new chap! finally right! lol enjoy!
She ran and ran. She needed to get out of there, needed to escape. They would catch her. It was only a matter of time. She could feel tears fall from her eyes as horrible thoughts and images raced through her mind.
No! You can do it! You're almost there! She kept telling herself. If only it were true.
The hand grabbing her shoulder confirmed her fears.
"Gotcha!"
"No!" Tsukiko shot up in her bed as the remnants of her dream plagued her memory.
Beads of cold sweat dripped down her forehead and she could feel the stiffness on her cheeks of dried tears. Just a dream… she told herself as she panted.
She could still feel the ghost of the hand on her shoulder, sending chills down her spine. She shivered as she finally calmed down enough to look at the clock. 3:11 A.M. She still had a few hours until dawn.
She laid back down on the bed resting her eyes when something occurred to her. She nearly jumped out of the bed. "How did I get there?" she wondered aloud trying to figure what happened the night before.
"Oh right," she whispered. "Fuyumi was helping me study, I must've fallen asleep…"
Glancing at the clock again she figured she had plenty of time to get some more sleep before she needed to get ready or do any more last minute studying. She gathered her pillow and the blanket on top of her comforter and headed for the couch in the living room area of her room.
"Maybe I can actually get some sleep for once," she muttered as she plopped herself on the couch.
Tsukiko yawned as she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room to grab something to eat. "Late night?" Kyouya asked groggily as he finished his croissant.
She yawned again. "You could say that," she said choosing nice red apple. "How about you? You're not exactly chipper this morning either."
"I was finishing up some paperwork for the club that took longer than I had originally anticipated," he said, grabbing his bag and standing up. "Ready to go?"
Tsukiko grabbed a second apple and shoved it into her bag before nodding. "Yup."
"Ready for the exam, Tsukiko-chan?" Kaoru asked as he walked into the classroom seeing said girl scouring her notes. The girl jumped and shook her head.
"Uh-uh," she sighed. "I was up half the night studying, you all have a head start since I came in so late."
"You don't need to worry about it," Hikaru chimed in appear behind his twin. "The history part is easy, plus we actually did more exercises and discussions about the book itself, you read it right?"
"Twice."
"Then you should be fine!" the twins exclaimed together.
"Thanks guys." The bell rang and their sensei walked in ordering everyone to their seats.
"In your seats!" he ordered plopping a stack of papers on the desk. "You will have until the bell rings to finish the test that includes multiple choice, short answer, and the essay. Remember what I went over about essays yesterday." As he handed out the test as he explained the directions. "Eyes on your own paper any cheating will be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly." He finished passing the papers out. "Budget your time wisely and you may begin."
Tsukiko opened the packet she was handed, seeing as the first five questions were fairly easy about the history of the time period and then the rest were about the book itself, she gained far more confidence.
Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought…she thought to herself.
"Place your tests on my desk as you leave, no one will be allotted any extra time," their sensei ordered as the bell rang. "Grades will be posted tomorrow, tonight do the grammatical practices thirty-seven and forty-one in chapter sixteen of your textbooks." Everyone stood up and began to depart. "Have a good evening."
It was the middle of study hall when Kyouya received a text from his father. He closed his book and made sure the librarians were away as he took out his phone.
Make sure you bring Mizushima-san home immediately after your club activities, the text said.
Well that was a first. Kyouya's eyes widened slightly, before retuning to normal. He didn't know his father knew how to text, perhaps he had his secretary do it or something. Oh well, he may as well text his father back.
Of course. I'll make sure she is home before 6:30.
He put away his phone and continued his studying. The lunch bell would sound any moment and even Kyouya had a test or two he needed to study for. After his tests would be more of Tamaki's antics and pleasing of their guests, after the conversation he had last night with his sister he knew it was going to be a long afternoon.
What was with that story? Why had it sound so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time? Fuyumi had said she took pictures. Where were they? Maybe that would jog his memory. Come to think of it he really didn't remember the day she left, or what he felt about it. He always remembered her to be a bit of a pest, why would he protect her from anyone trying to wake her up?
