EDIT: 9/3/2015
Welcome to the Ouran Host Club.
Author's Corner!
Haruhi has just reunited with some old friends! Looks like things are heating up in Karuizawa with the host club. BRACE YOURSELVES! This is gonna be a LONG chapter.
R&R ~ Read On!
Legend: ' ' are thoughts, " " are characters speaking, *bold* are actions done by characters and sfx, italics represent past events, memories, emphasis and texts/phone calls/etc, and bold italics time skips.
WARNING: May contain OOC, various point-of-view, and possible lemons
DISCLAIMER: May or may not be word-for-word scenes from the original OHSHC, but I will incorporate my own into it!
II : Misuzu's Pension and A...Date?!
I can't believe it.
Arai, Nadeshiko, and Seiji are here. In Karuizawa. At Misuzu's. Standing right before my very eyes.
I haven't kept in touch with Arai as much, but I did ask Nadeshiko about her summer plans before coming here. In fact, I haven't heard from her at all after that. After the twins gave me one of their cells, I gave Sakurako and Nadeshiko my number, not telling them how I managed to get my hands on the cellphone.
'I should talk to her later, she doesn't seem all that happy.'
"So, uh... These your friends?" Arai asked me awkwardly as the three bafoons were looking at the four of us, eyes going back and forth.
I walk over to Arai's side, Seiji trailing behind me. I looked at the three guys who were looking at us somewhat suspiciously.
"So, uh... These your friends?" Arai asked Haruhi. She looked down at them, as they were sitting on the ground for some reason, and said, "Oh, yeah. This is Hikaru and Kaoru, they're in my class. And this is my sen-" she cut herself off. I looked to the blonde halfer who was giving Haruhi puppy-dog eyes.
'He must be of foreign heritage...' I thought to myself.
I then looked back to Haruhi who seemed to be contemplating over something before she spoke again. "An acquaintance of mine," she gestured to the blondie. Suddenly, Misuzu, who was at the piano, struck down on it, making a dramatic effect as the blonde suffered from shock at Haruhi's introduction.
After that, the four of us sat down at a table on the other side of the pension, away from the other group of people that were with us. I glanced over to where they were sitting, slowly taking a sip from my cup of Jasmine tea.
'I wonder who they really are to Haruhi...'
My attention was brought back to our table when Haruhi started the conversation. "I haven't seen you guys since graduation."
Arai, who was smiling with slight blush on his face, said, "Yeah, you cut all your hair off. That's such a shame." Seiji and I nodded at this. "I don't think so. I mean, since I cut it, it has been easier to manage," Haruhi replied while fiddling with a strand of hair.
*sweatdrop*
'Clearly she doesn't understand how much everyone loved her hair,' I thought while taking another sip of tea. I took a short glance to Seiji, who was reading his book while still taking part in the conversation, with a faltered smile on his face. 'Ah...seems I'm not the only one who thinks so.'
"So how's Ouran treating you? You keep in touch with anyone from middle school anymore?" Arai asked. "Yeah, a little. Kazumi still calls me, and I sometimes hang out with Sakurako and Nadeshiko on the weekends," she says. I flinched a little at the mention of Sakurako's name.
'Stay calm, Nadeshiko, stay calm.' No one seemed to notice, so I was in the clear...hopefully.
"What about you?"
Over on the other side of the pension, things were starting to look a little grey.
"So, he's a friend of Haruhi's from middle school, huh," Kyoya stated. It sounded almost like a question, but not really a question question.
"They've had zero contact since graduation. So, in my opinion, they're not friends just former classmates," Hikaru said, not bothering to look at the group of friends chatting away on the other side. Kaoru looked at his older twin, bothered by his current attitude towards their sudden appearance.
Arai looked to where the host club were sitting. "So these guys are all in a club with you?" he asked Haruhi. Nadeshiko was quietly drinking her tea, silently looking back and forth at her chatting friends. "Host club," Haruhi replied. She was giving off the impression of regret and "Oh boy...", but Nadeshiko couldn't properly put it into words, so she just left it alone. "Oh, is that so?"
'Boy, these two aren't progressing at all,' Seiji and Nadeshiko both thought. A voice called out from the other side of the pension.
"Hey Haruhi! Don't you think you should be working? You shouldn't be slackin' off!" Hikaru yelled at said girl.
Haruhi looked to her fellow club member/classmate and sweatdropped at him, "But Misuzu said that I could take a break." Then, the sound of papers being ripped were heard. The reuinted four looked toward the source.
"Hey, quit making more garbage I'll have to take out," Haruhi told Tamaki. "It's not garbage. I'm making a hamster home," he said quietly depressed. "But, senpai, you don't have a hamster."
"I'm not your senpai," he glanced at Haruhi, then went back to making more shreds of paper, "I'm just an acquaintance of yours."
