waist. We start the waltz, and it takes me about three three-counts to get into the rhythm of the dance.
"So Aya-chan," Mitsukuni asks after a few measures of silence. "If you lived in France all your life how come you speak Japanese so well?"
"Papa was insistent that I should learn in so that I could communicate with my grandparents and the rest of our family who live here," I reply.
"So you don't speak any other languages?" he asks.
I shake my head as he spins me. There's a somewhat uncomfortable silence for a few more measures before he speaks again.
"What's your favorite type of cake?" he asks curiously.
"Triple chocolate fudge," I respond after a moment of thought.
"Did you ever have a pet when you lived in France?" he asks as soon as I'm done responding to the last question.
"What, are we playing Twenty Questions now?" I ask with a raised eyebrow as he spins me again.
"Yup! I want to know more about you Aya-chan," he says with a happy smile. "C'mon you've still got seventeen more to answer."
I can't help but giggle a bit at his enthusiasm. His smile widens when I do, and it takes me a moment to compose myself.
"No," I confess. "But I've always wanted a bunny. But Mama is allergic to most pet hair so I couldn't."
"So I take it your favorite animal is…" he trails off.
"A bunny," I confirm with a nod. "Yup. Sue me, I'm a girl who loves bunnies."
"Well that's one thing we have in common," he says.
"Oh really," I say with mock sarcasm. "I had no idea."
We laugh as the music speeds up. We quicken our steps as he thinks of another question.
"What's your Star sign?" he finally asks.
"Isn't that the oldest pickup line in the book?" I scoff in genuine amusement.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Aya-chan," I responds innocently.
"My birthday is in August," I answer carefully. "So I'm a picky and critical little Virgo."
"August," Mitsukuni muses. "So that makes your birthstone…"
"A Peridot," I finish for him.
"Ok," he replies before pausing for a minute. "What are your best and worst school subjects?"
"Doesn't that count as two questions?" I ask skeptically.
"Nope!" he says with a smile as he tries to throw me off with a double spin.
"Fine," I huff. "My best is English, and my worst is Math. Next."
"What's your favorite sport?" he asks.
"Outside the dojo I'm surprisingly not athletically inclined," I confess as I feel my face flush slightly. "So I'd have to say dance."
"Ok, that counts," he giggles. "What are your hobbies?"
"Well," I muse. "And I like listening to music."
"What was the first thing you wanted to be when you grow up?"
"You mean like when little kids say, 'I wanna be a princess,' or 'I wanna be a firefighter'?" I ask.
"Sure," he says with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I…wanted to dance in the Russian Ballet," I confess after hesitating for a minute.
I feel my face heat up as Mitsukuni giggles. Our steps begin to slow again and we find the rhythm of the song quicker this time around.
"You dreamed big even when you were little," he says happily. "I bet you would have been great. Is that still your dream now?"
"I'm not sure…" I trail off. "I have no idea what to do with myself at the moment."
"Alright," he says. "What's your favorite book?"
"Speak," I reply without hesitating. "It's pretty dark and deals with a depressing topic, but it's also pretty funny. I never get tired of it."
He pauses for a second to spin me away, only to pull me back, and closer to him than I was before. I try to keep my heart beat in check as he comes up with his next question.
"What's your favorite movie?"
I think about this one for a little longer than the previous questions. This is a toughie.
"I'd have to say Once Upon a Time," I finally reply. "It's an old anime that was made in 1986 but back then it was called Douwa Meita Senshi Uindaria, Once Upon a Time is just one of the Western titles."
"Sounds interesting," he says. "Are you a morning person or a night owl?"
"Take a wild guess," I reply quickly.
"Considering Aya-chan always has bags under her eyes I'm going to go with night owl," he replies.
I roll my eyes at his reasoning and take the opportunity to avert my gaze from his face for about the fourth time tonight. Why am I bothering to answer all these questions?
"Describe yourself in three words," he orders.
"Petulant. Lazy. Procrastinator," I admit. "Not much to me I'm afraid."
"I'd disagree," he says with a smile.
"How sweet," I say sarcastically.
"Ok, now let's see," he sighs. "I have four more, better think of something good."
