it's me again i kno i said i wouldn't be updating for a bit and this may be my last update for a while (like mid October maybe) but once my research paper is done (or at least the research and notecards cuz the rest is easy) i should be updating more often! anyway enjoy! :}
Exploring was something Tsukiko never grew out of. She was always curious as a young child and the mansion she used to love to play and run around in still larger than life to her, why wouldn't she be excited?
This specific Sunday morn, she found she awoke far earlier than the typical teenager on a weekend. Unable to roll over and gain the extra few hours of sleep like a normal girl her age might, she got out of her oversized canopy bed, brushed her teeth and headed out to see what life was like in the Ootori household at this ungodly hour.
The servants were busy bustling about getting ready for the day, but not before greeting her with a "Good Morning." She simply smiled back and returned the kind gesture. Despite them having been forced to be courteous to all guests and occupants in the mansion, surely having new face being so polite and truly kind was a refresher. She could tell they appreciated her gentleness.
Having been at the estate for only a few days, Tsukiko had memorized the important rooms and how to get to each from multiple settings. Her room was simple to find, fifth door to the right on the third floor, Kyouya's room two doors down. It was perfect, she could annoy him and hide in her room quickly, much easier than when they were children and she would literally climb on top of armoires to escape his fury. However she had a blast doing those things, and after a few weeks of her torment, Kyouya eventually warmed up to her.
She found her next favorite room fairly easily as well. The library. It was enormous, the public library and her old school's library were only a measly fraction compared to the monstrosity inside the mansion. Even the library at Ouran Academy wasn't as large. Perhaps that's what happens when you become so rich. Tsukiko loved the library, though, it was filled with so many books, and, to her delight, many of them in other languages! She could spend days curled up in there if time would only allow. For now she could only spend an hour, maybe, per day, she would simply have to live with that.
Then she really needed to know where one other room was located. No, it was not the kitchen, she found that the day she arrived, having to ask for the recipe for the mushroom chicken she enjoyed. Never having liked mushrooms, she did enjoy the dish. However she was on a mission now, she could think of experimenting with food later. She needed to find one room where she could blast music from her iPod and do the one thing that seemed to clear her head the most.
The gym.
She found it. Took long enough. She had basically went through her life's story before she found it. Well, not her whole story.
The room was full of equipment, from stationary bicycles to weights. Treadmills to stair climbers. Yoga balls to medicine balls. Elliptical trainers to resistance bands. Mats and bars of different heights and rope hanging from the ceiling and much more.
No wonder it took her so long to find it, the room she was in was located all the way in the far back of the estate. She could see the back yard through the window and from the look of it, she could also see where her room may have been located. Seeing the wall of windows across the yard, she could faintly see a maid changing what appeared to be bed sheets.
Memorizing the hallway in which the gym was located, Tsukiko headed back toward her room. Along the way she glanced at a nearby clock. It was about nine and she only then realized how hungry she was, and how long she had wandered. Her stomach growled as she glanced up the grand staircase and listened very closely. Nope. The Shadow King was not awake yet from the sound of it.
With a sigh, she shook her head and placed a hand on her hip. "Damn, that boy sleeps more than I do," she mumbled to herself, noticing one of the maids stop short.
"E-excuse me? M-Mizushima-sama?" she stuttered.
Tsukiko knew this maid fairly well. Poor Honoka, she was not exactly a short woman either. In fact she was fairly tall, about five feet six or seven inches. And yet she was so nervous and terrified of Kyouya, Tsukiko never understood why.
"Nothing, Honoka-san, and please, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Tsukiko," the short girl replied with another shake of her head. Just as she did the doorbell rang.
"S-Suoh-sama!" the maid practically fainted opening the doorto reveal the majority of the host club standing there.
"Ah, Honoka-san, looking as radiant as ever, I must say," the all blonde flirted, kissing the frightened maid's hand.
"T-th-the Y-Y-Young Master is-is not a-awake." Tsukiko was braced for the poor girl to pass out.
"Tamaki-senpai?"
"Little Sister! You look gorgeous as well in your pajamas!" Tamaki exclaimed waltzing into the mansion.
That's right. She was still in her yoga pants and red Chinese style night top. Not exactly ready to face the world.
"You're not dressed yet?" Honey asked hopping inside with Usa-chan in his arms.
"You're hair's a mess," Hikaru noted, walking in despite the frightened maid's attempt to shoo them.
"Hikaru!" Kaoru scolded with a frown.
