Note:
words = dreams and flashbacks
-word- = an action being done by the characters or an object/ sound effects
Chapter Seven: Settling In
"Takashi! Oy, Takashi! Over here!"
A six-year old Mori blinked and looked up. From a few meters away, he saw the familiar face of a four-year old boy wearing the traditional kendo uniform, smiling and waving at him.
"Hey, Haki." he smiled, lowering his shinai. "Is your training over already?"
"Yep!" The brown-haired boy grinned. "I heard that your father's going to let you join the kendo tournament this year! Is it true?"
"Ah. He told me that age doesn't matter this time so I should participate in it."
Haki mouthed an 'oh' and grabbed the shinai from his back. "Then. . mind if I see how good you are?"
"Are you challenging me?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Technically yes, but I consider this more of a friendly challenge." the boy grinned.
Mori grinned back and raised his shinai. "Very well."
They both then backed up for distance, bowed, and took their stance.
"Don't blame me if I don't go easy on you."
"Is that suppose to be a threat?"
"Depends on how you look at it."
They hn'ed and jumped towards each other.
------
"I can't believe we had a draw." Haki sighed, dropping his shinai to the ground ten minutes later.
Mori smiled and handed him a towel. "It was fun though."
The boy gratefully accepted it and wiped the sweat off his face and neck. "Ne, Takashi, I heard that your younger brother's gonna start his own kendo training soon. Is he going to train directly under your dad?"
"My parents haven't made any final decisions yet." he shrugged. "Otousan's been rather busy lately so I'm not so sure. Maybe he'll hire someone to help him out or something."
"Hmm? Then, how about you?"
"What about me?"
"You can train Satoshi yourself, right? You're just as good as your dad, after all."
"He's only three, Haki. I don't know how to teach a three year old how to swing a shinai without hurting himself."
"Yes, you do. I learned how to swing my shinai from you and look at me, I'm perfectly fine."
Mori pondered for a minute and sighed, not really knowing what to say. Haki smiled as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in a supportive manner and sat back against the wall.
"Ne. ."
"Hmm?"
"Your sister doesn't do kendo, right?"
'Nope. Okaasan's forcing her to take judo instead. Either that, or it's baking class. I'm not so sure."
"Baking class sounds more normal."
"I guess. She's doing both though. I'm actually trying to teach her how to do a judo flip right now."
"Err. . isn't seeing a four year old girl do a judo flip kind of. . scary. . ?" Mori sweatdropped.
"Really? I think it's rather cute." Haki chuckled. "But she's so small she just flips herself around my arm."
The door suddenly slid open, interrupting their conversation, and Mori's mother stepped out. "Taka-chan~ your father and I are going out for dinner with Haki and Kairi's parents so would you mind watching over your brother while we're gone? We won't take very long."
"Mmmm, not at all. Sure."
"Thank you, dear!" she smiled, giving him a peck on his forehead. "Ah, Haki-chan! There's some ice cream in the freezer so just ask anyone who's in the kitchen to bring it out when you want some. Okaasan has to get going now, so you two go over and play in Sato-chan's room, okay? Bye~!"
"Bye." they both stood up and waved.
"Ah, right!" she smiled and turned around. "Almost forgot, Kairi-chan's already here. She's playing with Satoshi in his room so give her some ice cream too when you can, alright?"
"Eh? Imouto-chan's here?"
"That's what she said." the older boy nodded, watching his mother go. They then made their way towards the kitchen wherein the younger one eagerly watched as his friend brought out a tub of Haagen Dazs ice cream.
"You know, you remind me of a really excited dog whenever I place ice cream in front of you." Mori chuckled, setting down two bowls and some spoons onto the table. "I can practically imagine you panting and wagging an imaginary tail right now."
"Well, I can't help it now can I?" Haki grinned embarrassedly. "Okaasan rarely brings any ice cream home these days so I can only depend on you for a bowl or two."
"She says that because you used to eat it three times a day without taking in anything else. You can have whatever's left in the tub, Haki. Just bring it along."
"Really?! Arigatou, Takashi!" he smiled happily, sparkles appearing in his eyes as he brought the Haagen Dazs with him. They then made their way down the hallway and towards the playground area where they caught sight of two younger kids playing around.
-door slides open-
A girl with long black hair and big, dark brown eyes paused whatever she was doing with the younger Morinozuka and turned around. A huge grin then spread along her lips when the two older boys entered the room and she quickly got up on her feet with her arms spread out. Mori smiled and stepped aside.
