Sweet as a Summer Breeze

Chapter 6 - The Transformation of Hiromi!

Silence reigned supreme over the dinning room. I'm pretty sure you could hear mice chattering somewhere behind the walls, it was that quiet. I'm not quite sure what my face looked like, but Eiji was getting a chuckle out of it.

"I guess you weren't exactly expecting a request like that," he said and then casually took a sip from his glass of wine.

'Weren't exactly expecting it'? No duh!

I didn't really know if I was more shocked that Eiji would ask this in front of our entire family or that he'd ask at all. I mean, really, in what world would I toss aside my mother who has always loved and cared for me for a man who's ignored me and never once even called.

But by the expectant look on Eiji's face, it was obvious that he was thinking something completely different. He looked like he knew I would say yes and come merrily to his side of the family. Ha, like that would ever happen.

But when I caught the look on Eriko's face I knew what he was really waiting for. And I hated him all the more for it.

Eiji hadn't asked in front of everyone to put me in a tight situation, but to put my mother in a heartbreaking one. Her head was lowered a little so that I couldn't see her eyes, her shoulders slumped and no where near as proud and bold as I was used to.

It was like Eiji was trying to take away the only thing Eriko had left in her life besides her company.

At that realization my blood boiled over. There was no twisting stomachs or clenched chests. My entire body throbbed with anger and I could feel my pulse drumming away in my head.

I stood, the chair legs dragging across the hardwood floor. I wouldn't be surprised if it left parts in the polished cherry wood flooring. I didn't move for a moment, just stared at Eiji with hard, dark eyes and mentally tried to suffocate he man with my feelings. Sadly, it didn't work.

"I'll be leaving now," I said simply and quickly stormed from the room, ignoring the startled squeaks from Yuzuki and Yukiko.

It was more than I could take. I always thought of myself as a tolerant person but there were some things I just couldn't simply ignore.

Eriko's footsteps sounded behind me, the heels of her shoes clacking against the flooring as she hurried along behind me. It really shouldn't have been too hard for her, having such long legs, but her shuddering breaths helped me figure out why she wasn't quite as speedy as usual.

We didn't stop until we reached the entrance. I had lived a good chunk of my life in this house, I couldn't forget the layout even if I wanted. A single servant stood at the doors, two bags draped over his arm. I didn't recognize him, but I still thanked him anyway as he handed me my shoulder bag. As soon as I had the strap over my shoulder I was out the door and on my way to the car.

The door slammed behind me, plunging me into the dark. It was the middle of summer, the humidity less intense at night. The lack of hot air helps lower my own temperature, especially when I pressed my hot hands against the cold window glass.

I sat in my seat with my arms folded against my chest. The air was refreshing and just being out of my old house helped calm me down. I'm sure Eriko would give me an odd look later for my of so mannerly actions tonight.

Said woman opened the drivers door and sat down behind the wheel. She wasn't breathing shakily any more, but her hands shook more than mine when she grabbed hold of the wheel.

"I'm sorry for rushing out like that, Okaa-chan," I murmured.

She shook her head. "No, it's alright. I think I might have done it if you hadn't." She turned her head and gave me a weak smile.

"I'm also sorry you didn't get to talk to Kosei," I continued, placing my hands down on my thighs.

This time Eriko sighed. "He's even quieter than you now. I don't think I'd have gotten to talk to him even if we'd gotten the chance. I wouldn't know what to say."

"Do you think Oji has some ice cream in the freezer?"

She let out a long breathy laugh, leaning back into her seat. "With your cousin living in his house? He's bound to have something cold and sweet we can eat for dinner."

It was a pretty common ritual between Eriko and me to hunker down and stuff our faces after a bad day. We started it after my first year of middle school in Canada, away from my friends and the familiar faces that filled the halls.

I'd spent most of the day lost and the other half of the day trying to avoid getting in anyone's way. When Eriko came to pick me up I'd complained to her about the unkind kid who accidentally tripped me and hadn't said sorry, and the rude girl who had made snacks for the class and had completely ignored me even though she had extra. After hearing my tales she took a little detour, landing us in the grocery store a street over from our home and we had come back loaded with vanilla, mint, rocky road and a liter of pop.