"Sorry, that kinda slipped out."
"It's fine," Tsukiko nodded, crossing her arms. "So watcha up to?"
"The boss here wanted to check out the shops around Haruhi's neighborhood," Hikaru explained, his hands in his coat pockets.
"And check out what commoners like to do for fun," his twin finished.
Tsukiko's eyes lit up and a smile just grew on her face. "That sounds like fun!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes big and bright.
"I'm glad you said so, Little Sister," Tamaki grinned, giving a bow. "We would be delighted if you and Kyouya would join us."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Honoka practically shouted, finally gathering the groups attention.
Oops, Tsukiko thought. I forgot she was here.
Honoka cleared her throat before continuing. "The Y-Young Master, is-is not awake j-just yet."
"Hmm…and Kyou-chan is very cranky in the morning…" Honey nodded, making his little bunny nod as well.
"You're no one to talk," Mori commented, causing the petite boy to look up at him.
"What do you mean, Takashi?" he asked wide-eyed. Mori simply patted him on the head.
"What are you so worried about? It's just Kyouya-kun," Tsukiko inquired, raising a brow. "You act like he's-"
Before she could finish, her mouth was closed by the hands of Tamaki and Honoka. "You don't understand, Little Sister, Kyouya's blood type is AB!" Tamaki whispered as the group seemed to close in so no one else would hear.
"A-and has very l-low blood pressure in-in the morning," Honoka spit out, Tsukiko made a mental note to somehow convince Yoshio to give this woman a well deserved vacation.
Squirming, she managed to get her mouth free from her captors. "And? My little sister has that blood type and pretty low blood pressure, I think you guys are overreacting."
"B-but he's kn-known a-as 'The Low Blood Pressure Evil Lord!'" The poor maid, no wonder why she was so frightened! The staff must have told her horror stories!
Tsukiko couldn't help but laugh. "Kyouya-kun has certainly gained a reputation!" she laughed, finally giving a sigh that she had calmed down. "Here, if you guys are so worried about what 'The Low Blood Pressure Evil Lord' will do, then let me wake him up." She managed a deep mocking tone when mentioning her friend's nickname.
"Maybe we should let her, Boss," Hikaru suggested, appearing behind one of his shoulders.
"She won't believe us unless she sees it herself," Kaoru finished, appearing behind the opposite shoulder.
"But you know how 'Mommy' is! He could get violent!" Tamaki exclaimed, practically in tears.
Tsukiko simply pointed to herself. "Um…Hello? Trained by none other than Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai?"
"Tsuki-chan is strong! Once she had a Kendo battle with Takashi for almost forty minutes!" Honey cheered, backing the girl up.
"M-Mizushima-sama!"
"Honoka-san, please, I told you, cal me Tsukiko. And don't worry about Kyouya-kun or any threat he might make, I'll handle him," Tsukiko assured the frightened woman. She really could use that vacation.
"Determined and feisty," the twins commented, as they followed the girl up to the Demon Lord's room.
The room was dark, no blinds had been pulled back. The perfect cave for the Shadow King, Tsukiko thought, waltzing up towards the loft where the Shadow King slept. Turning around she saw Tamaki walking very cautiously.
"Okay, be careful, we can't be too forward when waking him up, remember last time?" Tamaki warned in a whisper, the shorter girl rolled her eyes and walked up into the loft.
"Tsukiko!" some whispered softly, she merely turned around and with a wink she said, "This is going to be like old times."
Kyouya was sprawled on his stomach under the covers, completely knocked out. Out of sheer curiosity, the rest of the host club watched in awe as the tiny girl crawled into the bed, resting her head by his. "Sleep well, Handsome?" she asked, causing the boys' mouths to drop. "Dream about me?"
With a groan, Kyouya opened an eye, then rolled over. "I was having a nice dream," he replied, shocking the group. "Then you came and turned it into a nightmare."
Enraged, Tsukiko grabbed a pillow and hit it on his head. "Wake up, dumbass!" she exclaimed, seeing no movement on his part.
"Tsukiko-" the boys tried to warn her, but she was not satisfied with the sleeping boy.
"Let me sleep, I was up until four this morning," Kyouya groaned, starting to get angry.
"Ootori, Kyouya!" Tsukiko found it only logical to pounce onto him, only agitating him further.
The Demon Lord's eyes grew red with fury, it was only then that, "That was too much, wasn't it?" Tsukiko realized out loud, seeing the nodding heads of the teenagers in front of her.