"Imouto/Onii-chan!" Haki and the girl exclaimed in unison, hugging each other with a sideway XD expression on their faces. "Long time no see since five hours ago!"
"Ah! Why are you carrying a tub of Haagen Dazs?!" she suddenly exclaimed, eyeing the ice cream container in his hands suspiciously.
"Takashi gave it to me, therefore, I'm obliged to finish it." he grinned, giving her the peace sign.
"You're not allowed to eat this much ice cream. Okaasan said you'll get diabetes when you grow up."
"It's alright, I'm still young. Enjoy as much as you can, right? There's only half a tub left anway so-" he smiled and scooped a spoonful into his mouth. "Beshides. . Tchakashi -swallow- Takashi's got you a bowl too."
"Mori-niisan did?" she blinked, looking over her brother's shoulders eagerly.
"Ah." the said boy nodded, handing her one of the two bowls and ruffling her hair playfully.
"Waah! Arigatou, Mori-niisan!" she smiled, taking it from his hands eagerly.
"Kairi you suck." Haki grinned, pulling her away. "I can't eat ice cream but you can, huh?"
"I don't eat as much ice cream as you do so it's okay for me."
"No it's not. You eat cake just as much as eat ice cream, don't you?"
She blushed and lowered her spoon. "I- I do not!"
"Yes, you do!" he chuckled. "You ate three whole cakes after dinner last night even though you were full!"
"Those were bite-sized, idiot! Jeez!" she laughed.
~.~.~
Mori smiled and opened his eyes.
The sun was still shining brightly in the afternoon sky, and he could see that they were already nearing the beach, catching sight of the ocean from a distance away. Kaoru and Kai were snickering next to him as they whispered some things to each other's ears, and just when he was about to let them know he was awake...
-BAM!-
Hikaru roughly swerved the jeep around in circles, and the two first years yelped when they suddenly got pushed to the side of the vehicle, nearly forcing the senior to fall out of his seat. The girl quickly grabbed onto his arm tightly while Kaoru grabbed onto hers, and they all just held onto each other until the jeep was finally parked in front of a large, white mansion.
"W-w-wha-. . ?"
"HIKARU! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TRYING TO DO?!? KILL US?!?!?"
"URUSEI!! We're here already, aren't we?!"
"Waaah~ I thought we were going to die~!"
"Hunny-sempai, calm down. ."
"I will see to it that Tachibana has your driver's license suspended for a month, Hikaru."
The three at the back sweatdropped as the smoke around them cleared up and watched as the five hosts inside the vehicle all got off. Hunny was hugging Usa-chan with tears streaming down his cheeks, Haruhi and Kyouya were looking slightly pale, and Hikaru and Tamaki were arguing over something pointless once again. Kai sighed and sat back on her seat.
"You alright, Mori-sempai?" she asked worriedly, letting go of the his arm. "That was way too close."
"Ah. Arigatou." he smiled. "We're. . here already?"
"Yeah. A lot earlier than scheduled." Kaoru grinned, handing him his bag. "Kyouya-sempai said we can still go snorkeling if we want to."
"You were asleep when he said that though." the girl giggled, jumping off the vehicle. The senior suddenly had the feeling that the two freshmen did something to him while he was sleeping, and the camera in the younger Hitachiin's pocket confirmed his suspicions. He then glanced at Kai, who was running over to the still crying Hunny, and suddenly felt his breath cut short. 'Kairi. . '
Mori-niisan!
His eyes widened and he bit his lip, looking away from her with a somewhat shocked expression on his face.
"You alright, Mori-sempai?" Kaoru blinked, looking down him. "Did you swallow air or something?"
He shook his head and did a 'I'll be fine so you go on ahead without me' hand motion. The younger twin nodded and jumped off, leaving him behind as a flashback suddenly played in his head.
"Takashi!" the door slammed opened and a younger six-year old Mori looked up, surprise written all over his face. Haki walked into the room and grinned at him. "You're not doing anything right now right? There's someone I want you to meet!"
"Umm. . Haki? I'm kind of busy cleaning the bathtub in case you haven't noticed..."
"Imouto-chan, c'mon in!" the boy called out, ignoring him.
"Imouto. . chan. . ?"
His eyes widened when four-year old Kai shyly stepped into the bathroom. She looked like a carbon copy of Haki, except more feminine looking: her eyes were bigger, her hair color was black and tied up into two cute buns with some stray strands bouncing along the sides of her face, and her cheeks were blushing lightly from having to meet her brother's friend inside a bathroom of all places. 'kawaii..' he felt his face heat up.
