Hai gaiz! Um, yeah it took me a few weeks to get this up because this is basically what I do in my AP Economics class (Plus, my two new Detective Conan movies that I ordered came in and I've been watching those along with all my other DC movies...and if you know me then you'd know that Detective Conan distractsss meee lol), instead of paying attention and learning about monetary policy and stuff...I write xD!
So yeah, I've been working on this for the past few weeks and I gotta say that I REALLY like this chapter!
Just wondering but...has anyone ever played Fatal Frame 2? Damn that game is scary! lol.
Oh, and just a few updates; the Its a Twin Thing photo album has been updated and has some new pictures of Sei and Sai and even a really cute picture of Sei and Kaoru! So go check that out, the link is on my profile, along with a link to a little parody of Snakes on a Plane that me and my friends made Sunday called "Snakes In A Car" so...watch that too...please? xD
Thankyou to my amazing reviewers from last chapter! LookOutShe'sGotAPen, The_Misadventures_of_Miyako, aaaa2636, last-blue_mage, and Haruka_Oujo!
Oh, and I don't know how soon I'll beable to get chapter 16 up because next weekend (April 4th) I'm leaving for New York and will be there for a week or so on Spring Break, so yeah...lol
Btw, the lyrics in the beginning are a verse from "Teardrop" by BOWL (if any of you watch the japanese Yugioh GX then you may recognize it as one of the opening songs xP)
Don't forget to review at the end! Without further adieu, here's chapter fifteen!
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It's A Twin Thing
Chapter 15
Tsukyoshii Sai did not like the situation his sister was in, he had gone over the marriage clause close to 30 times, searching for a loophole or anything that could get her out of marrying. No dice.
"Argh!" He growled out in frustration, pulling at his hair and scrunching up his face.
"Damnit! This is impossible!" He threw the documents down on his desk and pushed away from it with such force that his chair fell back against the carpetted floor. There had to be a way out of this, he needed to protect Sei and right now it felt like he was doing everything but that.
Mune no itami sarakedashite ii yo
itsudemo sono egao sukuwarete kita boku nan da
ima dake naite ii yo
zutto koko ni iru kara.
He snapped his head in the direction of the sound, only two people had that ringtone on his phone; Sei and his mother. The tall boy jumped onto his bed and snatched up his phone from his messenger bag, flipping it open quickly.
"Moshi moshi."
"Sai, darling, how're you?" The sound of his mother's melodic voice rang in his ears.
"Ah, not so good. I've been going over this marriage thing and I just don't know what to do Okaasan..."
She sighed, "I've spoken to your father, he's being as hard-headed as always and I wasn't able to get him to waver from his decision."
Sai groaned,"So she's still going to have to marry that asshole?"
"Watch your language, dear." She paused,"I'm working on it, I promise, we'll figure something out."
Sai frowned,"Do you think she'll still have to get married though?"
"That might be the catch, if i can get her out of marrying Dawson then she might beable to pick her own husband...but so far I don't know if I can get her out of being married in general."
"I really don't understand, father isn't making me go off and get married..."
"You've already been intended to Kaniya so he didn't have to worry about marrying you off. Though I wish he'd mind his own business, literally and figuratively. This is my corporation and I don't appreciate him sticking his big ol' nose in my affairs."
"So...you were going to arrange a marriage for her anyway?" Sai bit his lip.
"No, she was going to have to be married, yes, but it was going to be for love, whoever she had wanted to be joined with, and it wasn't going to be until she was 25 or somewhere around that age."
A soft knock was heard at the door and he glanced up from the phone,"Hai?"
"It's me." Sei called quietly and he sighed in relief, hopping off the bed and opening the door. She gave him a funny look and quirked and eyebrow.
"Is that Okaasan?" he nodded and blinked in confusion as he noticed that she now had his phone pressed up against her ear.
"How did you--? You little thief." He chuckled.
"Sei don't you worry, we're going to help you, darling."
"I don't see how you can, but thanks for the thought."
"Don't be like that, sweetie." there was a pause and several muffled voices spoke quietly on the other side of the line,"I'm sorry, I have to go. I love you both and don't you worry, I'll think of something."