I smile awkwardly at him, having not been used to smiling in the past few months.
"Alright! Got it!" he exclaims. "Is there anything you're afraid of?"
"Now why would I tell you that?" I ask with a smirk.
"What? Don't you trust me?" he asks with a childish pout.
"I'm not entirely sure yet," I say in a sing-song voice.
"That's cruel," he retaliates. "All I want is to know what to protect you from."
"Ha!" I bark. "No worries there kid. The only things that scare me are getting shots."
As soon as the words are out of my mouth I clap a hand over it. Mitsukuni laughs at my reaction.
"Gotcha," he chuckles. "It worked."
"You're a sneaky one alright," I mutter as he twirls me around another time.
"Alright next question," he says. "Do you have any bad habits?"
"I hate asking for help," I admit with a sigh.
"And you're pretty gullible," Mitsukuni adds.
"I am not!" I retaliate.
"Are to," he argues back. "You fell for it Aya-chan!"
"Did not!" I reply, feeling heat rise up in my face.
"Would you prefer it if I used the word naïve instead?" he asks.
"I am not naïve!"
"Um, excuse me," a slightly irritated voice asks. "But do you mind if I cut in?"
A curly haired blond girl in a voluminous pink silk dress looks down at us with a strained smile.
"Sorry Kisa-chan," Mitsukuni answers. "I want to finish my one dance with Aya-chan first."
Kisa stiffens for a second before putting on a plastic smile, showing her bright white teeth through her fuchsia lips.
"I understand Honey-senpai," she says in a slightly shrill voice. "But you've been dancing with her for almost six songs now."
It's amazing how fast the two of us spring apart. Mitsukuni acts like my skin is a bare electric wire, and as he quickly looks away from me and accepts Kisa's hand, I can't help but feel a disappointed.
My stomach has a slight sinking sensation as Kisa gives me a haughty smirk from over Mitsukuni's head.
"So do you like my dress?" she asks Mitsukuni in a vainglorious voice. "I had it specially made to match the color of your rose."
"It's really pretty Kisa-chan," Mitsukuni replies.
I then realize I'm just standing alone like an idiot in the middle of the dance floor. I swallow hard and weave my way through the dance floor, trying to avoid knocking into the girls around me.
I feel a little sick, so when I'm sure all the hosts are occupied with a customer, I slip up the staircase and back into the club room, taking in deep heavy breaths to slow my heart rate. This is so scary for me right now.
I've never talked so openly with anyone before. And to think that little Lolita Boy was able to weasel that much information out of me is unsettling. I thought I was made of stronger stuff than that.
Maybe he's right. Maybe I am gullible.
What I said to him is true. I don't know if I trust him yet. But he was able to make me smile just like that. And he made me laugh.
I'm almost disgusted with myself for letting him get to me like this. Didn't I learn already?
After a few minutes, I walk into the dressing room. I eventually find my bag under a pile of someone else's junk, and pull out Usako from her place in my bag.
"What's wrong with me Usako?" I moan as I clutch her to my chest. "You really think I'm gullible?"
She just stares back up at me blankly. I throw back my head and blow air out through my cheeks, making my lips trill long and slightly off pitch.
"I'm an idiot aren't I?" I ask the empty room. "This is just all so strange. How do I deal with it? No one has ever really talked to me like that before. You know…without wanting something…"
I sit there for a while crouched over in the dressing room, mulling things over in my head. The temperature in the room drops a few degrees over the next few minutes, and it growls darker outside. I shiver.
Eventually I can't take it anymore. I grab my backpack and get to my feet and, search the room for a blanket. It takes me a while, but I find one in the storeroom, and I curl up in my usual seat. I create a tent from the blanket and stick my headphones in.
XXx Honey xXX
When I'm finally able to sneak away, I take a minute to think about where Aya went. I don't think many rooms are unlocked, so my best bet would be the clubroom. Takashi gives me a nod to say that he'll cover for me, and I thank him with a nod before slipping back through the doors.
She has a bit of a head start, but I bet I can catch her before she reaches the clubroom.
I want to dance with her again. To have her in my arms and count the times I can make her smile. Since she doesn't smile as much, I should treasure each one I see.
