08.17.11
THE REST OF MEI'S STORY
I won't lie to you guys, I'm not really in the mood to be doing this tonight. I've had a tiring day. I spent it out on the town with Mei, going to every clothing store within a five mile radius and window shopping. An entire hour was dedicated to watching her argue with a saleslady over the quality of material in this one handbag (it was billed as real leather, but Mei said it was just imitation). We barely had time to eat, and by the time we got to the bookstore, which was where I'd been waiting to go all day long, it was twenty minutes to closing time.
I'm pretty drained of energy and creativity at the moment to make this entry entertaining. I wanted to wait until tomorrow, but tomorrow is Mei's last full day with us before she leaves. She's insisting that I finish this part of the story tonight because over the phone or in a chat session just isn't good enough for her. She has to be right beside me, in person, so she can bump me on the elbow and whine anytime I write something down that she doesn't like. Like right now.
So, let's get this over with.
The rest of Mei's part in the story starts with the school Sports Festival. My old district held theirs every year during the last few days of October. It tends to get really cold around that time, so they are usually held in the gymnasium at the high school building. It's twice the size of a normal gym, so there's plenty of room for multiple events. There is some kind of story behind why it's so big, but the teachers and Upperclassmen all had different versions and I never found out which, if any, was the real one. Aside from that, it was pretty ordinary as far as gyms go. There were bleachers lining one wall, opposing basketball hoops, and symmetrical colored lines painted all along the floor. Through one set of doors was the supply room, which always smelled like rubber and had equipment for every sport imaginable. At least, as far as I know.
Needless to say, there was a lot of enthusiasm for athletics at my old school. It may be presumptuous of me to say it, but I was probably the only one who didn't share it. Every year, I looked for an excuse to get out of it, and every year I failed. According to the school board, opting out of gym classes is one thing, backing out of the Sports Festival was out of the question. So, as always, I was stuck.
Practices begin almost right away. My grade at the time was the youngest grade level required to participate, and since all three pairs (Tamaki and Kyoya, Hikaru and Kaoru, Hunny and Mori) shared homerooms, they'd all be competing together when the time came. There was a very long talk on the way once I realized that, but I'm not going to talk about that. It was mostly just a repeat of stuff you've already seen.
Once again, I was not present for any of the following; this is all being related to me by Mei as I type. I should also probably note that Mei was only there at all by accident. She was supposed to be returning the bag of dodgeballs back to that supply closet I just told you about. She had failed to talk her way out of remedial gym this time around, likely because she'd used the same 'hurt ankle' excuse one too many times and the teacher finally got fed up and asked the school nurse about her progress. Becoming the Ball Monitor was Mei's punishment for slacking. She held the 'honor' for the entire semester.
She'd just stopped for the tenth or eleventh time to rest from the strain of carrying such a heavy bag. Then she wonders why there was such a push for us to be athletically involved. Though, I guess I'm not one to talk…
She was standing in front of the entrance to the gymnasium. Just a few more feet and she'd be in the clear. Off to the side was a small classroom mostly used for detention and tutoring. That's where Mei heard the voices. It caught her attention, because the room should have been empty at that time of day. Being as nosy as she is, Mei couldn't resist eavesdropping. Especially not when she got closer and saw Tamaki's blonde head as he almost, but not quite walked into view. The rest of the guys were sitting at or on top of desks, almost like they were students in a class taught by Tamaki. I won't lie: the mental image is giving me a good laugh.
"Alright, men," he was saying. "I've gathered you all here today for a very specific purpose."
He paused here for whatever reason. Mei thinks dramatic effect. I wouldn't be surprised.
"I hope it's really important," Kaoru complained. "We're missing lunchtime."
"How many times to I have to remind you two that we don't eat?"
Hikaru shrugged. "Yeah, but we get to hang out with Haruhi without stupid teachers telling us we can't talk to her. What's their problem anyway?"
Tamaki appeared to get fed up, but he didn't snap at them like I might have. They really were talking a lot during class, usually about absolutely nothing but some bird outside the window. I guess they just liked the sounds of their own, individual voices. All things considered, I can't blame them for that, but it was still a relief when the teacher moved us all away from each other one week in. They didn't like it at all, but at least now I could concentrate on my work. But I digress.