"I love you too." She closed the phone and tossed it to her brother, he fumbled with it for a moment before he steadied himself and pocketed it.
"C'mon, we're going on a little trip, I've already packed your bag." The boy grinned at her dumbfounded expression,"Don't worry, it's already been cleared with father, it'll be you, me, and Kaniya."
Sei hadn't seen her blonde friend in a while and at hearing that she was going with them, wherever they were going, flooded her with hope and happy thoughts. She nodded,"Where're we going?"
"Surprise." He smirked,"let's get going, Kani's waiting." he shouldered two bookbags that had been by his door, which she assumed was full of their clothing and whatever he figured they'd need to bring. Silently she followed her twin out of the room and down the stairs to the foyer where the cute blonde had just entered.
"Kai-kai! Nana-chan!" She launched herself at the taller teens and wrapped her tiny arms around them tightly.
"Haha, hey Kani-chan." Sei greeted with a laugh.
"Guess what, Nana-chan!" the blue eyed girl bounced excitedly.
"I don't know, what?"
"I got my license! Now let's go, let's go! Kyah!" She jumped up, thrusting her fist into the air, making the twins laugh. She grabbed their hands and pulled them out to the yellow porsche.
"What, were they out of pink ones?" Sai laughed.
"Well, we were going to get a pink one custom made, but I really liked this one so I got it instead." Kaniya answered with a grin, her eyes dancing excitedly over her car.
"Wow, well it is a nice car Kani-chan, but don't you find it a little too ostentacious?" Sei frowned.
"Nonsense! What's the point in having money if you can't buy nice things?" Kaniya tilted her head to the side cutely.
"I...guess so." Sei laughed as Kaniya pushed her into the front seat while Sai grumbled at having to sit in the back.
"Oh hush up Kai-kun." The petite blonde giggled as she turned the key in the ignition and put the porsche into drive.
Sei stared out the window throughout the whole ride, occassionally commenting on something when it was called for. She wasn't sure where they were going but if it was going to be the three of them then, although she loved both Sai and Kaniya, it was sure to be awkward with the two of them being all lovey-dovey and whatnot. She didn't want to feel like the third-wheel and would rather stay locked up in her bedroom watching re-runs of her favorite television shows.
Wow. I sound pathetic...what the hell am I doing? Sei chided herself, I'm going to make the best of this weekend, it may be the last time I get to go out and actually have fun...
"Yeah, she's in the car."
Sei's eyes lifted to the visor mirror at the sound of her brother's voice whispering quietly into his cellphone, she quirked an eyebrow when he noticed her staring and snapped his phone shut.
"Who were you talking to?" She asked suspiciously.
"Ah, no one." He laughed sheepishly,"Oh! I love this song!"
She focused on the mixed-cd that was currently playing in the stereo and snorted when she heard "Barbie Girl" by Aqua blasting through the speakers. Sai had no interest in music like this, either he wasn't telling her and Kaniya something about his sexuality or he was up to something. Sei hoped it was the latter, for Kaniya's sake atleast, although it would explain quite a few things...
"Here!" Kaniya declared happily as she pulled up to a beautiful architecturely structured 4-story brick mansion with a balcony on the second story that ran along the entire frontal expanse of the mansion. Sei stared at the building before her in awestruck confusion, she knew that it wasn't one of Kaniya's and they wouldn't stay at a stranger's place...so who did this mansion belong to...?
"Alright, get out get out!" The tiny blonde bounced out of the car and waited for the twins to do the same before she twirled around and looped her arm with Sai's. The taller burgundy haired boy grinned, pulling the cute model close to him and burying his face in her hair.
"I love you...even though you made me sit in the back."
Kaniya giggled and playfully hit him in the chest,"Oh shush! Ne, ne Kai-kun, mind getting our bags?"
He rolled his eyes,"As if I had a choice." but then grinned as he piled the three bookbags onto his shoulders and guided the two up to the door.
"Ano...where are we?" Sei noticed that the mansion was right on the ocean, literally several yards away from a private beach.