Arai made a laugh that sounded almost like a "pfft". "Wow, who knew you Ouran guys were so funny."
"I don't think they're trying to make us laugh, Arai," Seiji stated, not bothering to look up from his book. Nadeshiko laughed a little awkwardly at his bluntness, "Now, now..."
"You know, it's such a prestigious school. I've always imagined it was an entirely different world," Arai said while looking at Tamaki. Haruhi, still looking at Tamaki as if annoyed, added, "It's a different world alright."
"To be honest with you, Fujioka. I was kinda worried that you were gonna have a hard time going to such an elite school," Arai said, his features softening. Nadeshiko and Seiji perked up at this, now interested in the flow of the conversation Arai had started. "I'm glad to see you're doing well." Haruhi smiled at him, causing Arai to fluster. "Um, I mean, it's not like I was the only one who was worried about you. Lots of people were!" he said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Nadeshiko and Seiji rolled their eyes and looked to opposite sides as they were sitting side-by-side.
'Uh huh...like that's believable, lover boy' they thought simultaneously.
Not that it would get through to Haruhi. The girl was practically as dense as a rock!
I feel bad for Arai, Haruhi's way too dense for her own good. Despite being on the other side of the room, I could hear one of the twin's, Hikaru I supposed, give snide comments about Arai.
We all could.
"What's with him? He's trying to use the refreshing innocence approach," everyone then looked at him, "Someone should tell him we already had a refreshment contest."
"You're being unusually critical," Kyoya stated. 'Oh...so Kyoya was here. How could I just notice...' I thought, siltenly reminding myself to greet him later.
"I'm just sayin' ~ It's obvious this guy has a thing for Haruhi. It's sickening to watch him try and flirt, ugh," Hikaru said, disgusted. 'What a kid, jealous over something like this,' I thought to myself, slightly scowling at the older twin. Or at least, I assumed he was the older twin. Haruhi got up from her seat, not moving from her place, and scolded, "Hikaru, what's wrong with you? Quit acting like such a jerk!" I mentally sighed. Is this what Haruhi and Kyoya have to deal with at school? Seems like too much work.
"Hey, it's no big deal. He's right, I did have a thing for you once," Arai said, shocking the blonde and the twins. "But, who cares! You already turned me down, right?" he said embarrassed.
'Oh boy...'
"Huh?!" came from Honey, Tamaki (as I've learned their names), and...Haruhi.
*sigh*
"Why do you look so surprised?" Kyoya asked her. "Uh, well I didn't know," she replied.
"Of course you didn't. Haruhi, you gotta admit, you are kinda slow when it comes to these things," I told her in a slightly teasing manner. Seiji looked to me and scoffed lightly before reading again, "Now, now..."
"You have to fill us on in this story, Arai. Now, when did this happen?" Tamaki asked the flustered teen. "Well, it was about a year ago..." Arai began.
Arai was heavily panting as he ran through the halls in search of a certain brunette. 'There she is!' he thought as he spotted said brunette, who was walking down the hall towards the staff room.
"Fujioka!" he called out to her.
Said girl turned around, her beautiful, straight locks flowing as she turned. Arai came to a stop, bending slightly with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He looked up to her.
"I heard you're taking the honor student entrance exam for Ouran Academy."
"Mhm," she nodded.
"You are? Well you just might make it in with your grades," he said while standing straight. "Although, I was sure you'd be going to Higashi High."
"I'm taking the test for Higashi, too. I don't know if I'll be accepted into Ouran," she said.
"Yeah..." he trailed off, slight blush on his cheeks as he looked at her. "Well, I guess I'll just cheer for you. I'd have liked to go to the same highschool as you though." Haruhi looked surprised.
"Well, okay then. You really should've said something to me sooner." Arai was taken aback, regaining his composure as his face became more flushed, "You mean-" "I'm pretty sure that Ouran's awarding more than one honor student scholarship."
'Oh...that.' Arai thought, blush no longer appearing on his face.
Haruhi's face void of all understanding as to what he was really trying to do. Her expression literally screamed "What?"
Dense was the only word I could think of when I heard of the story.
"And even if there is only one, you can't give up going to the school of your dreams for someone else's sake. If only one of us gets in, there won't be any hard feelings, right? We should both do our best," Haruhi said enthusiastically as Arai's eyes wandered.
"I know, let's go and ask the counselor about it!" she suggested as she turned to head towards the school counselor's office. Arai looked back at her and grabbed her wrist before she could go.
"Fujioka!" She looked back at him.
"I-I want...I want you to go with me!" he told her, a determined look now on his face. Haruhi fully turned to look back at him. Blinking once, she smiled.
"Yeah...I wanted to check the application deadline, too. Let's go to the staff room together," she deadpanned.
Haruhi was twitching, obviously shocked by what she didn't know she had done.