"If we're all seated, I shall begin." Tamaki paused a second time here, this time to clear his throat. "Yesterday afternoon, Kyoya and I were introduced to a close friend of Haruhi's, she-"
"Haruhi has friends who aren't us?" Hikaru asked, aghast.
"Yes, now be quiet," Tamaki answered. "As I was saying, we had a very engaging conversation with her about Haruhi and her relationship with the six of us."
"Does Haru-chan not like us anymore?" Hunny piped up. His eyes welled up with premature tears that Mei insists made him look like something out of a bad moe anime. I get that.
"No, no, nothing like that," Tamaki quickly appeased him. "Well, not exactly like that. What I mean is that we discussed the workings of a human female's heart and how it is very rare for her to open it up to more than one person at a time. By that logic, six would be near impossible, and that got me thinking. I've spent all night with this and I've come to a very important decision."
One more pause, the longest and most overtly (and pointlessly) dramatic pause yet. Also the last, thank goodness.
"With this in mind, I'd like us all to agree never to make Haruhi have to choose between us."
At this point, he'd changed positions, from 'stern professor' to 'stern drill sergeant,' as Mei describes it. I can get a good picture of that in my head, and I'm sure, knowing Tamaki, he was not expecting the perplexed silence his little proclamation received. It went on long enough for him to lose all momentum and slump out of that assured air of his. Everyone just kind of stared at him for a while, with the twins shooting each other sidelong glances every now and then. Then one of them raised their hand. Mei can't tell the difference, but I'm going to guess it was Kaoru. What he said next sounds more like him.
"You think you can backtrack a little bit? Why would she need to choose one of us?"
"You're making it sound like we're all going to be thrown out if she does," Hikaru (probably) went on for his brother.
"You don't think she wants her room back to herself, do you?" Hunny 'whispered' in Mori's ear. Mori just shook his head.
"Everybody calm down!" Tamaki cried. "Please, just listen. I want to be sure that we all remain as we are now. Our friendship with Haruhi is a beautiful thing, and I won't see it tampered with."
"Yeah, that's what I'm wondering about," Kaoru said, narrowing his eyes. "What the heck makes you think we'd do anything like that?"
"It's not a matter of any conscious acts," Tamaki responded. "Her name is Mei, Haruhi's friend. She explained everything to us. I know the idea of Haruhi wanting only one of us above the rest seems strange. I am astonished myself. We are built to act as a harem for carnal purposes only. Emotional ties are not part of the description, but they are for Haruhi, because she is not the kind of girl we were intended for. That's why there's a chance she may one day come to prefer one of us, and only one of us. I want to prevent that day from coming as much as I can. As my comrades and Haruhi's dearest friends, it's your duty to make the same vow I have. Does everyone understand?"
Let me just stop for one second so I can give a small disclaimer (of sorts). I have no idea if what Mei is telling me they said is actually what they said. It's not that I don't trust her memory (I'm not going to pretend mine is perfect), and it's not that I don't trust Mei, it's just that this speech Tamaki apparently gave really stands out in my mind and makes me think. It's not like him to talk like this. It reeks of insecurity and even a little defensiveness. I'm starting to wonder if Tamaki was like that from the beginning, hidden beneath all that programming. I learned so much about the robots in those months, but the farther into my story I get, the more I think there is even more that I'll never know. It wasn't just Tamaki. If nothing else, I want this part of the story to express beyond a shadow of a doubt how increasingly human-like they were getting. I've tried to make that clear in previous posts. Hopefully, I'm as good of a writer as people have always told me I am and I've been doing it right.
So anyway, after Tamaki's impassioned plea, there was another round of quiet that spread across his audience of five and was absolutely shattered, of course, by Hunny. He jumped up onto Mori's back. Mori barely reacted, by the way.
"Yes, Sir!" Hunny squealed. He then stood tall and gave a salute. Mei thinks it looked adorable. "You can count on me."
"Me too," Mori said with his own, much more subdued, salute.