"The beach, silly!" Kaniya answered back in a voice that clearly stated that it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Sei rolled her eyes,"I know that Kani-chan...I meant...this property...who's is it?"
Sai and Kaniya both exchanged a glance before opening up the front door and ushering her inside. Sei stood there in the entrance hallway for a few minutes, scrutinizing the very tasteful and stylish decorating. Everything looked amazingly beautiful and nothing seemed out of place. She rolled her eyes.
"This must belong to the Hitachiin's, ne?"
"How'd you know?" Sai stared wide-eyed at his perceptive sister, wondering if there had been any family protraits hanging somewhere.
"I heard something about Mrs. Hitachiin being a fashion designer which means she obviously has a good sense of style. That being said, most designers, even if it's clothing, like to design their own things so as to show off. " Sei explained her theory.
Sai grinned,"So the house is just like another model to her, another model to dress up and show off."
"Exactly."
Kaniya clapped her hands togteher,"Sugoi Nana-chan! That's exactly where we are!"
The emerald eyed girl bit her lip,"Why're we here?"
"To have a fun weekend--"
"--At the beach, Nanami-chan!"
Her head snapped in the directoin of the identical boys standing by the stairwell with their arms linked together. If anything, she felt her heart flutter at the sight of them, or rather, a particular Hitachiin boy. She frowned, shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she couldn't start thinking that way, especially not now.
"I thought it was just going to be the three of us, Sai." Sei feigned disappointment as she turned to face her brother.
"I might have lied just a bit..." He grinned sheepishly.
"Oh don't even pretend--"
"--that you're not excited--"
"--About being with us." The twins finished together.
Kaoru now had his arm wrapped around her waist while Hikaru's was draped over her shoulders. Kaniya squealed, annoying Sai just a fraction by the fact that she thought the Hitachiin's actions were cute. He sighed, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her against him, her wavy blonde pigtails bounced as she turned around in his rms, smiling brightly up at him.
"Sei! Oh how I've missed you dearly! My sweet daughter!" The spastic blonde host king rushed into the mansion and pulled her into his arms, swinging her around.
"Tamaki-senpai stopppp!"
He suddenly stopped spinning her and they both blinked, glancing up at Mori who had a firm hand on Tamaki's shoulder. Sei stumbled about dizzily, clutching onto Hikaru's arm for support.
"Nana-chan! Let's go swimming!" Hunny spun around her legs, his fingers tightly holding onto Usa-chan's arm.
"I'll stay here, I've got some studying to do." Haruhi was about to pull out her books when she was swept outside by Tamaki, Sei could hear her friend's complaining the whole way.
"Alright," Sei smiled,"I guess we're going outside to play."
"I packed your bathingsuits." Sai laughed, handing her her bookbag.
"No." Hikaru and Kaoru slapped the bookbag away from Sei and linked their arms with her before rushing her out the front door.
"Oh I can't wait to see what they put her in!" The petite blonde model squealed in excitement.
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The burgundy haired girl tried to resist the twin's but they were too strong and pulled her all the way outside. They were now standing in the middle of a rather large changing room, staring at the bathingsuit covered walls in annoyance.
"Try this on and then come show us." Kaoru thrusted a black two piece with light green ribbon stitching and a cute bow on the front of both pieces into her arms. Sei eyed the bathingsuit in her hands warily, it was cute but she wasn't sure it was the type of thing for her. Sighing, Sei closed the door of the tiny dressing room and slowly stripped her clothing and donned the bikini that the Hitachiin's had picked out for her.
She rolled her eyes at the fact that the top was a lot smaller than it would have normally been,"Just because I don't have much of a chest to begin with..."
An impatient knock came at the door,"Hey, you done in there yet?"
"Ah, yeah I guess." She shrugged and unlocked the door, stepping out into the warm sunlight. Kaoru took a step back so that she could come out and his eyes widened when he got a good look at her. She tilted her head and smirked at his reddening face,"See something you like?" she joked.
He snapped out of his daze and glared,"Of course not, I was just thinking about how you don't exactly fill out the bikini top."