"Takashi, this is Kairi. My cute little imouto-chan." Haki smiled proudly, pulling her next to him. "She's a little timid when it comes to meeting new people, so take it easy on her, alright?"
"U-umm. N-nice to meet you, Morinozuka-san." the said girl bowed politely, giving him a shy smile.
"Ah. Nice to meet you too, Kairi-san." he grinned just as shyly, scratching the back of his head.
"Hah? Morinozuka-san? Kairi-san? You don't have to be so formal with each other you know." Haki laughed, giving his friend a look before grabbing his sister's hand and walking out the room.
"Wait, what? That's all you came here for?" Mori asked, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah. It is getting late, after all." the younger boy grinned. "We'll drop by tomorrow, though. Kairi's really good with kids so she can watch over your brother while we train."
"I'm good with kids because I am a kid, oniichan." she pouted. He laughed and waved back.
"See you tomorrow, Takashi!"
"Ah, see yah." he smiled, watching them go.
~.~.~
"Sempai?"
Mori gasped and and looked up, breaking out of his daze.
Kai was kneeling in front of him looking worried. "Mori-sempai, are you alright?" she asked, removing her hand that happened to be resting on his arm. "You've been sitting here for quite some time now. Everyone else already went up to their rooms."
A question mark appeared over his head and he looked around him, noticing that everyone but Kai and himself were gone. Then, without doing anything else, he just stared at her blankly, still absorbing the two dreams that he had had over the last few minutes.
"Err. . Mori-sempai?" she blinked, tilting her head slightly to the side.
". . . "
Unsure of what to do, she scratched the tip of her nose and waved her hand in front of the senior's face, sweatdropping when he didn't show any sort of reaction. He finally recollected himself after she had poked his forehead, and reverted back to his calm, stoic self in a matter of seconds. "Mm?"
"Sempai.. are you seriously alright?" she asked again, helping him up.
"Ah. Sorry for making you worry, Kairi." he smiled, reaching forward to ruffle her hair gently.
-ba-dump-
She 'eh?'-ed, not hearing the last part very clearly. The tall senior then stood up and jumped off the vehicle, grinning to himself.
"Shall we go?" He smiled, turning around to offer her his hand.
"Sure." she nodded. 'Was sempai grinning just now?'
They proceeded to walk into Kyouya's mansion, where hundreds of maids and butlers warmly greeted them upon entry and hurriedly grabbed their luggage. The oldest man, whom they both assumed was the head butler, then escorted them to their room which was right across Hunny and Kaoru's.
"Tamaki-sempai told us to draw straws to decide room partners, and we were left together." she explained before Mori could ask. "He and Kyouya-sempai, and Hikaru-san and Haruhi-san are staying in the other wing of this mansion."
"Hikaru and Haruhi are together?"
"Yeah. Kaoru-san didn't seem to mind though." she smiled.
The head butler then opened the doors to their room in a very dignified manner and they both entered it at the same time.
The room was something you would expect from a five-star hotel. It had two queen-sized beds with a side table next to each, a walk in closet with more than enough room for their clothes, a flat-screened television, a phone, a small table with two sofa-chairs, some wall lamps, a door leading to a richly furnished bathroom, a small refridgerator, and on the far end was a sliding door that lead to a balcony overlooking the full view of the beach and the ocean.
Since Mori was already used to those kinds of places, he wasn't as awed as Kai naturally was. He walked straight over to the balcony and stared outside, still looking like he was in some sort of a daze, while she dropped her bags onto the floor and lay back on her bed. They stayed there in silence for a few minutes doing nothing until Hunny and Kaoru knocked on their door and entered the room.
"You see? I told you they were here already." the blonde smiled, bouncing over the girl's bed. "Ne, ne, Kai-chan, Takashi; me and Kao-chan are going to go snorkeling. Wanna come along?"
"Hmm? Didn't Kyouya-sempai said that the snorkeling area was half an hour away?" she blinked up at him. "Would it be safe for us to go there at this time?"
"Sea urchins will be coming out by the time we get there. It would be best if we just go in the morning." Mori replied, turning around to pat his now crestfallen cousin on the head. Hunny cheered up almost immediately and gave them a cute smile; causing Kai to squeel inwardly.
"Comfy?" Kaoru then asked with a raised brow, watching as she shifted around on her bed.
She rolled to her side and looked up at him. "This bed's too soft."
"Really?" he sat down next to her and jumped up and down, making her bed creak a bit. "Feels pretty normal to me."