Tamaki gave them an approving thumb up each. He wasn't to get such a positive response again, not with Hikaru and Kaoru around. I guess I'm going to have to rescind my earlier claim that Kyoya was a major player in this. Hearing the rest of Mei's story and knowing now what those twins were doing, his role is looking paltry. Not that he's totally innocent either. He's not. He's really, really not.
Anyway, while the rest of the group was busy agreeing with Tamaki, be it openly or just a nod of their head while they flipped through a textbook, Hikaru and Kaoru were getting mad. Mei is pretty sure she saw one of them break a hole in the desk from gripping it too tightly.
"What makes you think we're going to try and keep Haruhi for ourselves?" Hikaru demanded. I'm just going to go with my instinct on which of them said what from now on.
"I don't think that," Tamaki answered curtly. "I just want us to have an understanding. It's important for us, as a team, to be able to discuss these things honestly and openly."
Kaoru snorted, arms crossed over his chest. Since gaining his own mind and personality, I'd noticed that he was a lot more subdued than his 'brother' and much less prone to outbursts. The 'good' twin if you will. He was still a Mischievous model, though, and intentionally or not, he was about to live up to it.
"Some team," he spat out. Hikaru came to stand beside him, leaning heavily on the desk his brother occupied as they sent collective hard stares Tamaki's way.
For his part, Tamaki wasn't having any of it.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"You know," Kaoru responded. "Of course you know. What is this even all about? You can say what you want, we all know."
"You don't trust us," Hikaru took over. "You really think one of us is going to try and ruin our friendship with Haruhi by just running back to our old programming or some other stupid thing. That, or you're the one who wants her all for yourself and you're just posturing."
Tamaki sputtered. I don't think that helped his case very much, though I have to say I don't believe Hikaru's theory in the slightest. Tamaki was a lot of things, enough things that I could probably dedicate a whole other blog just to talking about him. And no, Mei, I'm not actually going to do that. Stop pouting at me. My point is that for all the words and adjectives one could use to describe Tamaki, 'possessive' was not one of them.
At least, not that kind of possessive.
So I'm thinking Hikaru either genuinely didn't know that, was secretly worried about this the whole time, or was just trying to stir the pot for reasons I can't fathom. Regardless, the die had been cast and there was no going back now. Hold on to something, guys, this is where it all implodes.
"Did you really just say what I think you did?" Tamaki raged.
Neither Hikaru, nor Kaoru was moved. Everyone else was struck by a thickening tension. Even Kyoya was paying attention.
"What's the matter?" Hikaru mockingly said. He wore a grin now that Mei says sent a chill down her spine. I think I know what she's talking about. I always just thought it was annoying. "Mad that you got caught in your bullcrap?"
"It is not bull- stop trying to turn this around!"
"Stop trying to accuse us of things!" they shouted together.
"Everyone stop!" Hunny shouted. He climbed down Mori's back like a monkey on a tree and forced his way in between them. He may have been the shortest of them all, but I shouldn't have to tell you why no one was about to try and stop him. He turned to Tamaki. "Tama-chan, you wouldn't really try and take Haru-chan away, would you?"
Mei says he put on a really cute face, but I know how Hunny is at times like this. There was something sinister lurking behind it. I don't even have to have been there to know. Tamaki must have known it too.
"Of course not, Hunny, I would never do such a thing," he glared at Hikaru and Kaoru. "Though listening to these two, I'm not sure how much I can say for them."
Before either twin could dole out more of the anger and insults I know they so desperately wanted to, Kyoya finally decided to join in. What took him so long?
"Do the three of you think maybe you could stop overreacting?" he asked, not even bothering to look their way. "Perhaps then you can discuss this like civilized people."
"Oh, get off your high horse," Hikaru snapped. He and Kaoru closed in on an unaffected Kyoya.
"Yeah, I haven't heard you saying anything about this. What's that supposed to mean?"
Kyoya looked at them then, and pressed fingers to their right temples like he expected to find something there.
"No," he muttered to himself. "I don't think you're going into emergency mode. Whatever's causing this groundless paranoia of yours must have an outside source"
Mei would just like to note how happy she is to finally know what Kyoya was talking about.