The burgundy haired girl rolled her eyes,"Yeah, gee thanks for noticing." the sarcasm was practically tangible.
"You're welcome Nanami-chan." He grinned.
Sei frowned, glancing around suspiciously,"Where'd your brother get off to?"
The golden-eyed boy shrugged,"He went off to find Tono and make sure he's not kidnapping Haruhi or something ridicules like that."
She laughed,"Well good luck with that, Tamaki-senpai couldn't go 5 minutes without doing something stupid."
Kaoru laughed and agreed with her, running a hand through his messy windswept hair. They stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes before he sighed,"I'm sorry Sei..."
She looked up curiously, surprised by the solemn, almost guilty, tone of voice he had used. The fact that he had called her 'Sei' hadn't even registered to her, she was too preoccupied with trying to figure out what he was talking about.
He stayed silent even despite the confused and pleading look she was giving him, urging him to elaborate. Kaoru was a joker by heart, mischief was in his nature and he and Hikaru were willing to do whatever it took to keep themselves amused, even at the expense of other people's feelings. Since they joined the Host Club things had changed, especially after Haruhi had come onto the scene and their private world had opened up to let others in.
Kaoru didn't want to see Sei hurt, she was his toy--no--his friend and he definitely didn't want to ruin her vacation by talking about her impending doom,er, marriage. The engagement, or rather, 'forced engagement' had effected him in a strange way, it made him so angry, upset, and confused all at once. Angry that her father was a big enough asshole to force something like that onto Sei, upset that she was getting married, and confused at the fact that he was upset that she was marrying Itaru.
Hikaru used to get annoyed with him and say that he was deserting his own flesh and blood to be with the 'howler monkey' that was Sei. Kaoru had always laughed and said that Hikaru was just paranoid, of course he wasn't ditching him for his feelings for Sei, he didn't even HAVE feelings for that annoying girl! But that had all been a lie, or atleast he hadn't thought that he had feelings for her. Truth of the matter was that he now realized that he didn't want her to get married to Itaru (aside from that fact that he was a bastard) because he liked Sei, he liked her a lot and he didn't like the thought of her being with anyone other than himself.
He felt a dull pain in his arm, similar to the sensation you feel when someone lightly pinches you, Kaoru blinked and glanced down to see a red mark on his arm where the source of the pain was originating from and stared at the emerald eyed girl in confusion.
Sei smiled sheepishly,"Sorry, I didn't know what to do to get you back into the land of the living."
"Ah, don't worry about it, I didn't sleep much last night..." That was a lie, of course, to get out of telling her the real reason behind his daydreaming, she'd just laugh at him and assume that he was merely playing a joke on her to get a few laughs.
"Nana-chan! Let's go swimming/build a sand castle!"
The two of them glanced over towards the beach, Kaniya and Hunny were now starring at each other, amused that they had spoken at the same time.
"How cute!" The blonde model cooed and all but tackled poor Hunny into a bear hug,"yes, yes! Let's all make a sandcastle! It'll be the BEST sandcastle in the HISTORY of sandcastles!"
The tiny senior smiled brightly, his eyes lighting up at the suggestion,"Ne, ne Takashi will help too!"
Mori smiled down at his cousin and nodded as the three plopped down onto the beach and began to gather sand, molding it into shape.
"Nyah! Nana-chan! Kai-Kai! Get your butts over here and help us with our epic sand castle!" Kaniya commanded, standing with her hands on her hips and her wise, almond-shaped eyes dancing from one Tsukyoshii twin to the other.
Sei bit her lip to keep from laughing as she watched Kaniya try to look intimidating, but failing miserably at it.
Kaoru chuckled,"You better get out there before she comes after you."
"Oh, that's a scary thought." The burgundy haired girl laughed as she grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the 3 who were making a sand society.
"Nanami-chan, why am I being forced into this too?" Kaoru frowned.
"Hey! Kaoru, come surfing with me!" Sai held up two surfboards, holding one out to Kaoru, who took the opportunity to escape from the fate of having to build something out of the sticky sand.