He just remembered having to chase her because she ticked him off and then one day, her mother didn't show up and neither did Tsukiko. Things were much quieter after that, then eight years later she shows up and is actually living with his family. Why now? Why wait all these years? Something didn't seem quite right to Kyouya. Sure, maybe his father owed her uncle a favor, but it must have been a very big favor in order to have Tsukiko stay with them and pay for her tuition to Ouran, even with her scholarship.
It was a mystery that he will surely get to the bottom of.
The bell rang signaling lunch.
Not right then, of course, it was a mystery that could wait.
Well, it was official, Tsukiko was bored. She had finished all of her homework during lectures while she had simultaneously taken notes. She also managed to go over her notes to discover that she did answer correctly on the test earlier that day and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she was wandering the clubroom in search of something to do.
"My, my, it appears we have a princess wandering around out of boredom," Tamaki declared, as he sat having tea with two of his guests.
Confused, Tsukiko turned and nodded. "I finished all my work, now I need something to do," she replied, noticing the violin she saw from the day before.
"Tsukiko-chan, do you play?" one of Tamaki's customers asked, noticing where the girl's gaze was.
"Hai," she replied, then smiled deciding she may as well play into their game for some fun. "I would have loved to play some music for all you yesterday while you were enjoying your pirate adventure however Kyouya wouldn't let me." She gave a fake pout.
The two girls gasped and Tsukiko had to control the laughter building up. "S-surely Kyouya-senpai had a good reason," said the other guest.
"Nee! Tamaki-senpai! Can we request that Tsukiko play for us!" the other girl exclaimed excitedly. Tsukiko felt a little guilty. She really didn't think the girls at that school would fall for such an easy trick. She could really hate her manipulative side; sometimes it would just take over. She needed to fix that.
"I don't know, we've never had a request for someone who was not a member of the host club," Tamaki answered, thoroughly thinking about it. "Though, I'd very much like to hear you play. Mama!"
"What is it, Tamaki?" Kyouya's voice called back from his couch of customers.
"Is it all right if Imouto-chan entertains us!"
"Don't you have homework?" he asked her, and she only pouted and glared.
"In case you must know, I've already finished all my homework, Haruhi and my projects is finished, and I managed to finish the two books I borrowed from the library yesterday," she listed, crossing her arms. "So as of right now, I have nothing to do and no money on me to pay for an appointment!."
"Ooh! Ooh! Mommy! Can she play as a way for her to pay for being here!" Tamaki's excitement was equal to that of the short blonde haired member of the club.
The boy with glasses thought for a moment then gave a sigh. "Upon request, I suppose she can in order to pay her debt, this once," he answered, returning his attention to his guests.
"Mommy says yes!" Tamaki exclaimed happily. "What will you play?"
"I'm not too sure," the petite girl replied, picking up the violin. "Any requests?"
"Why don't you play your favorite song, Tsukiko?" asked the second customer of Tamaki.
"Hmm…" She thought for a second. Her eyes lit up. "I know what I'll play! I hope you all know and enjoy it! Sing along if you want!"
She began to expertly play notes on the fiddle in her hands. The long melodious intro gathered the attention of the guests in the room. She slowed her playing slightly and tapped her foot. "I dreamed of living, alone but fearless. Secret longing, to be courageous. Loneliness kept bottled up inside. Just reveal your brave face, they'll never know you lied!" She played to the beat of her tapping foot and lyrics. "Country road, may lead me home. Know I belong here, all on my own! Destiny calls! Motionless I stall! No, I can't go, Country road!"
"So we have the new girl performing during Host Club hours, that's unusual," commented the girl with purplish black hair next to Kyouya. "Had I known, I would've brought my flute."
"It appears it was a special request of Tamaki and his guests, we do not usually have entertainment like this on a regular basis," Kyouya explained, then gave his host smile. "However, the idea would be great, perhaps have the guests perform a bit of concert one day? I'd love to hear you play, Watanabe-san."