"I know what this is about," Hikaru announced. He pointed unforgiving fingers at Kyoya and Tamaki in turn. "You guys are afraid that if she had to make a choice between the six of us, she wouldn't choose you."
"You are out of line!" Tamaki shouted.
"Yes, definitely outward."
"Kyoya, stop it," Tamaki rounded on him now. "If you can't say anything helpful-"
"Alright, that's it!" Hikaru shouted. He looked to Kaoru. They stared silently at each other for a few seconds like they were speaking telepathically. For the record, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they could really do that. Then they shared a nod and walked out the door. Mei scrambled to the water fountain bent her head so she wouldn't be seen.
"What do you think you're doing now?" Tamaki asked exasperatedly.
"What does it look like we're doing?" Kaoru countered. "We're leaving."
"We don't have to take this," said Hikaru. "And you'd better not try anything, Mr. Princely model!"
"Oh yeah? Well, SAME TO YOU REDHEADED DEMONS!"
Tamaki grabbed his stuff and left as well, going in the opposite direction of the twins which, if I'm remembering the layout of the building correctly, meant he had to take the long route back to his school. Mei can't tell me what the remaining robots did from there, as she sprinted back to the gym before any more could come out and catch her.
Hearing this story now is kind of like the missing pieces of a puzzle all coming together. I finally understand. There are things they said to me that for a year now, I've been turning over in my head, trying to figure out where it came from. That the answer is a combination of Mei and sheer idiocy on their part doesn't surprise me at all. It's actually kind of funny.
Fast forward now to the next day, after school. Somehow, the aftereffects of the fight flew right over my head and I didn't notice anything wrong the night before. Tamaki was unusually quiet, but after what happened the first time I asked, I had a feeling I wasn't going to find out what was wrong even if I did try again. Other than that, Hikaru and Kaoru had taken to whispering together in the corner and Hunny and Mori enjoyed a few baking shows until bedtime; nothing out of the ordinary.
When it comes to practicing for the Sports Festival, there are a few procedures we followed. The girls and boys are separated for the first couple of practices, and then merged again when it gets closer to the festival day. After that, four classes from each participating grade are randomly selected to practice together. Again, this counts only for the early days of practice. Now, obviously, they all ended up in the same practice group. It was raining outside, so we were cramped inside the gymnasium for the day, and as huge as it was, accommodating 250 students all at once was leading to more than a few bumped shoulders.
Most of us wound up banished to the bleachers. I had signed up for the 200 meter dash and the relay race. It was all just running, which I am not good at, but it's better than soccer or softball. The boys in ninth and tenth grade were going first, which meant Tamaki, Kyoya, Hikaru and Kaoru were up. Hunny and Mori must have been somewhere really far from where I was sitting on the bleachers, because I couldn't see them at all. Mei, however, squeezed passed about twenty people to get to me. I think she might have step on a couple of heads.
"Hey!"
She sat down in the barely there empty space beside me. The girl I'd previously been sitting next to got rudely pushed away and shot Mei a dirty look before getting up and moving to the very end of the bleachers.
"Glad I found you," Mei said. She looked around at all the people and scoffed. "Ridiculous, putting so many people in here."
I shrugged. "They can't help the bad weather."
"They should just let us go home."
Mei crossed her arms and sulked in silence for the next few minutes. I kept busy watching out for Tamaki and Kyoya, standing in line with the rest of their class while the teacher took attendance, and Hikaru and Kaoru, who were off on their own stretching. I heard their names whispered among my classmates, accompanied by girlish giggles and debates of their current relationship statuses. Boy, would they be in for a surprise if they tried anything.
"So, I met your cousins."
Mei pretty much sprung that one on me. Not that I never expected her to find out about them- I would have told her myself at some point- I just didn't think it would be so soon, and on her own. I just hoped they hadn't told her anything too indicative.
"Oh yeah?" I said.
"They're kind of weird," Mei said with a half-smile. "I mean, I know they're your family and all and I'm not trying to insult you… by the way, are they adopted? Because for brothers, they don't look even a little bit alike."
I gave a weak chuckle. "Yeah, it's a long story. You should ask one of them to tell you about it."
I never did find out what kind of story Tamaki would have spun for Mei about how they all came together as a family. Mei is just as disappointed as I am that it never happened.