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"Wow. Guys this is seriously impressive, let's take a picture of it!" Sei stood and stretched after an hour of sandcastle building, the others grinned at their work and nodded. Kaniya opened up her purse and took out a very expensive looking digital camera.
"Hm, who could we get to take our picture though?" Her eyes landed on Kyouya, sitting in a lounge chair underneath an umbrella, a book was opened in his lap and his eyes were scanning back and forth across the page.
The blonde model skipped over to the tall bespeckled boy and started to chat with him before he stood up and followed her back over to the group.
"Impressive, you've got architectural talent." He smirked and Sei couldn't tell whether it was sarcasm or a compliment. Kaniya shoved the camera into his hands and bounced over to Sei, pulling her down to the ground with her arm slung over her shoulder. Hunny beamed brightly from his spot in Mori's lap, who gave a small smile to the camera. Kyouya snapped several pictures in which everyone posed differently with their large sandy structure, before going back to his spot underneath the beach umbrella.
Sai, Kaoru, and Hikaru emerged from the waves and pulled their surf boards along with them as they trudged up the beach towards the small group. Kaniya glanced up happily at the approach of her burgundy haired boyfriend.
Sai smirked, tossing his board into the sand,"You guys did a pretty good job, what is that? A drawbridge? Oh look, you even made little merchant stalls outside the castle! I gotta say guys, it's pretty thorough." He pretended to trip over a seashell, making a fake cry of surprise, and fell right ontop of the sand-city. The sand crumbled down under him and around his body, Hunny and Kaniya gasped loudly, Sei rolled her eyes, and the Hitachiin's snorted from laughing so hard.
"Kai-kai you jerk!" The blonde model pouted, jumping up and starting for Sai, who bounced back to his feet laughing and began to run away with Kaniya right on his heels.
Hunny sniffed,"Our poor sandcastle!"
Sei frowned at the tiny senior,"It's okay Hunny-senpai, we can build another tomorrow or something."
He gave her a big smile,"It's okay, I think i'm going to have some cake now. Ne, Nana-chan, Kao-chan, Hika-chan, want some cake too?" He tilted his head as he and Mori stood.
"No thanks, Hunny." She smiled, running a hand through her burgundy hair that, without the gel, fell about an inch or so below her ears.
Hikaru and Kaoru shook their heads and Hunny shrugged, skipping towards the umbrella where the cooler filled with sweets was.
"Hey, where's Tamaki and Haruhi?" It had been a little over an hour since she had seen them and now she was curious where they had gone off to.
"They're a little further down the beach collecting seashells." Hikaru answered boredly.
"Alright thanks, I think i'll go save Haruhi from King Annoying." She laughed and started towards the end of the beach where Hikaru had indicated where their missing friends were.
It didn't take long to find them, what with Tamaki's loud obnoxious voice ranting to Haruhi about how she shouldn't touch such dirty things. Sei tilted her head and saw that her brown haired friend was staring blankly at the blonde host king, a hermit crab struggling to break free of her grasp.
"Oh lay off, she's a big girl." Sei laughed,"a little hermit crab ain't gonna hurt her."
Tamaki's face fell but he quickly regained his happy composition and ran to wrap his arms around Sei.
"Oh my two daughters are together on the beach---what're you wearing? No, no this is inappropriate! I will not have my daughter exposing herself, oh it must've been those perverted dopplegangers!" Tamaki began another rant while Sei and Haruhi stood there with raised eyebrows.
"Hey Sei, I wanna show you something." Haruhi led her away from the babbling blonde and towards a group of rocks jutting out into the ocean. Waves crashed up against the sides of the rocks and sprayed mist everywhere. Sei noticed little tide pools weaving around at the base of the rocks and she could see little crabs and brightly colored fish swimming around in the knee-deep pools.
"Wow." The burgundy haired girl sat for a minute, just staring into the tide pool teaming with life.
"I know, it's amazing isn't it? Come up here, the view's great." Haruhi climbed up onto a particularly large boulder and walked down the center of the grouping so that she could sit near the very end of the rock row, now fully surrounded by the dark ocean with waves licking at the sides of the rocks. Sei hoisted herself up and carefully maneuvered herself across the slippery surface until she reached her friend, staring out to sea.