"Oh, Kyouya-san, please you may call me by my first name," she replied with a laugh, brushing her long hair off of her shoulder.
"Of course, Suzune-san," he returned as their attention went back to the girl playing.
"Country road! La, la, la, la. You're a good friend, I'll never know! Same tomorrow, regret and sorrow. Can't take you home, Country road!" Tsukiko finished as she played the final notes on the fiddle. She was surprised by the amount of applause that erupted around her, that she could only bow.
"Sugoi!" called one of Tamaki's customers. "You're amazing Tsukiko-chan!"
"Arigato!" she said, bowing again. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"GAAAAHHH!" the tall blonde squealed as he raced up and picked up the girl ad spun her around. "MY LITTLE IMOUTO-CHAN IS SO TALENTED!"
"Senpai! Please, put me down!" she exclaimed.
"Looks like Tamaki-senpai is being a perv again," the twins chimed in as Kyouya stood and clapped his hands.
"And with that little concert from Mizushima-san, that concludes Host Club hours for today. We look forward to seeing your lovely faces enjoying our activities tomorrow," Kyouya said, with his host smile. He laid one arm over his chest and bowed slightly. "The Host Club will be waiting for you."
Pouting, whining, complaining, grumbling and fangirling the vast amount of Ouran girls immediately began to file out, leaving just the remaining hosts, Tsukiko, and a determined Watanabe Suzune. "And what may I do for you, Watanabe-san?" Kyouya offered as the rest of the gang was messing around.
"Please, Kyouya, we've talked about this," she smiled, waving it off.
"My apologies, Suzune-san." She just gave a small laugh. "What may I do for you?"
"I was just making sure that you'll be attending my father's gala this weekend, I hope you received your invitation." She clasped her hands around the handle of her school bag and smiled innocently.
"Yes, I did receive your invitation and my father and I look forward to attending. He has already made the preparations and cleared his schedule for it, as did I."
"Perfect, I look forward to sharing a dance with you that evening, that is, if you are not too busy dancing with other guests." She gave a sly wink as she finished her request. Kyouya put on his host smile as always when dealing with such flirtatious customers.
"But of course I would not forget to save a dance for such a lovely maiden as yourself," he assured her.
"Great, I will see you Saturday evening, don't be late." She left the music room, closing the large doors behind her as the other hosts smiled with amusement.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting confrontation," the twins commented.
"Suzune is having a party?" Honey cocked his head as he held Usa-chan.
"Oh yeah, I heard something about that," Tamaki commented, nodding his head. "I heard the party was mainly for the parents to see potential suitors for their children. So, are you a potential suitor for Watanabe-san, Mommy?"
"If he is, then so am I," Tsukiko piped up, crossing her arms. "I'll be attending the gala as well."
"Tsuki-chan, you were invited?" Honey asked, cocking Usa-chan's head as well.
"You're Kyouya's date," Haruhi concluded, earning a nod from the petite girl.
"Ooh, Mommy and Little Sister are going on a date!" The twins exclaimed, then turned to each other.
"Wait, a minute…" Hikaru paused.
"Isn't that incest?" his twin finished.
"You two are the last ones to even bring up such a comment." Haruhi resisted the urge to smack them upside the head.
"Tsukiko, go grab your bag from the back, you have an engagement with my sister that you cannot be late for," Kyouya told her, she merely pouted.
"Don't tell me what to do," she grumbled marching into the back to grab her bag.
"I need to get going, too," Haruhi added, following her friend toward the back changing rooms where she had placed her bag.
"I wonder what Suzune will say when she realizes you brought a date," Kaoru thought out loud.
"I'm sure she will be fine," Kyouya replied.
"Who? Tsukiko or Suzune?" Hikaru asked, flopping down on one of the couches.
"What does Tsukiko have to do with it?" The boy shoved his laptop in his school bag.
"He's the braniac-" Kaoru began.