"Sounds good. Maybe we should invite Mitsukuni too," I suggested.

"And what about Yasuchika?"

"No, he's got a thing about sweets."

Eriko shrugged and started the car. Thankfully the atmosphere had cleared up a little,the emotions that had been choking us lifting a little bit.

And that was exactly how each of the Haninozuka's found the two of us later that night. We were both sitting on the kitchen counters, bowls of ice cream firmly planted in our hands.

Yasuchika, when he had walked in, looked at us both and immediately turned on his heel and left the room. Eriko looked over at me with a confused expression, a spoon hanging from her mouth. I just shrugged and we continued eating.

When Yorihisa walked in he just shook his head and went about his business.

And when Mitsukuni came in he jumped right in on the ice cream shovelling. He even went and grabbed some cake from some hidden stash he had somewhere in the house.

I had to say, night time Mitsukuni was adorable. He had on these little stripped pyjamas and Usa-chan was tucked under his arm. Thankfully, while he ate, he was very neat about it - probably one of the only times he showed his real age.

The three of us sat together, Mitsukuni and I swinging our legs back and forth between the counter and the floor. It was quiet while we ate, the room peaceful compared with the tidal wave of emotions earlier.

I took the time to think about life so far. If Eriko had told me earlier that we were moving back to Japan I probably would have jumped head first out the highest window in our house. And yet, here I was; sitting on the kitchen counter of my uncle's kitchen with my cousin and mother. And it wasn't even as painful as I figured it would be.

"Baa-chan? Would it be alright if Hiromi went to school as a boy?"

I choked, ice cream going down the wrong tube. Neither of them even blinked an eye as they watched me hack and attempt to breathe.

"Why the sudden question Mitsukuni-kun?"

"Well," the little blond dragged out the word. "Hiromi's worried that the girls at school won't like her. So we want to dress her up!" He gave the older woman a bright, cheery smile.

I took a deep breath with my no clear lungs. Oh Lord, it felt better! The moment I finished my moment of bliss, I turned and glowered at Mitsukuni.

I really wanted to go through with it without Eriko knowing about it! She'd never let me live it down! Hell, she'd be dressing me up as a boy for the next few years... Actually, I don't think I'd really care to much about that.

"Hiromi-chama as a... boy?" Eriko tilted her head a little. I could see the gears spinning in her head. And just as I had thought, Eriko's thoughtful expression turned to one of pure and unadulterated joy. "She'd look so cute!"

I cringed back away from the two, an aura of happiness surrounding them like a thick pink fog. I swear, it even smelt like cake and roses. It was terrifying.

"Wanna help?"

My doom had just been sealed.

From what I could still see in the mirror, Takashi and Mitsukuni sat patiently on my bed. Takashi was reading something - probably school related - while Mitsukuni sat at the edge of my bed, swinging his feet and Usa-chan and Ao-kun locked in his arms, just watching my mother work away at me.

"I feel like I'm creating a masterpiece," Eriko said to herself. She probably didn't even realize that she sounded like a crazy person. "I don't know how I didn't think of this before. You and you're brother have the perfect combination of feminine and masculine looks. If we dress you up like a girl, you look like a girl. If we dress you as a boy, give your hair a few little snips and get rid of your make-up you look like a cute, elegant boy!"

I didn't even bother telling her she sounded nuts and I'm pretty sure Mitsukuni was getting a kick out of it too. But what she said was right. If I had made a few little changes to my appearance I could look exactly like my brother. It was kind of a scary thought.

When we were little Kosei and I had looked identical and we acted it too. There was no him or her, just them. We were always just 'the twins' because no one could tell us apart and we didn't want anyone to.

But then, when we started school, Kosei had told me that he didn't want to be 'the twins' anymore. He wanted his own friends and his own person. Home and school were never quite the same after that. Kosei became a quieter kid than before and somehow I ended up following his example still. It wasn't until I met Kyoya that I really tried to keep myself from copying my brother because I wanted Kyoya to be able to pick the two of us apart.

And here I was again - trying to look like Kosei. But at least this time I would still be me and not him too.

"Done! My masterpiece has been completed!" Eriko shouted, breaking me from my train of thought.

She turned me to fully face the mirror and I inwardly groaned. I looked like my brother with longer hair. Wonderful.