Off in the distance chattering noises could be heard, along with splashing. Both girls turned their heads to the source of the noise and gasped.
"Oh look Sei! There's dolphins over there!" Haruhi pointed, a smile gracing her pretty face.
Haruhi stood so that she could get a closer look, everything seemed ot happen in slow motion as the brown haired girl lost her footing on a slippery patch on the rock and fell backwards, her eyes widened. Sei let out a strangled cry and quickly dove into the water without thinking.
The water was rough and waves crashed over her head, pulling her down beneath the turbulant water. She opened her eyes and felt the severe stinging of the salt as she searched for her friend.
She came up for air and found Haruhi struggling to stay afloat against the strong current, Sei forced herself over to her friend and they clung to each other.
"I didn't realize how strong the current out here was." Haruhi sputtered as another wave came crashing down on their heads.
"Haruhi! Sei!" Tamaki cried out from the beach, flailing his arms over his head frantically. The whole group, from what the two could see, were all out on the beach screaming for them.
The last thing Sei remembered seeing before another violent wave pulled the two girls under was a blonde and orange blur swimming quickly towards her, and then there was nothing but cold and darkness.
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Sei didn't know what had happened, all she knew was that there was an incessant ringing in her ears and her head felt heavy, like the feeling one gets after having consumed a fair amount of alcohol.
The first thing she noticed when her senses flooded back to her was the fact that she was laying on something soft and comfortable, perhaps a bed, or a couch? And she felt completely dry, hadn't she just been in the ocean though? She tried to open her eyes and when she did her vision was swimming, everything around her was blurry and she could only faintly make out the shapes of people sitting around on the couches adjacent to the one that she was on.
"Urg." She groaned, pulling her aching body up into a sitting position once her vision had finally cleared. Everyone was immediately at her side in an instant, bombarding her with questions.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Sai growled, grasping her shoulders and shaking her lightly,"you could've drowned!"
Sei narrowed her eyes and pushed her brother off of her,"Great, now my headache's been intensified, thanks Sai."
He let out a frustrated snort,"A headache is the least of your worries, honestly, what the hell was running through that little head of yours? Swimming out against the tide like that, I gotta say that's up there with one of the stupidest things you've ever done, Nanami."
"What the fuck is your problem?" She snapped,"I jumped in to rescue Haruhi, do you honestly think I was just sitting there and said 'hey, the current looks pretty strong, I think i'll go for a swim in this nice deep water and see if I can survive without getting pulled under by these tall waves!' ?"
Her brother pinched the bridge of his nose,"You might've had good intentions when diving in to rescue Fujioka-san, but did you really think you'd beable to grab her and fight the current while keeping a hold of her and swimming back to shore? Seriously Sei, you need to think things through a bit more, we were all right down the beach you could've yelled and we would've come running to get her."
That's when Sei remembered,"Haruhi, where's Haruhi!?"
"Haru-chan's upstairs napping, after she woke up Tama-chan yelled at her and then she fell back asleep." Hunny frowned,"Is Nana-chan okay?"
She offered a weak smile,"I'm fine Hunny-senpai."
"I don't think you understand the direness of the situation, Nanami-chan, do you know how worried I was--we were--when we pulled you both out of the water and neither of you would wake up?" It was now Kaoru's turn to vent his anger,"We thought we had lost you both, and here you are pretending as if it was no big deal!"
Sei groaned loudly,"Because it's not a big deal! We're both okay, and if I had sat there wasting time by calling for you guys to come and rescue Haruhi then it may have been too late and she might've already drowned!" she balled her fists up in the blanket that was draped over her,"Yeah, you're right that I didn't think ahead, but you know what? I made sure that Haruhi didn't drown, we kept each other afloat long enough for you guys to find us."
"I'm adding another $2000 to both of your debts for stirring up trouble by being so reckless." Kyouya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and Sei let out a loud frustrated sigh.