"That's because you're already used to these kinds of things."
"True. We're lucky this way, aren't we?" he smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him and he started jumping up and down even more, causing her to move towards the edge of the bed.
"What the-?! Kaoru-san!" she yelped, falling off. He took one look at her and burst out into laughter, ignoring the curses she was throwing at him, then lay down on his stomach to 'claim' her spot on the bed.
"Oya, get off!" she pouted.
"Hmm? But I thought you said this bed was too soft for your liking."
"Off the fluffy pillows now, Hitachiin."
His smirk broadened when she stood up and he began to snuggle into the comforters, feigning sleep. Kai then grinned and playfully shoved him off, nearly pushing him off the bed's edge, and he laughed out loud once more as he grabbed onto her arm to stay balanced.
Hunny chuckled at them and 'ah!'-ed when he suddenly remembered something. "Anou ne, Kyou-chan said that dinner will be in a few minutes so you both better get ready. Me and Kao-chan will be waiting in our room, okay?"
"Dinner? This early?" Mori asked, glancing at the clock.
"Yeah. Apparently, tono requested him to hold this sunset-viewing dinner upstairs on the rooftop." Kaoru replied.
"We'll be ready in five minutes then."
"Okay! But don't forget to wear something warm, alright?" Hunny smiled, bouncing over to the doors with the younger twin following behind. "It's really cold out here at night so put on a jacket or two."
They both nodded and watched them leave the room.
"Sempai, are you going to use the bathroom?" Kai suddenly asked, surprising Mori to a certain degree.
"S-sorry," she laughed embarrassedly. "It's just that if you are, I'm going to change out here in this room."
He blinked twice and chuckled. "Sure." he nodded, zipping his bag open. She did the same with hers as he stepped into the bathroom and brought out a black, long-sleeved shirt, a short-sleeved, white one, and a pair of full length, baggy pants. When she was sure that he had locked the door, she turned around to close the curtains before she removed the wig off her head, letting her long hair fall down to her back. She then pulled her shirt off and was in the process of removing her pants when a gasp was suddenly heard from behind her.
Surprised, she quickly turned around and saw Hunny and Kaoru staring at her with blushes staining their cheeks.
-another lightbulb flickers on-
"A-anou. . Usa-chan. . Usa-chan is. . " the blonde trailed off, staring at her chest involuntarily. She yelped and quickly covered herself with her shirt (thank kami her hair was long enough to cover her bare back), and tossed the pinky bunny at them. Kaoru's blush then deepened and he quickly covered their senior's eyes; and with a quick apology, he turned around and slammed the doors shut.
Kai was too shocked to say anything so she just sat sat there, on her bed, with her shirt still clutched to her chest and her pants resting at her feet. It was probably one of the stupidest things she'd ever done because Mori just happened to step out of the bathroom at that exact moment, saying that he had forgotten to get his shampoo.
He saw her,
He stared at her,
And they pretty much just remained in their positions, staring at each other in awkward silence.
~.~.~
Kaoru stood against the doorway, still blushing a very deep shade of red. He was breathing in deeply, trying to calm himself down; but his mind kept replaying the previous incident over and over again.
'I just saw Kai-chan in her underwear. .'
'Shut up Kaoru! Stop thinking bad thoughts!'
'But her skin looked so creamy, so soft. .'
'No! Stop it!'
'And her hair was so shiny too. .'
"Anou, Kao-chan. . can you take your hands off my eyes please?" Hunny asked politely, still held in between the boy's arms like a doll.
Kaoru looked down and quickly released his senior, then slid down against the door, moaning with his hands over his head. The blonde just watched in amusement as he then began to mumble out something incoherent and kneeled in front of him with a gentle look on his face. "Kao~chan."
The said boy stopped mumbling and lowered his hands nervously. "Y-yes, sempai?"
"Kai-chan really is a Kai-chan, isn't she. . ?" the senior asked cutely, flowers appearing in his background. Kaoru then paused, realizing what had just happened.
'Oh shit.'
And just as he had thought this, they both suddenly heard a loud slap coming from inside Kai and Mori's room, and Hunny's eyes widened to the size of saucer plates. They quickly sprang up and kicked the doors open, only to see the closet doors being slammed shut, and a swirly-eyed Mori leaning against the wall with a red handprint on his left cheek.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
xoxoxoxoxoxo
-Kai's POV-
Baka. Baka. Baka. BAKA.