My face had been cleaned away of make-up, also reviling the little beauty mark I had under my right eye. My skin seemed much more tan than it actually was without the make-up to lighten the colour. My eyes looked a little dimmer, no longer emphasized my the eyeliner or mascara.

Eriko had cut my hair too. It wasn't a drastic change and not too shocking. Before this, my hair had hung a little longer than my shoulder blades and now the blond ends stopped just below my shoulders. It looked healthier this way, oddly enough. She'd tied it too, using a little hair elastic, so that it fell neatly over my shoulder. This way I wouldn't have to put extensions in when I was around any of the other family members and yet it still had a slight elegance to it.

"Wow! Hiromi, you look awesome!"

"I have to hand it to myself, this is pretty amazing," Eriko grinned to herself, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

"It looks good," Takashi added in from behind us all.

"Thanks Takashi," I smiled softly, hoping the older teen could feel how genuine I was.

"Hey! How come Mitsukuni-kun and I don't get that you's?!"

I turned in the chair and glared at my mother. "Because you were never supposed to be here in the first place. And he was the one who brought you into this. I'm going to be modelling like this all the time now." I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed.

"Oh! That reminds me. Before summer break is finished we're going to have to get you some chest bindings. You never know who might be staring a little too hard," Eriko chattered away as if I hadn't even said anything.

"Are you mad at me now, Hiromi?" Mitsukuni whimpered as he trudged up to me.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to fight the need to hug the teen and tell him everything was all okay. He'd never learn that way. But the longer I stared at my cousin - his eyes filling up with tears, his arms holding our two bunnies close to his chest - I could feel myself cracking.

Finally I let out a groan and reached out to hug him. "No, it's fine, Mitsukuni," I grumbled into his shirt.

He laughed happily, the tears practically vanishing.

I'm in for a long couple of years.

Hello my faithful reviewers!

Ohmygosh! You guess sent in SO many reviews! It made me so happy! I smiled at every review I got, even if the email came in at 4 o'clock in the morning. You guys are the reason I can keep writing and to see so many of you like this makes me really glad.

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING INVOLVED WITH OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB!

So, a lot of you guys hate Eiji and that side of Hiromi's family. All the reviews gave me a little giggle. I didn't actually write them with the intent of having them being the 'villains' at the beginning but it works just the same. They kind of created themselves in a way... Except for Yukiko-chan :3 And she'll be coming in again later and I promise you guys will fall in love with her.

Now to answer some reviews!

Winter Coma - Is it terrible that I kind of enjoyed writing such a tense scene between all the Aonozukas? But I'm glad that you can now see Eriko as I hoped everyone would. She's got a lot of history and tries to just put on a happy face so that she doesn't trouble anyone. I have plans for Eiji... I don't think anyone will like him by the end of this story.

NEXT CHAPTER HAS THE REST OF THE HOSTS!

Enecs - She's not planning on living with him either xD She'd rather punch out his teeth, but that's not what 'dignified' girls do. Pfft.

aaa17 - Here you go! Some light hearted-ness between our favourites so far. Plus some ice cream binging xD

Molly Grace 16 - Well, she's lived with Eiji and then she spent quite a long time hating her dad, so I think she'd have a lot of patience. Plus, Hiromi's not really one to out right state her feelings. She'd rather storm out of a room, stomping, than actually talk about , even if she deals with it for a bit, she gets to make a dramatic exist later!

ThatCaptainYo - Well, I really hope I can get you to love Hiromi and the cannon characters as well as my other OCs. And don't worry. I had the idea for how I wanted her to look when I first started writing.

Guest - Thank you so much! :D

killjarkidranger - I'm glad!

Shiori07 - Hopefully I satisfied you're need to have no cliff hangers in this chapter. Instead, you just have to wait for the hosts in the next one! Mwahahaha!

IMPORTANT!

I had to change around the timeline a little. Originally this story was going to be set at the beginning of the school year, in April, but as I was watching the anime for the tenth time I realized that I couldn't do that. Haruhi had already been mentioned in the previous chapters and I didn't want to wait LONGER to introduce her.

So! I'm starting this story just after their trip to Karuizawa in episode 15, but it'll be vaguely following the manga.

Hope you guys enjoyed!