The mini-interrogation did not end there.
"So, how are you fitting all of them in that little apartment?"
"Well, I-"
"I mean, I know your Dad is still off on business or whatever, but that's still seven of you, right? Or did you move during the summer and forget to tell me about it? That's not very nice to hide these things from your friends, Haruhi"
"If you'd let me get a word in, I would tell you," I said softly.
Mei disregarded that, and anything else I might have said, and then winked at me.
"Well, I know one thing for sure," she said. "Those boys really love you."
I didn't know what to make of that, not one little bit. Mei brushed me off before I could ask by letting out shrill cheers in my ear when the races started. If there was ever a better way to ruin someone's train of thought…
The first two races went smoothly, with students from different grades being pitted against each other five or six at a time. They were timed and so far, nobody had made it under a minute, which is what the teachers wanted. The third race had all four robots on the field. That record was in trouble now. Of course, we'd had that talk I mentioned earlier the night before. They were blending in with humans and no human alive could run 150 mph like all the manuals said they could. They had all been very amiable, giving no thinly veiled 'reassurances' that were actually full of loopholes and double meanings. They promised, outright, straightforward, not to do anything more than what was reasonable. So I wasn't worried. Much.
Any lingering fears were quickly abated when the whistle was blown. The four of them actively went slow, their three fellow racers out pacing them by a good five steps. It didn't make the teachers too happy. The way it looked, nobody on the track was all that light on their feet. Hikaru picked it up a little in the second lap, which was fine. He only passed two people to end up in third. When Tamaki also sped up and made second, I was similarly unperturbed. That's when Kaoru came up on Tamaki's right side, with Hikaru already covering the left.
That wasn't right.
"What are they doing?"
Mei thought the question was directed at her and gave me a funny look.
"Uh… they're racing. What does it look like they're doing?"
"Way more than just racing," I said. I could feel myself growing paler.
I can see why Mei was skeptical. Outwardly, neither twin was doing anything insidious, just running a little too close together. What's so bad about that?
I can tell you one thing: Tamaki was no less suspicious than I was. He tired a couple of times to shake them off as they started the third lap. Every single time, the twins easily caught up with him, and closed in a little more. It got to the point where other people noticed too. I heard a wave of whispers roll over the crowd and one of the teachers yelling. I got to my feet just as Hikaru let his leg splay out a little too far, sending Tamaki flat on his face as he failed to avoid it. Several people gasped. I may have too. I fought my way to the steps.
"What the heck was that?" one girl asked another.
'That was a certain someone about to get an earful,' I mentally answered her.
I was going to have to wait on that verbal thrashing, though. I wasn't two steps off the bleachers when a teacher accosted me.
"No girls on the field until the boys are done," she said, pushing me back.
"Wait a minute! Those are my cousins," I said, but she wouldn't hear any of it. The most she would do was let me take a seat in the bottom row. I just had to promise to stay in one place until it was my group's turn. I was ready to jump back up at a moment's notice.
The other teachers ran onto the scene, where Tamaki was still down and the twins were looking way to proud of themselves. Hikaru in particular had this satisfied little grin on his face that unnerved me. I almost felt like cheering when Tamaki's hand shot out and pulled him to the floor. You know, underneath all the dawning horror and nerves rushing back.
The teachers pulled both of them off the ground and spent a great deal of time yelling in their faces. No one tried to defend themselves. That 'respect all authority' thing must have worked for teachers too. They just nodded and agreed with everything that was said, and they apologized like gentlemen when ordered to.
Everyone was given a five minute break after that, during which time we were all allowed off the bleachers to get water and stretch our legs. I, of course, went straight for the guys. Tamaki was locked in an epic staring contest with both twins, while Kyoya looked on from several feet away. I still hadn't seen Hunny and Mori.
"What the hell was that?" I seethed.
Tamaki flinched. He never liked it when I cursed.
"What was what?" Hikaru asked, playing dumb.
"Hikaru," I said with an edge of warning. My patience was wearing thin enough as it was. I didn't need him making it worse.
He seemed to sense that, as the next words out of his mouth were much softer.