I groaned and hugged my knees to my chest, my face burning with humiliation and embarrassment. Why? Of all people, why did it have to be those three that had to see me in my underwear? Why?! Don't these guys know anything about the word 'knocking'?! And to top it all off, Hunny-sempai now knows I'm a girl! . .
-eyes widen-
Oh kami.
Hunny-sempai now knows I'm a girl. Hunny-sempai now knows I'm a girl!
-insert panicking sounds here-
Ahhh! Can this get any more embarrassing?
I bowed my head and screamed silently at my stupidity.
My three friends just saw me half naked.
My three, older friends just saw me half naked.
My three, older, male friends just saw me half naked, and I even slapped one of them.
-breathes deeply-
I relaxed and decided to, before drowning myself with other thoughts, finish changing first. I put my shirt and shorts on, then groaned when I remembered that I had left my wig on the bed.
"Kai-chan?"
'Hmm?' I looked up upon hearing Kaoru's voice.
"Kai-chan? You okay in there?"
He knocked the door softly just as I had unintentionally whimpered.
"Kai-chan, look, we're sorry, okay? Please don't be mad. . "
"Kai-chan's mad?! Kai-chan, you're mad at us?" Hunny asked with that sad voice of his which makes everyone think he's about to cry. Unfortunately, he has this certain effect on me so even though I'm aware that he's my sempai who's two years older than me, I still see him as this really cute kid. (Kawaii-ness attack. . . hate it when it happens to me.)
"C'mon, we hardly saw anything. I promise!" -Kaoru
I think I just felt my vein throb as the humiliation replayed in my mind. Though I have to admit, I do feel kind of guilty since I knew it was partially my fault too, for not locking the doors and all. . .
"Kai-chan, please come out. I think Takashi's in a state of trauma right now."-Hunny
They both sighed in relief when I finally decided to open the door, but I could tell that Kaoru-kun just as embarrassed as I was since he was also blushing. Hunny-sempai then gasped and latched himself onto me, making me yelp and fall back. (Fortunately, I fell back against the wall so there wasn't much pain.)
"Kai-chan, you're so pretty!" he exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. "You look nothing like the Kai-chan I used to know! Your hair's so long and your eyes are so shiny!"
I lightly blushed at his flattery and mumbled a half-hearted 'thanks' as I tried to keep my gaze on the floor. This must've made him think that I was still angry them, because his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
"Are you still mad at us? We're so sorry we walked in on you when you were still changing." he said, this time with 'the voice' again. I gulped and kept telling myself not to look at him.
Don't look at him.
Don't look at him. .
Don't look at him. . .
DON'T LOOK AT HIM, GODAMMIT!
I looked at him (yes, my determination span can be so short sometimes.), and he was looking at me with those big, googoo eyes, staring at me so intently that I . . . aww man. . .
-Kaoru's POV-
I know I'm supposed to be feeling bad for walking in on Kai-chan when I knew she was changing, though completely unintentional; but I couldn't help not smiling and be amused at how she was dealing with Hunny-sempai. Her eyes suddenly grew large and watery, influenced by his 'cute, teary-eyed, puppy dog face', and she began to cuddle him as if he were a teddy bear. Not exactly what a puppy dog face should make you do, but close enough.
I chuckled, causing her to snap out of her daze.
"Umm. . yeah, I'm not angry with any of you, sempai." she mumbled, looking away. "It was my fault for not locking the door anyway. . "
"Really? That's okay, Kai-chan! We're sorry for not knocking, right Kao-chan?" Hunny-sempai smiled happily, looking at me. She nodded and looked at me as well, making me blush once more.
"Umm, yeah, sure." I replied, looking away.
Hunny-sempai then grinned, got off her, and bounced over to Mori-sempai, who was still leaning against the bathroom door with his head bowed low.
"You see, Takashi? Kai-chan's not mad at us! You can cheer up now, right?"
We both walked over to them, and she kneeled down in front of our tallest club mate and immediately stared at his face in horror. "Oh! Jeez! Mori-sempai! I-I am so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to slap you that hard, it was just a 'heat of the moment' action. I-I'm really sorry, sempai. . does it hurt?"
Wondering what was so bad, I walked over as well and gawked. The handprint on the left side of his cheek had begun to glow red and we could see the stinging heat coming out of it.
Kai-chan panicked and ran into the bathroom and dipped her hand into a pail of ice cold water. Then, running back here, she placed her cool fingertips along the handprint to sooth it down a bit. I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt a pang of jealousy for Mori-sempai as she gently traced the outline of the mark and whispered an apology to him.