The host club looked at her like she was some sort of menace. "Haruhi," Kyoya started. Then, a scene of the police interrogating a criminal played out.
"You broke this innocent young man's heart? Just to get a laugh from some sick joke?" Kyoya questioned, writing something on a clipboard. "Erm, no," she answered quite lamely. "When that happened, I didn't quite understand what he meant."
"This crime is pretty serious, huh?" Honey questioned, looking up at Mori. "Mm," came his reply along with a curt nod.
Haruhi turned to Arai and bowed 90 degrees, "I'm so sorry." Arai looked taken aback and pointed towards himself, "So you're turning me down a whole year later?!"
"Really, Haruhi? And just what kind of foreplay was that?" I muttered while holding the teacup and saucer in my hands.
Arai laughed and continued, "Don't worry about it, Fujioka, I'm over it already. You didn't realize what I'd meant, so that means you weren't interested."
"I'm pretty sure she didn't realize it because she wasn't interested, Arai," Seiji told him while drinking from his tea, still not bothering to look up from his book. Arai just laughed awkwardly, still a bit flustered from Haruhi's official rejection. "But you know...I was always drawn to that faraway look in your eyes," he started. "And the way you would look someone in the eyes when you spoke to them. I liked that about you, I always thought you were special."
"Yeah, well, you weren't the only one, lover boy," I muttered loud enough so that he could hear. I saw him look at me, giving me an awkward smile. Tamaki came over to Arai, who I didn't notice was now standing, and grabbed both of his wrists, "You think that much of my little girl! Don't worry, I'll never forget your gallantry!" He seems quite pleased. And 'little girl'? Is he, like, Ranka Number 2?
After a while, everyone got together and sat at the table we were at.
"Wow~ You guys went to Kyoto for your middle school field trip? How unusual that you stayed in the country," Honey-senpai said.
"Nah, it's quite normal for us, really," Arai replied.
"Well, I've always been a fan of Kyoto," the boss said. "I can't tell you how many times I've had a tour of the temples with him," Kyoya-senpai added.
I looked to Hikaru, who seemed more upset than he was earlier. "What should we do, Hikaru? They're having a good time over there, we could join them," I told him. "No, I'm not going to. I can't believe the boss is actually hanging out with that jerk." Boy, was he being childish. It's hard to see him like this.
"Hikaru, Kaoru!" the boss called out to us. I looked over to where everyone was sitting, but my eyes landed on the other lady of the party. "Hm?"
"Get over here! This may be our only chance to hear about what Haruhi was like in middle school," the boss said, gesturing for us to go over. Hikaru leaned back in his seat.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested." He sat back down. "Man, how stupid can you guys get? Where's the fun in sitting around, talking about somebody's past? I don't see the appeal. Besides, doesn't that guy realize that Haruhi doesn't want anything to do with him?" I notice Haruhi get up from her seat and make her way over to where Hikaru and I were sitting. I decided to stay quiet and watch what happens, but I caught a glimpse of Nadeshiko, her face scowling a bit at Hikaru's behavior. But I noticed a bit of worry and amusement in her eyes, despite how far she was sitting away.
I focused my attention back to what Hikaru was saying.
"She's got plenty of friends, so she doesn't need you around, get it?" he finished before turning around to- *SLAP*
The sound of Haruhi slapping Hikaru echoed throughout the room, silencing everything else.
"That's not something for you to decide, Hikaru. I'm not gonna tolerate you insulting my friends anymore, you got that?" Nadeshiko got up from her chair, both hands on the table. She looked really bothered by what was going on. "Haruhi..." I looked at Hikaru, worried about what he was going to do next. His head was down as he asked, "But why? Why should anyone else even matter to you?"
'Hikaru...' I thought.
He got up from his chair abruptly and somewhat yelled at Haruhi. "I thought we were your friends? Are we or aren't we?" I looked at him surprised by his sudden outburst. Haruhi was the same. Hikaru went past Haruhi and ran upstairs with me trailing behind him.
"Hikaru, wait for me!"
I grimaced at the scene that played out before me.
Not that Haruhi's in the wrong or anything, but I do understand what he's feeling. Everyone was looking towards where Hikaru and Kaoru had gone to upstairs, worry in all eyes. "Their world is still so small," Tamaki said, looking back down with a hand on his head. "It's such a shame."
"I agree with you," I said.
They all looked towards me, slightly surprised. "I'm sure you haven't really dealt with anything like this before, as it seems those two never really take to sudden outbursts like this. Just give him some time to get over it, it's a twin problem," I tell them while heading towards the stairs.
"And where do you think you're going, milady? Interfering with another's personal matters is not something you're fond of doing," Seiji told me as he closed his book, eyes narrowed slightly.