"You're punishing me for doing the right thing? How...argh!" She growled, throwing the blanket off her body and standing dizzily on her feet, she placed a hand to her forehead to steady herself and stop the room from spinning before she narrowed her eyes on the occupants in the room,"You guys are pissing me off, you have no reason to be angry with me or Haruhi." and she turned around and left the room.
Hunny sniffled,"Nana-chan doesn't like us anymore!"
Sai rolled his eyes, but his gaze softened when it landed on the tiny blonde senior,"No, she's just angry...I guess we were a little hard on her, but she needs to understand the seriousness of what happened. She's taking this much too lightly..."
Kaniya bit her lip, her eyes tearing up,"I've never seen her that worked up...w-what if she never talks to us again!"
Hikaru massaged his temples,"She'll be fine, she doesn't hate anyone, let's all get over it okay?" his annoyance at the matter was showing in his strained voice.
Kaoru huffed from across the room, his arms crossed firmly over his chest as he stared at everyone with a sour expression. Part of him wanted to be furious with Sei, but another part, a stronger part, wanted to chase after her and tell her that he was glad that she was okay and that he'd never let her out of his sight ever again. Speaking of Sei, where had she gone exactly? His amber eyes darted around to the hallway she had departed to, the only thing at the end of it was the door to the outside...
"She's just asking for trouble, isn't she?" He whispered quietly to himself, shaking his head in disbelief.
"You say something, Kaoru?" Hikaru glanced over to his twin curiously, an eyebrow quirked in amusement.
Kaoru looked up and shook his head, biting his lip and staring down the hallway that Sei had left down,"I think I'm going to go out for a walk, you know, to clear my head and all..."
Hikaru sent his twin a knowing look before shrugging,"I'm going to check up on Haruhi, she's been asleep for a while now..."
"She's probably faking it, I know I'd be if someone as obnoxious as Tamaki was yelling at me and...." Sai groaned and sat down on the couch, now feeling guilty about treating his sister the way he had to the point where she got so fed up that she just walked out. Kaniya sat down next to him, rubbing his back soothingly.
Kaoru gave one last look at everyone before turning around and walking briskly down the hallway and outside into the chilly night air. He hoped that Sei hadn't gotten too far, he was worried that she'd end up being reckless again and get herself hurt.
"Where could she have gone off to?" He sighed thoughtfully, taking a good look around him in the dark. It was chilly due to the night air mixing with the ocean breeze, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore seemed amplified by the overwhelming silence of the night. The light from the twinkling stars above and the crescent moon hanging over the ocean were his only means of light sources.
He gave an exasperated sigh, running a hand through his messy ginger mop while scanning the surrounding area. "If I were Sei, where would I be?" He frowned, biting his lip as he tried to get into the mind of the curious rebel, his eyes immediately lighting up as he got a pretty fair idea of where she could possibly be.
His feet sunk into the dry sand and he cringed at the unpleasant feeling of having the gritty substance caught in his shoe, rubbing up against his foot. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he finally found her, but his grin soon turned into a frown when he noticed tears making glistening trails down her cheeks.
Sei sat in the sand with her legs pulled up to her chest, her chin tucked behind her knees as she stared out at the dark waters, her arms wrapped loosely around her legs. She didn't see or hear Kaoru approaching, or if she had then she made no move to acknowledge his presence.
Something inside Kaoru ached at the sight of her sitting there so helpless, he wanted to do something, he wanted to cheer her up and make her stop crying, he wanted to see her smile again.
He plopped himself down next to her, startling Sei out of her own little world and he frowned when she made a hasty attempt to wipe away all traces that she had ever been crying. He brought his hand out to clasp her own, intertwining their fingers. Sei stared at him with wide tear-filled eyes, confused by his actions, a few more tears escaped from the corners of her eyes and he wiped them away with his thumb.
"W-what're you d-doing Kaoru...?" She drew in a shaky breath.
He tilted his head to the side,"Why were you crying?"
"I...no reason." She finished lamely.
The amber eyes boy frowned,"You're horrible at lying."
She grinned weakly,"Funny, you and Hikaru always fell for them."