"Tsukiko!" Kyouya was angry indeed, the small girl instantly ran from him and on top of the tall armoire across from the bed. She was giggling like mad. "You're not four anymore! I can reach the top of that thing now!" She just continued to laugh, as he exhaled and put on his glasses. "What the hell are you idiots doing here?"
"That's not a nice way to talk to your guests Kyouya-kun!" Tsukiko scolded with a smile.
"May I remind you, that you are the one cowering in fear on top of the armoire?" She merely stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm not cowering in fear! I find this hysterical and a crapload of fun!" Tsukiko laughed, sitting almost like a proper lady would on top of the closet.
Kyouya only shook his head. Well, he was awake, it's not like he could just roll over and forget about the awestruck Host Club in front of him. "May I ask what you're doing in my room at nine in the morning?"
Snapping himself out of his daze, Tamaki cleared his throat. "I'm glad you asked," he said, putting on his host smile. "We are going to see the shops located in my little girl's neighborhood, and see just what commoners do!"
"People watch?" Tsukiko offered a translation.
"Pretty much," the twins shrugged.
"I was up until four in the morning, I am not going to go look at commoner shops…" Kyouya's voice was firm and had a deadly tone to it.
"You're complaining about five hours of sleep?" the girl scoffed, crossing her arms, still on top of the armoire. "I turned it at two this morning, then woke up at six and you don't see me complaining!"
"Baka…" he groaned under his breath, rubbing his temples.
"Someone's cranky," she shook her head, motioning Mori to help her down.
"I'm not cranky…"
"Yes, you are," Tsukiko argued, as Mori grabbed her by the waist and lifted her off the armoire and onto the ground. "Now, get your ass up and dressed, and I'll do the same. Au revoir!"
With that, the girl left the group of boys staring. "She knows French?" the blonde found himself asking, his best friend only shrugged his shoulders.
"Apparently."
"C'mon, Kyou-chan!" Honey cheered, hopping over to the still sleepy boy. "Time to get ready!"
After that little…episode…Tsukiko went to her room and got ready. With her hair brushed and the only makeup on her face being eyeliner and mascara, she headed down to the foyer. Dressed in dark jeans, flat brown knee high boots, a purple turtleneck and a black trench coat, she was ready to go. Now the only one the group had to wait for was the Shadow King himself.
"Kyouya-kun's still not ready yet?"
"Nope," the twins replied in unison.
"Did he fall back asleep?" Honey asked, sitting on Mori's shoulders.
"If he did, he's gonna have to deal with me again!" Tsukiko pursed her lips and folded her arms, glaring up the stairs in the general direction of Kyouya's room.
"I'm starting to feel bad for him…" Hikaru whispered to Kaoru who elbowed him.
"I like your coat, Tsuki-chan!" Honey exclaimed pointing to the shiny jacket she had come down in.
"Hmm…looks just like…" Kaoru started, sing his thumb and index finger the feel the fabric of the collar.
"Our mom's Winter line from last year…" Hikaru finished as the two looked at each other and he looked at the tag behind the girl's neck.
"It is from Mom's line!" the two exclaimed.
"Interesting…" Tamaki wondered out loud and approached the girl. "Just how did you get such a fine piece of clothing?" he asked curiously.
"Huh?" Tsukiko replied, looking down at her jacket. "Oh, I got this at a thrift store near my old house. Only cost me about eight hundred yen." (approximately $10 U.S. dollars forgive me if I'm wrong and feel free to correct me)
"Eight hundred yen!" the twins exclaimed, jaw dropped.
"Thrift store?" Tamaki questioned with thought. "Oh! I've heard of those! It's a place where commoners go to buy second hand clothing and items for a cheaper price!"
"But eight hundred yen!" Kaoru exclaimed, practically jumping away from the short girl.
"Not even a ribbon from one of her outfits goes for that small price!" his twin agreed completely flabbergasted.
"I'm intrigued…" their boss contemplated with his hand at his chin. "After we pick up Haruhi, our first stop shall be one of those thrift stores!"
"Yay!" Honey exclaimed bouncing on top of Mori's shoulders. Tsukiko silently wondered if he was actually made of steel!
"You guys really don't get out much, do you?" she inquired, placing a finger on her chin.
"Nope!" Tamaki and the twins replied and the girl placed her hands on her hips.
"This is gonna be fun," she smirked, hearing footsteps above them.