"I, myself, am a twin, Seiji. I'd like to get my say about the stupidity he showed us just now," I said while taking two steps of the stairs. "And Seiji."
"Yes, milady?"
"...Quit the butler act," I said with an annoyed look plastered on my face as I continued up the staircase.
I knocked on the door to our room that was still open, opening it more after knocking. Hikaru was sitting on the bed, hands in his face. "That's some temper you've got there. Aren't you a bit old for that?" I asked.
"Don't pretend like you weren't upset, too," he said while removing his hands from his face to look at me.
"Well, maybe I was, but I'm more rational than you," I told him, opening the door even wider before walking over to the bed. I sat down beside him and said, "I don't think I've ever seen you act so selfishly before, like a little child. Haruhi was surprised."
"Well, I couldn't help it. I was really upset, but I couldn't figure out why," he told me.
'It's pretty obvious to me,' I thought as something came to mind. Smiling a bit, I told him, "Here's an idea. Why don't you go and apologize to Arai." I heard silent footsteps from outside the door, but decided to pay no mind to it.
The host club and Haruhi were outside the pension to see Arai and Seiji off. Seiji had gotten a text from Nadeshiko that said she would like to hang out more with them.
"I'm really sorry, Arai. Seiji," Haruhi apologized.
"It's okay. I don't know what I did, but whatever it was, it sure seemed to set him off, huh?" Arai said. "I wouldn't know. Seemed as though he was jealous to me," Seiji said while putting his book in the bike's basket.
*kachink*
"Huh? Hika-chan! And Nade-chan," Honey said, surprised to see "Hikaru" out of his depressed state.
"Hikaru" and Nadeshiko walked towards the group, a hand placed on the back of his neck. "I was outta line... I'm sorry," he apologized to Arai. Seiji raised an eyebrow, and Nadeshiko just huffed while Arai just lit up happily. "Thanks, don't worry about it," Arai smiled.
"Well, see you soon, Fujioka." "Goodbye, Fujioka. Host club," Seiji bid his farewell and the two sped off on their bikes.
"Bye bye~!" Honey waved enthusiastically.
"So, Kaoru, tell me why you're pretending to be Hikaru," Haruhi deadpanned. Everyone then looked at the twin in question as Haruhi pulled on his right cheek. "Hey, what happened to that scratch on your cheek?"
"I just covered it up with some concealer," Kaoru replied.
*sigh* "I honestly don't see why Hikaru can't just apologize himself. I mean you are going to be here a while, am I right?" Nadeshiko asked. "Yeah, but...I don't think Hikaru's temper's gonna let up anytime soon." Kaoru turned to Haruhi. "He's no fun when he's like this, so I've got a small favor to ask of you." Haruhi blinked once and let out a small "Huh?"
'Who knew there were this many boy troubles around Haruhi' Nadeshiko thought as she inwardly sighed.
"How would you like to go out with me tomorrow on a date?" Kaoru asked her with a smile that showed his teeth.
The Next Day
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Haruhi blinked once. "Hold on, where's Kaoru?"
Still looking a bit awkward, Hikaru gave an explanation. "Well, uh...
"*cough*cough* I was going to take Haruhi out to make up for what happened yesterday, but I seem to have caught a cold," Kaoru told Hikaru as he lied there in bed, facing away from Hikaru. "Will you take her out in my place?" the younger asked the older.
"Huh?" Hikaru dumbfounded.
"She's expecting me to hang out with her all day, so make sure you show her a good time. And it better go well or she's never gonna talk to you again. Think you can handle it?*cough*" he told his older twin. "Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem," Hikaru replied with confidence. "You sure?" Kaoru asked, turning onto his back to look at Hikaru. "Hey, come on. You think I can't do it?"
"Well, you've never really gone out with anyone before," Kaoru started, voice strained, "so just listen carefully, 'kay? You have to tell other people how you feel, or they'll never know." He placed his hand over Hikaru's as he said this.
"And remember..."
'What were you thinking, Kaoru?' Hikaru thought with a look of worry(?) plastered on his face.
Either way, he looked completely bothered with what his younger twin asked of him, despite his former confidence.
"What should we do? Wanna go home?" Haruhi asked. "No, I told him I'd hang out with you today, so might as well. But what's up with that outfit?" Hikaru asked his supposed date. She was wearing a blue dress and had on fake pigtails that curled slightly, though it was more wavy.
"Uh, is it weird?" she asked while pulling on her dress a bit.
"Kind of," he deadpanned.
From inside a cafe
"AHHHHHH, HARUHI!" boss squealed.
"Be careful, boss! They'll see us!" I yelled at him whilst holding him back.
"Why did Hikaru and Haruhi end up on a date anyway?! I don't understand!" he yelled at me while straddling my collar and shaking me back and forth. "How are yesterday's events even related to this?!"