I stop abruptly and shake my head quickly. Treasure? When did her smiles become so important?
Was it during our dance, when she actually opened up, and even flirted a little with me? I never really full on flirted with anyone before, but she made it feel so natural and retaliated quickly, unlike the girls at the club who just kind of squeal and pass out.
I continue to question myself as I start walking again. My mind plays back out dance, with her face flushed pretty prettily high in her cheeks, and I can't help but laugh a little to myself. She'll probably deny it. I guess I should consider myself lucky for getting to witness it.
Turns out Aya really booked it out of the party, because I make it all the way back without seeing her once. I open the club room door to see a blob of light in the darkness. I flip on the lights to see Aya sitting on our usual loveseat with a blanket thrown over her head.
I walk over and stop in front of her. There's a humming coming from her. It's almost a high pitched wail, like her voice is trying to imitate a violin. I take the blanket and pull it away from her. She stares wide-eyed at me, her healthy flush evolving into a full on blush that spreads across her face and down her neck. She stares at me like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Why'd you leave?" I ask innocently.
She looks like she's about to say something but instead tries to hide her face with her hands. I smile, actually finding this reaction pretty cute on someone like her.
"It's nothing," she stammers as her blush deepens even more and she pulls the headphones out of her ears. "I just needed to get out."
"What do you mean?" I ask in genuine confusion.
She looks down at the floor, trying to avoid my gaze.
"I'm not comfortable in places like these," she admits in an irritated tone. "That's all."
"Well you better hurry and pretend like you're having fun," I say, grabbing her hands. "It's almost time for the plan to start. I think Hika-chan and Kao-chan will get upset if they find out you're wrinkling their dress."
"Whatever," she says before allowing me to pull her to her feet.
"You don't look convincing enough," I tease as she comes face to face with me.
She just sticks tongue out at me in response.
I mimic the childish action, and we both burst out laughing. But she catches herself and quickly turns away from me before running back to the dressing room.
The rest of the club bursts through the door with Haru-chan draped over Takashi's shoulders like a sack of potatoes before I can say anything else to her.
"There you are," the twins say in unison. "Where's Aya-senpai?"
"In the back," I say, pointing to the dressing rooms.
Just as I say that she emerges shivering like mad now that she's missing her blanket.
"Aya-senpai, go help the twins with Haruhi," Kyo-chan orders.
"Alright," she responds curtly.
"Do you have experience with hair extensions senpai?" Hika-chan asks as they drag Haruhi back to the dressing rooms.
"Some," she replies vaguely as she holds aside the curtain to the changing rooms.
"You didn't have to be so forceful," Haruhi snaps as she's place back on the ground and Kao-chan dumps a tissue-wrapped bundle in her arms.
"Never mind that. Go get changed," he commands before shoving her into the changing cubical.
"A little accident towards the end of the night would be quite thrilling," Kyo-chan says ominously. "And remember Haruhi, there are only twenty minutes remaining until the party reaches its climax. Suzushima is already waiting for you in a classroom across the hall."
Haru-chan steps out in a cute pink dress accented by darker pink and white flowers , and is ushered into a stylist's chair by Hika-chan and Kao-chan.
"Here Aya-senpai, put these in for us," they command, handing her a bunch of hair extensions.
Aya takes a second to examine them before she gets to work on blending the fake hair into Haru-chan's real hair. Hika-chan and Kao-chan start on Haru-chan's makeup, and are done in a few minutes. As a final touch they clip on some blunt bangs like the ones she had when her hair was still long.
Well, actually, she looks exactly like she used to.
"Uh…We know this is the boss's strategy," Hika-chan and Kao-chan say in unison as they admire their work. "But its kinda unsettling."
Before anyone can respond the doors burst open.
"Gentlemen!" Tama-chan scolds as he makes his dramatic entry. "What are you doing? The guests are waiting for-"
He almost chokes as he catches sight of Haru-chan.
"Well, what do you think?" Hika-chan and Kao-chan ask with self-satisfied smiles.
"You look so cute Haru-chan!" I say with a smile.
But she goes and ruins it.
"My face feels heavy and it's hard to walk in these shoes," she complains.