-Normal View-
Mori smiled and gently ruffled her hair.
"It was my wrong doing. I'm sorry." He said, looking at her straight in the eyes. She blushed slightly, though it made no difference since she was already blushing ever since she came out of the closet, and nodded her head.
She and Hunny then helped the tall senior up while Kaoru looked at his watch. His eyes widened.
"Guys! We're late for dinner!"
xoxoxoxoxoxo
xoxoxoxoxoxo
On the rooftop. . .
"Woah! It really is cold out here!" Hikaru exclaimed, feeling the cold air blow against him as he walked up the stairs. Haruhi nodded her head in agreement and shivered slightly in her thin jacket as she looked around her surroundings. The entire rooftop was made completely out of white, polished marble, with an infinity pool on its far end. It had a fantastic view of the beach and the ocean; and with the tribal-looking lamps blending in with the light of the orange sky, she had to admit, the entire place looked like something you'd see in a National Geographic magazine. They both saw Tamaki and Kyouya sitting inside an open, hut-like area a few yards away from them, and she sweatdropped when she noticed its extravagant, bohemian interiors.
"Eh? Not bad, sempai." the older Hitachiin grinned, stepping into the warmth of the hut. "We're really having our dinner in here?"
"Of course." Kyouya nodded. "This is the best place in the entire beach to have a sunset-viewing dinner."
"We figured we could all use some relaxation like this every once in a while. We have been pretty busy during our summer break, after all." Tamaki smiled.
They sat down on their cushions and watched as Kyouya's maids and butlers then brought in platters and platters of different kinds of fresh, cooked seafood. A huge feast was spread out before them, and the last thing to be brought out, one which caught Haruhi's attention greatly, was a large, wooden boat filled with assorted sushi and sashimi. The three boys grinned when a light blush spread across her face when the butler purposely set it down in front of her.
Hikaru whistled and leaned forward to eye each and every dish with hungry eyes. The sight of steamed fishes, fresh oysters, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, sea cucumbers, abalone, sharks fin soup, grilled fillets, and of course, sushi, began to make his mouth water.
"Hold it." Kyouya said, stopping the boy from grabbing his chopsticks. "Hunny-sempai, Mori-sempai, Kai, and your brother aren't here yet. It would be rude if we started eating without them."
"Darn it." he said in a joking manner, wiping the drool off his lips and looking at Haruhi. "Maybe you should get all the ootoro while you still can, Haru-chan."
"Ah! Otousan allows you to do so! I personally brought the largest, freshest tuna fish anyone's ever caught for Kyouya's chef to make ootoro with!" Tamaki exclaimed proudly.
Haruhi's face seemed to lighten up with that statement, and she then looked over the boat eagerly to search for her ootoro. They watched her move her eyes along each piece of raw fish for a few minutes, then began to wonder why she hadn't caught sight of it yet.
"What's wrong? Can't recognize which one's ootoro and which one's not?" Hikaru teased, leaning over to help her look.
"No, I know how ootoro looks like." she replied. "But. . I don't think there's any here."
-silence-
Tamaki and Kyouya glanced at each other and stood up to help the two first years look.
"Eh?" - Tamaki
"She's right." - Kyouya
"B-but, how can there be no ootoro here? I gave your butler my bag to give to the chef so he could make some for our daughter!"
Hikaru sighed and patted the girl comfortingly on her back. "Sorry, Haru-chan. Looks like there won't be any ootoro for you today."
"Hmm? Nani? Nani? What are you guys doing?" They all looked up and saw Hunny bouncing over to them with Kai, Kaoru and Mori walking behind him.
"Woah~ a sashimi boat? I haven't seen one in a long time!" the shorter senior smiled, staring at the dish in front of the brown-haired girl.
"There's no ootoro in it though. Tono's tuna fish mysteriously disappeared." Hikaru said in a disappointed tone. Haruhi just sniffed and nodded.
"But I gave the fish to your chef!! I'm sure I did!!"
"Calm down, baka. I'm calling the chef to ask where it is. Hello? Tachibana? It's me. ."
"Haru-chan, don't be sad, okay? We'll buy you some ootoro when we get back to the city, alright?"
Kai, Mori and Kaoru just stood there and sweatdropped.
~.~.~
A few miles away. . .
The bear from the previous chapter looks up innocently from the fish Mori had thrown at him, and sneezes.
A/N [1] Shinai- (bamboo sword used in kendo)
So sorry if this chapter may have seemed kind of rushed. ^_^;