The rest of them were sitting at a table. "You know, this may be Haru-chan's first date!" Honey told them. "Well, you're right about that, Honey-senpai," Nadeshiko told him.
"AAHHHHHHH! You're gonna pay for that!" he yelled at me, releasing one hand and pointing toward the window where we could see Hikaru and Haruhi. "And look at what she's wearing! It's cute! It's super cute!" he dreaded.
"Uh, I can explain..."
I looked towards the door as Hikaru walked out the room, turning to someone as he walked out. After a minute, I heard footsteps walking away and the door slightly open to see...
"Oh, it's just you Nadeshiko."
"How's faking sick working for 'ya?" she asked me, aware of what I was trying to do. I smile a bit and sit up. Curious, I ask her.
"Were you...standing outside the door yesterday?" She looked at me, eyes widening a bit before she closed her eyes and smiled. "Now, what makes you think that."
I shrugged, "It was just a hunch."
"I see. Well, I was planning on giving Hikaru an earful, but after hearing what you told him, I decided not to. I didn't go home, so I slept in the extra bed Misuzu had in his room," she told me. It got quiet before she spoke up again. "I...know what it feels like. I'm an identical twin, too, y'know. I get what Hikaru was trying to do, but he didn't have to be childish about it."
So she has a twin, too? "Wait, if you have a twin, how come she isn't..." I trailed off when I saw her face. She looked like she was grimacing at the thought of her twin. Her eyes were lifeless before she noticed my staring and smiled at me.
"Ah, well, you don't have to tell me. After all, we just met-" "No, it's alright. Actually, I wanted to talk to someone about this... I don't mind if it's you, Kaoru."
And she told me the story of their accident.
"So, you know Kyoya-senpai?" I asked her. 'She's been through a lot, it's amazing to see her still smiling genuinely like this. If anything like that were to happen to Hikaru and I...'
"Yeah, we're supposed to be in-laws, but the wedding date of our cousin and his brother hasn't been decided yet." I was about to say something when someone knocked on the door.
"Master? We're ready to begin," muffled voices came through.
Nadeshiko pointed towards the door. "Your maids?" I nodded and removed the covers, revealing my half-naked body. Unfazed, Nadeshiko got up, grabbed my shirt and tossed it at my face. "I suppose you have a plan about this little "date" you set up with Hikaru and Haruhi. Not that I mind, it's high-time Haruhi experience one of these. Not that I have either, but whatever..." she muttered the last part.
Putting on my shirt, I got off the bed and walked towards the door. The four of us head towards Haruhi's room, my maids peering through after opening it ever so slightly. (A/N: Do I use slightly a little too much? I FEEL LIKE IT'S EVERYWHERE.) Mischief gleamed in their eyes as they walked in.
"Good morning, Miss Fujioka~" they chimed.
Haruhi groaned as she turned in bed to look at her disturbance. The twin maids clasped each other's hands, mischief still gleaming in their eyes. "Time to get ready~" Haruhi groaned a "Huh?", confusion plastered on her sleepy face. They removed her covers and began undressing her.
"Uwahh! Hey, what're you doing?!" Haruhi yelled.
Just outside the door, standing against the wall were Kaoru and Nadeshiko. They, too, had mischief plastered onto their faces as their newly improved plan for the "date" commenced.
"No fair!" the boss whined, tears in his eyes, "No fair, no fair!"
"Alright, boss..."
The boss repeatedly whined "No fair!" in the background.
"What a kid..." I heard Nadeshiko mutter. I look to her to see her standing to my left, hand on her head as if she just gained a headache. "Is he always like this?" she questioned while looking at me from the corner of her eyes. "I guess," I tell her while smiling a bit.
I look back towards the two who had walked off. "It's hard for you to understand, but it would be good for Hikaru to find other people he could feel close to."
"It's hard for you to understand, but it would be good for Hikaru to find other people he could feel close to," Kaoru started. I looked at him, as did everyone else. Closing my eyes, I decide to listen to what he had to say intently. 'I get what he means...'
"The only people we've ever been able to depend on are ourselves. We didn't care what anyone else thought about us. That's probably how we ended up so self-centered."
Tamaki-senpai came back from ranting and asked, "So you're admitting it?"
"I guess you could say Hikaru's immature and lets his emotions take over. See, I'm not sure he's even aware of it, but I can tell that he cares about Haruhi. He just doesn't know how to react, so his emotions run wild. He's selfish and wants all of her attention," he finished. I watched him closely as he spoke what was on his mind to us. 'Reminds me of what I'd tell Haruhi when I'd see Sakurako hanging out without me... Not that I ever minded it, it took quite a while for me to believe she was actually beginning to open up.'