"Yet he can't even figure out what we're talking a out," Hikaru finished.
"If you're implying that bringing her would imply that there is something between us, you're wrong. I am just her escort."
"Yeah we know that," the twins replied, rolling their eyes.
"But does Watanabe-san know that?" Tamaki added.
Kyouya just sighed.
"Well, you have to admit that she has been fairly attached to you as of late," his blonde best friend tried to persuade him.
"Suzune-cahn has a crush on Kyou-chan?" Honey asked, Usa-chan giving a confused glare despite being just a stuffed bunny.
"After what happened with Ayankoji-san earlier in the year I've made it a point that any inappropriate actions made by our guests due to jealousy for whatever reason would result in immediate banning of entrance to the Host Club. I assure you, no drama will be made." He noticed the two girls coming out of the changing area.
"Okay, so do you want to practice the steps before class tomorrow, just as a refresher? In case we end up having to go?" Tsukiko offered.
"Yeah, I think that will be a good idea," Haruhi agreed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, jaa nee!" she called as she followed Kyouya out of there.
"Jaa nee!" she heard everyone call back.
It was fairly late, not nearly as late as the night before where Kyouya was forced out of his room in order to carry their guest to her bed. It was only about ten at night and Kyouya was heading towards his room to get ready to retire early when he heard giggling from one of the ajar doors.
"No way! Where did you find these!" he easily recognized their guest's voice as his curiosity got the better of him.
"I took a lot of these when I received a camera as a birthday present," he heard his own sister's voice reply with a laugh.
"Kyouya was so cute as a kid! What happened!" The two girls laughed hysterically as ruffling could be heard. "Is this you, Fuyumi?"
"Hai! Yes, that was a family trip to Kyoto when I was much younger."
"I see Yuuichi and Akito, but where's Kyouya?"
"At the time, our mom had only just found out she was pregnant with him," Fuyumi explained. Kyouya really didn't know why he was still standing there and was about to walk away when he heard his sister make an excited noise. "Here it is!"
"Here what is?"
"I was trying to remind Kyouya last night about this, but he just couldn't remember," she explained. "Back when you still came here with your mom, you and Kyouya fell asleep in the backyard under the tree. It was adorable!"
"I remember this!" Tsukiko's voice exclaimed. "I woke up on that bed of pillows and was so confused! Where's Kyouya! We have to show him!"
"He should be in his room I think!"
Not good. Quickly, Kyouya managed to compose himself enough to walk as though he were just passing by as the door burst open. He turned around as nonchalantly as possible. "Kyouya-kun!" Tsukiko exclaimed.
"Perfect timing!" Fuyumi added, holding the picture to his face. "I told you I took a picture! And you said I was only imagining that day!"
Sure enough, on the picture was a snoozing Kyouya and a sleeping Tsukiko underneath a Sakura tree with pink petals falling around them. Kyouya had to admit his sister had outdone herself; the picture did look advertisement worthy. Yet it still didn't jog his memory. It was more like a story he had been told before a long time ago and he knew it was familiar but couldn't place it. "Huh, so you weren't trying to fool me," he said, taking the picture in his hand.
"Aw! You don't remember!" Tsukiko was sincerely disappointed. "That was back when you actually liked me."
Kyouya shook his head. "Sorry, I just don't remember." He headed for his room, shutting the door behind him.
"He took your picture," Tsukiko pointed out, but her companion just shook her head.
"I made copies, and don't mind him," she said, leading her back into the bedroom. "He'll come around eventually."
"So, he doesn't remember all the fun we used to have?" the smaller girl asked, mainly to herself.
"He will, don't worry about it."
yay the mystery here! lol probably some things that most of you guys didn't really think about but i actually have a plot! i'm very sorry that this didn't come out sooner in fact the part where Tsukiko sings i've had planned for a while and was really looking forward to it! but then i wrote it and was not a very big fan *sigh* oh well the good thing is i was able to update before september just like i promised! :) please review!
jaa nee!