"You're only encouraging him, Tsukiko," a familiar sleep deprived voice silenced the others as they looked up.
"Yeesh! Kyouya-kun!" Tsukiko exclaimed exasperatedly, throwing her arms in the air. "You took longer than me to get ready! I feel bad for what your future wife is gonna have to deal with!"
The twins tried their best to keep their snickers at bay, but to little avail as the Shadow King's eyebrow began to twitch. Honey simply giggled as Mori held onto his legs with an emotionless feature. It was none other than Tamaki to the rescue!
"Well, my dear Imouto-chan! We best be on our way! My little girl is waiting for us!" Tamaki shouted, racing for the door.
"You told her we were coming?" Mori asked, following.
The naïve blonde boy just grinned.
"She has no clue about your antics, does she," Kyouya stated, no question about it.
"That's right," the blonde sang and skipped out the door.
"This really is going to be fun," Tsukiko smirked, shoving her hands in her pockets and followed the boys.
"Sorry, Tsukiko-chan, but Haruhi left to run some errands about an hour ago," Ranka was explaining to the group, completely ignoring Tamaki.
"He does realize that it was the Boss who asked him where Haruhi was, right?" Kaoru whispered to his twin.
"You know how those two are," Hikaru chided, folding his arms. "Ranka normally ignores him."
"That's okay, Ranka-san," Tsukiko smiled, giving a slight bow. "We were actually just about to head into the market, we just might see her there. Thanks for letting us know."
Ranka couldn't contain himself. "Hau!" he cried out, jumping outside and engulfed the girl in a spinning hug. "You're just so adorable! I'm so glad Haruhi finally has a girlfriend like you instead of those boys!"
"Should we be insulted?" the twins inquired in unison, but were simply drowned out with Ranka's squeals of excitement.
"Arigato, Ranka-san!" the petite brunette shouted, but was muffled through the man's shirt. "But we should get going if we're ever going to catch up with Haruhi!"
"Of course, dearie!" he agreed, letting her go. "Come back anytime, you're no stranger!"
And thus the group was on their way.
"Maybe we should have called Haru-chan before we came…" Honey implied sadly.
"Hey, Tsukiko, when did you become so friendly with Haruhi's dad?" Hikaru inquired as they walked.
"Last week, when I was over their apartment," she replied. "He's really nice." She turned and looked behind them. "Tell me again why Tamaki-senpai is growing mushrooms in that wagon and why you have Mori-senpai pulling him."
Sure enough, Tamaki sat in a little red wagon, sulking. Mori pulling the handle.
"Better question…" Kaoru started, raising a brow at the sight.
"Where did the wagon come from?" his twin finished.
"Takashi is always prepared!" Honey cheered, making Usa-chan nod in agreement.
"Okay, why is he growing mushrooms?" Tsukiko offered, raising a brow.
"He's upset, because Haruhi wasn't at home when he thought she was," Kyouya confirmed, not looking directly at the girl beside him.
"You're still pissed because I jumped you earlier, aren't you?" Her hands rested on her hips.
"Well, you did pounce on me and forced me to get out of my nice warm bed in order to outside and shop in an outdoor market on a cold November day."
"You really need to let that go…" She shook her head.
"And you need to stop calling me a pervert…" He raised a brow.
"You really need to lighten up…" her arms crossed against her chest. "And calm down…"
"Oh, I'm not calm? You attack and make false accusations toward others…"
"And you don't?"
"Actually, no, I don't…"
"You're antisocial…"
"Now, you're just saying anything that comes into your mind…"
"That's right," she grinned and giggled as she took a few paces ahead of him.
"Interesting…I've never seen this side of Kyouya before," Tamaki noted, sitting up in the wagon.
"When did you stop growing mushrooms?" Hikaru inquired, raising a brow.
His question was never answered. "HARUHI!"
No, it was not Tamaki who exclaimed his excitement, but a much shorter candidate.
Tsukiko sprinted over to the girl, jumping and wrapping her arms around Haruhi. The momentum of her weight made the two spin around, dizzying one while the other giggled like mad.
"You know," Hikaru started, crossing his arms.
"She's just like," his twin added, imitating the gesture.
"A female Honey-senpai!"
yup so some hilarity and a little piece as to Tsukiko's former lifestyle oh! and i expect this to take place probably a week and a half into November because Kyouya's birthday would be coming up and i have a couple plans ;p anyway give me your feedback and please review cuz i love them! lol