"He wants to be acknowledged by her, but...doesn't know how to make that happen. If you want true friends, friends who aren't only your toys, you have to learn to respect them. That's the only way you can have a meaningful relationship." He turned to look to the rest of the host club. "I think it's about time Hikaru learned that lesson himself." Honey-senpai and Tamaki-senpai looked at him in awe. I smiled at this.
'Well, they certainly are quite different from each other when they aren't together. Kaoru's kind of like how I am without Sakurako...in fact, we're practically alike in personality.'
Probably.
"Kaoru, that was amazing," Tamaki-senpai stated.
"So in other words, this date is basically a test to see if Hikaru can handle being thoughtful towards others, right?" Kyoya questionned. "Bullseye," I told him, still smiling.
"Just promise me you won't interfere with them, okay?" Kaoru asked them, though this was directed mostly at Tamaki-senpai, who I now know is half-French. Putting a hand on his hand, he asked, "Fine, but then why are you making us follow them?"
"Because. There's no reason we should miss out on watching something this interesting," Kaoru and I deadpanned together while we "hid" behind a tree, Kaoru crouched down and me standing up.
'They act like twins without their own twin, interesting,' Kyoya thought.
Onward to Stalking the Date
"So where do you wanna go, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked.
"Well, Kaoru said he planned everything, so I didn't really give it much thought. Any ideas? The stalked were sitting on what looked to be a brick bench. "Well, there's not anything that I need to do here." Then he remembered what Kaoru told him.
"Be sure you show her a good time."
Looking annoyed, he tried again. "I know, why don't we go to that outlet mall by the train station. They've got cheap clothes there."
"That's cool, but, do you need to buy some clothes?" Haruhi asked. Boy was it hard to catch what they were saying from this distance.
"No, there's no way I'd buy my clothes from that place," was his reply.
'Ugh, fashionista' I thought while scowling before shaking it off.
Annoyed, Haruhi said, "Then let's skip it." Things were looking pretty bad from where we "hid". 'What a pain,' Hikaru thought. Haruhi looked toward the sky and said, "Everything looks okay now, but Misuzu said it might rain. I sure hope there aren't any thunderstorms today," Haruhi said. "I never knew you were so into the weather," Hikaru said sarcastically.
"Idiot, I can feel his irritation from here," I muttered as Kaoru pinched my cheek and pulled it lightly. "Ow?"
Then let go when Tamaki-senpai began to rant again. Kaoru held him back while he ranted on and on, "How could he call himself a host club member?! This is the lamest excuse for a date I've ever seen! I should switch with Hikaru! I'll show her a good time!"
"That would ruin everything!" Kaoru yelled at him.
"Get out there, Kyoya! Act like a pick-pocket and fight with Haruhi so Hikaru will have to rescue her!" he ordered. "Where do you dream this stuff up?" Kyoya asked amused by his request. I was annoyed by the ruckus he was causing. *sigh* "Tamaki-senpai, if you don't stay quiet, they'll notice we're following them," I state. 'Huh? Where'd Honey-senpai go...' I trail off as I see a short "man" walking toward Hikaru and Haruhi with an ice cream cart.
"Oh boy," I muttered.
"Ice cream, ice cream! Does anyone want ice cream?" Honey-senpai yelled. We all deadpanned as Mori-senpai quickly recovered and ran to retrieve Honey-senpai. "Bad idea," was all he said.
Hikaru perked up at what ran past them and said, "That was creepy. That old guy kinda looked like Honey-senpai." He then noticed a missing Haruhi, who was now standing in front of an ice cream stall buying some ice cream. "One ice cream, please."
Hikaru quickly walked up to her and scolded her. "You shouldn't run off like that, Haruhi-" "I heard this place is famous for their ice cream," she said as she turned to Hikaru, ice cream in hand. "Here, I'll let you have the first taste." He contemplated for a moment before accepting, "If it sucks then we're playing a penalty game."
Before he could try it, his face was pushed back by Tamaki-senpai disguised as an ice cream clerk. He handed Haruhi another ice cream. "Oh, look at that! What a pretty, young lady! Here's another one for you, on the house~"
"Thank you, sir," Haruhi said as she accepted the ice cream. She tasted it before smiling. "Delicious!" Hikaru then tasted his, or what was once Haruhi's. "You're right, that is pretty good."
Inside the stall, Kaoru was strangling Tamaki-senpai whilst I apologized to the clerk.
"What do you think you're doing? It was finally going well, you idiot! What would have happened if they had seen us?!" Kaoru scolded.
"You think I'm gonna let them share an ice cream cone like a couple?! That's indirect kissing!" Tamaki argued.
"I'm very sorry about this, I promise he'll properly pay for the ice cream cone he carelessly gave away," I apologized to the cleark, bowing sincerely. I heard him mutter something the lines of "Oh, no. It's okay." Probably still shocked about three strangers now inside the stall. I notice the stalked start walking away, so I tapped Kaoru on the shoulder. "Kaoru, they're leaving." He stopped strangling Tamaki-senpai, still annoyed from his interference of what could've made things better for them, and walked out with me.