"It was just an accident, that's all. I mis-stepped."
"An accident," I repeated, hands on my hips. I looked deep into his eyes and he looked away. "Why don't I believe that?"
"It was," he insisted weakly.
I didn't know what else to say to him, so I went to check on Tamaki. He looked no worse for the wear, other than the way he glowered at Hikaru. I don't think I'd ever seen him that mad before.
"You alright?" I asked.
He nodded, but didn't avert his eyes. "I'm fine… or at least I will be."
Okay that I really didn't like.
"What are you talking about?" I was dreading the answer, but it needed asking.
Tamaki stalked towards the twins, ignoring me completely. They circled each other. I can't really find a good comparison to make, because the faces they made were kind of goofy looking and not really all that threatening, hard as they may have tried. I turned to Kyoya, who had just wandered over after much too long of an absence.
"Are they losing their minds?" I asked him out the side of my mouth.
I expected another one of his snarky, vaguely-helpful-but-not-really responses. After all this time, I couldn't ever be angry at him anymore. It was just another facet of the enigma that was Kyoya. So when I stood there beside him that day, waiting patiently for that condescending smirk to appear, you can imagine my surprise when what I got was something completely different.
"They are… stressed out today," he said. His eyes were closed. In fact, all of him was closed off to me. Nothing showed on his face, but then, nothing ever did. It still wasn't right. I know I'm not explaining this well, but trust me. It's not an easy thing to understand.
'Stressed out,' I mouthed. I couldn't think of a thing to say.
Kyoya's arms dropped to his side. "I suppose we all are."
He went to the other end of the square, just a few feet away. I could have called him back no matter where he went, but I couldn't bring myself to. I had far more pressing matters to deal with, like keeping Tamaki and Hikaru from eating each other and Kaoru from helping.
"Okay, that's enough."
I tried to manually force them apart, but all that did was educate me in how painful it is to jab your thumb into a robot's metal shoulder by accident. While I hissed in pain, only Kaoru showed any concern for me. While he checked my hand for bruises, Idiots' number one and two were too busy trying to kill each other with their gazes.
"This isn't over," Tamaki grumbled.
"Not even close," Hikaru responded.
They turned on a heel and walked off. Again, Tamaki was going in the wrong direction. Being closer to me, he's the one I ran to first.
"Tamaki, hang on," I stopped him with a hand, and he looked down at me, apologetic, but only a little.
"Haruhi," he said, hanging his head. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
I waved it off. "Just tell me what's going on with you guys. Why are you acting like this?"
He looked away quickly, biting on his lower lip and just in general looking beyond conflicted. My dad's always told me that I have a face no one could say 'no' to. I think he's just exaggerating, but I was sure as hell playing it up as much as possible right then. In my mind, I was endlessly egging him on. 'Tell me, tell me, tell me…'
"It's… nothing," he finally said, and as I ground my teeth together, his face darkened. "But I'll still win this day."
Are you facepalming right now? Because I was.
"Win what?"
"I can't tell you," he answered briefly. "All I can say is that I will prove myself better than them."
"Them?" I gasped out. I couldn't help it, this whole thing was so insane, I had to laugh. Just when I thought they would never drive me crazy again.
"Them," he repeated. "All of them."
He moved passed me, going in the right direction this time. I didn't pause for a second in running after him.
"Oh no," I said, grabbing his arm. "No way! I don't know what's going on here, but I forbid you to do whatever it is you're thinking about doing, do you hear me?"
Tamaki stopped walking; he'd kind of been dragging me along up until now. I thought this might be a good sign at first, but then he looked at me, more determined than ever before.
"No."
He gently pulled away, and there was nothing I could do about it. I just… couldn't believe it.
I stood rigid until a teacher came and directed me back to the bleachers, the next practice event was about to begin.
"Alright, everyone," the teacher in charge said through a megaphone. "For this game, we're going to have the eleventh grade boys joining the ninth and tenth graders. All of you get down here and join a team. We start dodgeball in ten minutes."
And I think I'll leave it at that.
…boy, she's getting crazy with these cliffhangers. You guys know what I mean?
Mei, get off my blog.
posted by Haruhi at 8:08 pm 0 comments