He rolled his eyes playfully at her attempt to lighten the mood,"We were just humoring you, you know, so you wouldn't feel so bad about your terrible acting skills."
"Sure, sure." She smirked, turning back to stare out at the ocean, a ghost crab scuttled by quickly and she momentarily became distracted by it's white translucent body as it walked sideways towards a piece of driftwood half burried in the sand.
They were both quiet for a few minutes, staring at the tide coming in thoughtfully, before Kaoru heard her let out a sad sigh.
"Are you alright, Nanami?"
She nodded,"I just...got a lot on my mind, heh."
"Oh." He answered awkwardly.
"Why'd you come out here anyway?" Sei asked suspiciously.
Kaoru sent her a sincere smile,"I wanted to make sure you were okay, I got worried after you stormed out of the house."
"Oh, well can you blame me? Everyone was yelling at me and it didn't seem like any of you could come up with a good enough reason to be. I saved Haruhi, and yet here I am getting punished for it." She choked.
"You don't seem to understand how scared we all were...how scared I was...when you didn't wake up for several hours after Haruhi had already been up..." He muttered so quietly that Sei had to strain her ears just so that she could hear him.
She looked taken aback by his comment,"How scared...you were?"
Kaoru bit his lip nervously, he wasn't accustomed to feeling like this, he was normally a cocky little mischief maker...when he was with his brother, but by himself he was too flustered to even think of what to say to a girl! Well, not just any girl, it was only Sei that did this to him.
He nodded, ducking his head so that his bangs fell over his eyes. He knew he had to tell Sei, he wanted to but he was worried that she would reject him. A tiny scowl crept onto his face as he thought of Itaru, shaking away the thoughts that seemed too depressing, he plastered on a weak smile.
"Because you're my friend, Nanami."
She nodded blankly and he could see something strange in her glistening green eyes, what was that? Disappointment? Hope stirred inside of him and he knew that it was now or never, Kaoru mustered up enough courage to let him get what he needed done.
"Nanami...there's something I need to tell you." He began, feeling his stomach clinch in anticipation of her reaction.
Sei turned her face to him, letting him know that she was listening.
Kaoru coughed awkwardly,"Um...we've been friends ever since you first started at Ouran,"she gave him a funny look,"okay maybe not the first few weeks, but you can't deny how close and comfortable we've gotten with each other."
"Yeah...I suppose, where're you going with this Kaoru?"
His eyes searched her own, trying to figure out what she was thinking.
"There's certain...feelings I have and I..." He couldn't bring himself to continue. Kaoru became distracted by the way the moonlight reflected off her burgundy hair and he found himself drawn to her even more, vaguely he wondered if her hair was as soft as it looked. He couldn't keep himself in control anymore, Kaoru rested his hand on the back of her neck, pulling her towards him. Sei's eyes widened in surprise as he captured her lips with his own, his lips were soft and melted perfectly against her own.
Her eyes closed as she leaned in to return the kiss, Kaoru tasted sweet and Sei found herself wanting more but then she remembered what was happening...she couldn't have this. Sei pulled away, biting her lip at the questioning gaze that the amber eyed boy infront of her was displaying.
"Why'd...why'd you do that?" Her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes once again.
Kaoru's heart was pounding against his chest from the kiss and he could feel himself drowning in anxiety.
"I...I wanted to show you how I felt, Sei I--"
"Why're you doing this to me? You know I can't Kaoru...I'm engaged...I can't be doing this...I just can't, whether I want it or not..." She choked through her tears as she stood abruptly and ran past him towards the mansion.
Kaoru could feel his own eyes pricking with the promise of tears at her departing words. The kiss, although brief, had given him the feeling of walking on clouds and he could tell that she had enjoyed it aswell. She could've pulled away sooner, she didn't have to get closer or return the kiss...that was all he needed.
He let a small smile grace his handsome face, she wanted him too! The only thing standing in their way was Itaru and her father,"We can take care of them though..." he mused quietly to himself, standing up and walking back to the mansion slowly, the kiss playing over and over in his head. He could still taste her, the addicting sweetness that was Sei.