They walked around until they stopped at another food stall. Haruhi picked up what looked like a sampler and looked at it for a moment. "According to this their pickled yams. Pretty weird, huh."
"Come on. Pickled food is so lame, who'd want to eat that crap-" "Try it," Haruhi said as she offered some to Hikaru. He ate it and said something along the lines of "It's not that bad" but I couldn't really make it out from here. "I'll take two bags of these, please," Haruhi told the clerk. Hikaru looked back at her and said, "You're not supposed to buy souvenirs until the last day of your trip. You're gonna be in Karuizawa for a while, right?"
"These are a gift. I'm getting them for Kaoru," she told him.
Hikaru was surprised when she said this. Haruhi smiled and turned to him.
"Hey listen, do you think the others would be up for souvenir shopping tonight? We can always come back to these shops later and pick out a few more gifts for Kaoru."
"I don't understand. How can you tell that I'm upset about Kaoru-" "I just can," Haruhi cut him off. "Well, let's go." She began walking off. Hikaru looked at her, still shocked, before smiling and catching up to her.
"We take our eyes off of them for a second, then suddenly everything's great!" Kaoru said happily.
"I wouldn't jinx it if I were you," I told him.
"That's true, but I get the feeling that Haruhi's the one in charge here," Kyoya states.
"It looks like the ice cream stand helped smooth things over!" Honey-senpai said.
"I doubt it," Mori-senpai deadpanned.
"We should get going. If we get caught, it's gonna ruin everything. And anyway, I don't think the boss can handle much more of this," he said as we all looked to where Tamaki-senpai was sulking. "That looks like so much fun...lucky..." I smile at this. 'Haruhi, you have great friends at Ouran.'
We began to walk back to the pension when I heard small thunder. I stopped in my tracks and looked toward the sky, gray clouds forming not far form here. 'I hope Haruhi gets back soon...' I trailed off in thought before Kaoru brought me out of it. "Nadeshiko, hurry up!" Shaking my head, I run to where he waited for me before we kept going.
The only thing, well question, that went through my mind then was...
Will she be okay?
It started pouring down not long after we got back. "Check out that lightning," I said while Kyoya-senpai, Honey-senpai, Nadeshiko and I looked out the window. "I sure hope those two didn't get stuck in the rain," Honey-senpai said. I notice Nadeshiko flinch when he said that, but decided not to ask.
"Tamaki, dear, please try to settle down," I hear Misuzu tell the boss. "Ah, I should go and look for them," he says. Right when he said that, the phone rang.
"Hel~lo This is Pension Misuzu! ...Oh it's you, Arai. What is it? ...What? Haruhi and Hikaru? ...Hm ...Mm, thank you. Hikaru should have his cell with him, so I'll try giving him a call. Goodbye, now." Misuzu finished and hung up. Honey-senpai, Nadeshiko and I made our way towards the boss.
Misuzu looked to us and said, "Evidently, Hikaru left Haruhi in front of the produce shop and decided he'd head back on his own." The boss and I flinched at this when I noticed something. I looked to my right to see Nadeshiko shaking. Worried, I took hold of her hand, which she relaxed and gripped mine tightly. 'I wonder what's wrong,' I thought.
"Arai said Haruhi took off after Hikaru and that's when it started pouring. He was worried so he called to make sure they made it home okay." After that, the boss took out his cell and called Hikaru. The call went through after a few short seconds when the boss started yelling at Hikaru through the phone.
"You idiot! I want you turn around and start looking for Haruhi, right now! What kind of jerk would leave a girl out in a thunderstorm like this by herself?! Now you listen to me, Haruhi is terrified of thunder!" The grip on my hand was gone. I looked toward Nadeshiko who had her hands covering her ears and her eyes closed. She was still shaking, too. Before I had the chance to ask her what was wrong, she ran up the stairs, opened a door, and slammed it shut. I looked towards the door she ran into.
'That's Haruhi's room... I should check up on her later.'
"Whenever she hears it, she gets so scared she can't even move. Why don't spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once!" he hung up. I sighed. 'So that's what that was all about back at the beach...' Still worried, I made my way to the stairs.
"Kao-chan?" I heard Honey-senpai call out to me.
"Oh, I'm just gonna check on Nadeshiko to see if she's okay," I told him. "Oh, okay! Don't take too long~"
I made my way up the stairs and stood in front of the room. 'It's locked...'
I knocked on the door. "Nadeshiko? You in there?" I asked, but no reply came. I did hear the sound of something shuffling though. "Nadeshiko, look, I just wanna talk." After a minute or two of silence, I hear her get up from where she was and make her way to the door, opening it slightly.