"Good luck Haruhi!" the Hika-chan and Kao-chan yell as she waddles down the hallway.
"Just remember!" Aya calls out. "Heel toe, heel toe! And take smaller steps!"
And with that Haruhi trips falls in a heap on the floor.
"You really think she can pull this off?" Hika-chan and Kao-chan ask in unison as she picks herself up off the ground.
XXx Aya xXX
We watch as Kanako and Tohru waltz around the courtyard. The cherry blossoms dance merrily with the music, and Kanako looks like she's living her wildest dreams.
"They look sweet together," I whisper to myself.
"They do, don't they?"
Mitsukuni comes up beside me, leaning over the railway. I half smile at him. It seems like he's lost Kisa, along with most of his other clients.
"It's just good to know that one arranged marriage in this world will turn out alright," reply quietly as I continue to watch them waltz.
"Well, not all arrangements are made without consideration," Mitsukuni says. "And I guess the part about them being childhood friends helped a bit."
"I dunno," I sigh. "It seems to me like the childhood friend thing would make things a bit awkward. I don't know what I'd do if I was stuck in an arranged marriage."
"That reminds me," Mitsukuni says with a playful smile. "You still owe me two more questions."
I groan and roll my eyes.
"Alright," I mumble. "Just make sure to make them good."
"We'll I've been thinking about them since our dance was interrupted," he says with a smile. "So if you hate needles and shots so much, how were you able to get all your ear piercings?"
I remain quiet for a minute, thinking about how to best phrase my logic.
"I guess it's because when you get your ears pierced, they use a gun, so it's over in a second. But when you get shots, they have to keep the needle in your arm until the syringe is emptied, and that thought just creeps me out."
"Fair enough," I hear Mitsukuni reply. "Alright last one. Why did you decide to dye your hair like that?"
I gnaw on my lower lip for a minute, before speaking again. But this time I keep my gaze fixated on Kanako and Tohru.
"Well, when I was eleven I had a sleepover with some girls from my school, and they decided to prank me," I say evenly. "They put blue Jell-O mix in my sleeping bag, and it mixed with my sweat and dyed my skin while I slept. I woke up blue. It stayed in my hair the longest, decided that it didn't look half bad, and decided to keep it. That really pissed them off."
I say that last sentence with bittersweet fondness. But I never hear Mitsukuni's response as Hikaru and Kaoru bring out the microphones, their voice booming through the courtyard.
"And now we'll announce the queen of the ball!" Hikaru yells into the mic.
"Congratulations Princess Kanako Kasugazaki!" Kaoru exclaims.
Everyone erupts in applause as the cherry blossoms continue to float lazily in the breeze. I clap softly along with them wishing all the best for this awkward couple.
"And for her reward a kiss on the cheek from the king!" Hikaru announces.
I smirk to myself as the couple stops dancing, and Kanako looks rather stunned. I bet she really couldn't care less about a kiss from Tamaki. She has all of her love's attention now.
"Haruhi Fujioka will stand in for Tamaki!" Kaoru suddenly announces.
My eyes widen, and Tamaki and Haruhi stare at the twins in horror.
"Kyoya did say that a little accident near the end of the night might make the evening more thrilling for everyone," they say with their trademark devilish smiles.
Some protest and one bribe later, Haruhi is making her way down to Kanako rather reluctantly. I gotta admit though, she looks more confident than I would be.
"You don't think this is Haru-chan's first kiss do you?" Mitsukuni asks suddenly.
That one question sends Tamaki into panic. He runs after her dramatically , only to slip on the twins' banana peels and fall equally dramatically into poor Haruhi.
She is then turned, and ends up kissing Kanako full on the lips. They spring apart quickly as the crowd of customers either proceed to squeal in excitement or sob hysterically.
"Alright," I say as I step away from the railing. "That is without a doubt more than enough excitement for one night."
I begin wading and shifting through the vicious sea of ribbons and lace, deciding to change back into my street clothes and wait for Mitsukuni and Takashi on the couch in the clubroom.
Well this is for sure the best party I've been to.
XXx Author's Notes xXX
*SOBS* Agaohtiwauebfiq3ug! I'm so behind!
I'm sorry! *bows*
Lotsa love -Krystal