"...What?" she asked quietly.
Opening the door more widely, I walk in. Closing and locking it behind me, I turn to her. "What's wrong?" She said nothing and sat back on the bed instead, huddling her knees to her chest. "Come on. I won't know if you don't tell me," I tell her while sitting on beside her on the bed.
'It's gotten kinda cold' I thought.
I felt something move, only to see Nadeshiko shaking again. 'Hm...' I got the covers and pulled it over the both of us. Her shaking ceased afterwards. I hear her inhale and exhale loudly.
"It's Haruhi..." she muttered softly.
"Huh?" I blurted while turning to look at her.
She huddled her knees even closer to her before she continued. "I've known Haruhi ever since we were five... that's around the time she developed her fear of thunder. When I found out about it... I grew even more worried about her. Her mom's death and dad's late night working didn't help at all... So everytime a thunderstorm came by, I'd run to her house to comfort her. I wasn't able to be there for her the most part, but I managed to help her through it somewhat. Sakurako would always tell me that I worry too much about it, but I can't help it. It's probably just habit from growing up with Haruhi, but I get paranoid when I'm not there to comfort her in times like this. She's just so independent and selfless, that it just makes me worry more. Maybe I'm just over-protective...but-"
"It's okay. Being over-protective and worried like that. It just shows how much you truly care for that person. I mean, I guess I'm the same way with Hikaru," I tell her, wrapping one of my arms around her tightly, my free hand left to pet her head gently. "Every strong person has a weakness, ours...is putting someone else's needs before our own."
I'm not sure why I said that, but I just get the feeling that it's something we have in common. Something we share. Is Nadeshiko able to get into our world? The world Hikaru and I live in, separated from everyone else?
"But you know... it's okay to let others worry about you, too." I look down to her. "She's asleep..." I picked her up and fixed her position on the bed, but one thing kept me from leaving the room.
"Don't go..." she pleaded, looking at me with glassy eyes that look like they could break at any moment. Her iron grip on my wrist was what kept me from leaving, though.
*sigh* "Alright...until you fall asleep, I won't leave."
'I should tell Haruhi she has to share beds when she comes back...' I trail off, squeezing Nadeshiko's hand in the process. A strand of hair falls onto her face, so I fix her hair a bit. She smiled a bit at the touch. I smiled as well. 'She's kinda cute...' I thought. 'Wait, what? I thought I liked Haruhi- but I'm giving up on my chances for Hikaru's sake...agh, this is too confusing!' I thought, my face scrunched up.(A/N: is that the term for it? LOL)
I looked back to the sleeping girl. We just met yesterday. How could I possibly feel anything for someone I just met?
There's just no way.
...Right?
The Next Day x2
The bells rang, meaning someone had just walked into Pension Misuzu. "Hey, what's up?" a voice called out. "Hello again," a second voice called out.
"Hey. Good morning, Arai, Seiji," Haruhi greeted the two.
"I brought you a watermelon. My uncle's got the best in town," he boasted. Tamaki, Honey and Mori walked up to them. "Oh, wow! It's huge~" Honey exclaimed, looking at the watermelon in Arai's hands. "It's certainly and impressive melon," Tamaki agreed.
Footsteps.
Arai looked to his right to see Hikaru walking towards them. 'This better be good' Seiji thought whilst glancing from the corner of his eye. Distraught, Hikaru looked bothered about what he was supposed to say to Arai. An apology if you will. Arai noticed and instead, held up the watermelon towards Hikaru and smiled, "Here." Surprised, Hikaru smiles back and takes it into his hands.
"Thanks a lot."
Kyoya, Kaoru and Nadeshiko were watching their friends from the second floor.
"By the way, a question about your strategy."
Kaoru and Nadeshiko looked to him. "Did you ever consider the possibility the date might go too well and those two might fall in love?" he asked. The questioned looked back towards their friends on the first floor.
"Nah, it's still too soon for that. Hikaru is kind of a dummy," Kaoru replied.
"I agree," Nadeshiko added jokingly, smiling at the scene before her.
The group below looked up at where the three were watching them, hoisting up the watermelon. "Hey! Come down here, it's time for some melon!" Tamaki called to them. Kaoru grinned. Kyoya pushed up his glasses. Nadeshiko laughed lightly, pleased with how things worked out in the end. "Well," Kyoya started.
"Then he's lucky because our club is full of dummies."
Thank you and come again.
Oh gosh, this chapter is too LONG. I think I'm dying. I shall refrain from writing the next chapter for a week this literally took too much work. I'll upload some chapters of an utapri fanfic later today!
R&R? Tell me what you think? Contribute your ideas! I'd be glad to hear 'em all~ Well?
Hope you enjoyed your time with the Ouran Host Club ~
ffxshilayt aka Shila -