Break Apart The Order [Kyoya Ootori]

The Fifth Song: A Bit of Breaking News

Haruhi Fujioka's POV

It's been two weeks since Novella came into our lives and the revelation that Kizami, the ex-lover of my sister, was in the area. To everyone that didn't know her well, it would appear that Harumi had gotten over it fairly quickly and well. She had returned to her normal, cheerful and apathetic self, and her work was still as amazing as usual, but she was working much harder than ever; she was doing her best to ignore Novella's words. She's refused to open up to Dad or I, and we're definitely starting to get worried. Dad told me over breakfast the day after the incident with a sad sigh," Your sister has always been the kind of girl who'd rather deal with her problems by herself at her own pace than let other people get involved. I'm sure she'll tell us when she's ready." I frowned a little at this," But what if she never feels ready?" He sighed, resting his cheek against his knuckles and looking into the tea I made us with a thoughtful and hurt gaze," ..Then she'll only come for help when it's almost too late." Those words have weighed heavily on my mind since then, and as I watched Harumi prepare for another gig in the host club's space, I prayed that she would come to her senses and tell us what we could do to help.

"Wow Novella! You've known Harumi ever since she started out in Tokyo?"

One of my customers was enthralled by the pink-haired girl, who nodded and played with her hair," I first saw her when she was playing in Akihabara, and ever since I've been a fan of her's! I've never missed a single concert or free performance!" Another looked to Harumi's guitar with a bright smile," That's amazing Novella! I've actually become a fan of her's too; I can't wait to hear what she plays next!" The first girl looked to Novella," Do you know what she's going to play?" Novella shook her head, but her smile was full of adoration towards my sister," No matter what she plays, it'll always be terrific! There isn't a single song that she's played that I haven't loved! No matter how many times I've heard her play, I never get sick of it!" I knew that my sister's biggest fan was obsessed, but seeing it in person still shocked me. She began to chat enthusiastically with Tamaki, sharing stories and what they loved about her. Well, at least she can keep him preoccupied for awhile.

Kyoya's POV

Harumi strummed her guitar's strings as everyone watched intently with sparkling eyes or seething hatred as she began to sing, her foot tapping along to the beat. Her eyes were closed as she bobbed her head along to the melody, her voice powerful and flawless. She swayed along in her seat, getting lost in her musical performance as much of audience began to lose themselves in her magic. I could hear Renge squealing, something about a fairy tale or something along those lines? Novella was joining her and a few of our customers that had grown to love Harumi's songs. Tamaki was sobbing tears of joy as he applauded her, and the twins were too busy taking advantage of her performance by putting on their own usual show, leading to louder screams from their customers. Honey had dragged Mori to get closer to our Diva, sitting down right next to her with large eyes and a bright smile. Finally, I was left alone and could finally get to what truly interested me.

 Atsutomo slipped up; I finally found something.

There was an article that he hadn't buried yet thanks to Novella's information, and it had been brought back to light by others that claimed to have seen Kizami. The photograph that was attached to it looked to be a CD cover, featuring all of five members of Howaito Noizu. The image was setting was a busy city street at night, and they were situated on the guard rails, a streetlight focused on them. Atsutomo Nagamori was sitting on the ground to the right with a knee propped up and a cigarette in his hand; a strange sight considering he was in a white dress shirt and black slacks. His raven hair hid much of his piercing golden eyes from sight, but he was looking up to the sky with a frown on her lips. Standing and leaning against the guard rail was a young man with golden hair and strange eyes that were the colors of a tangerine, including the green leaves; Hiro Miyagi had a hand behind his head as he stared at the ground with a grin. He was dressed much like Atsutomo, but his sleeves were rolled up and some of his buttons were undone. A young woman known as Yukina Satou was on the far right, and looked as if she could be an older sibling of mine. She had short black hair, and violet eyes that shimmered with regality; she was standing like a proper lady  in a white evening gown with black silk gloves and was faced away from the group. 

My heart hurt at the two in the middle of the three.

Harumi was sitting on the guard rail dressed, a wearing an abnormally soft and loving smile on her face as she looked up to the man that was standing between her legs. Kizami Sakuraba was smiling back down to her, his arms wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling into the street. She was wearing a short white dress that had a handkerchief skirt, and unlike the others, she wore familiar combat boots. Kizami was dressed like the other men, but his suit was pressed and worn as it should be; the only difference was that I could see a bright red tie around his neck. I could see their devotion to each other in their eyes; how much they loved each other. I wanted to slam my laptop shut, but seeing the engagement rings on their fingers - clear as day for anyone to see - caused a strange desire to vomit to appear. I looked to Harumi's singing reflection, noting that the smile she wore now was completely different from the one in the article. This one seemed more tense rather than relaxed; agitated rather than calm. The smile in the photograph came naturally, while the one she wore now took practice. How deeply did her affection toward this man go?

The article went as such:

A Missing Singer Found? Sakuraba Kizami's Been Sighted!

Howaito Noizu was once an extremely popular indie band throughout Tokyo and many other prefectures in Japan, but six and a half months ago, their lead male singer, Sakuraba Kizami, disappeared. His ex-betrothed, Fujioka Harumi, took over as the lead role, and continued working with the band on the indie scene. Her songs and voice made a bigger following than Sakuraba's, but Nagamori Atsutomo, the band's drummer and manager, announced that the group was going on hiatus; their missing loved one had finally taken its told on them. He had asked everyone to respect their privacy, and thanks to their following, even the most skilled paparazzi have not been able to check up on the remaining members of Howaito Noizu.

That is, until two weeks ago, when it was reported that Sakuraba Kizami was spotted at a shopping district in Bunkyō.

Many others have come forward, stating that they had seen him or at least a very convincing doppelganger of the missing singer, leaving us to wonder why  he would suddenly appear now. 

Any attempts at contact with Nagamori or Fujioka have gone unanswered, leaving us to wonder if they know about Sakuraba's appearance and ask the big question:

What is in store for Howaito Noizu?

Comments section:

"I ACTUALLY SAW HIM AT A SHOPPING DISTRICT!" -Anon.

"I heard that he was actually seen near some rich people's school in Bunkyō? Kind of a weird place to see him, right?" - BaconPancakes5000

"No way. He wouldn't just NOT come back to them right?!" - SeeYouOnTheFlip

"Does this mean the band's getting back together?! OMG that'd be amazing!!!" - NicoNekoNiiiii

"HE BETTER NOT HURT FUJIOKA AGAIN! KICK HIS ASS GIRL!" -40%Titanium

I scrolled down the comments section, reading what fans had to say about the sudden appearance. Why would he be sighted in our prefecture? What exactly is it that he's looking for? Does he know that Harumi grew up here and came to find her? If that's the case, why hasn't he attempted to contact her or anyone else? There are so many questions, and not many ways to get answers as of yet. "Oi, boss, you okay?" I heard Harumi call out to me, and I casually closed my laptop to ensure that she didn't see anything. "You've been spacing out for a bit," she smirked, hands on her hips," Don't tell me you're going senile already, se-np-ai." With a chuckle, I gave her a closed-eye smile and fixed my glasses," I wouldn't make fun of me if I were you. I am your boss,a fter all." She gave a childish grin and saluted," Yessir!" She turned away on her heel, and bounced right back to her admirers that were giving her lists of recommendations for her next show. Even now, she's burying herself in work to avoid the reality of Kizami being nearby. I could see that her sister was watching her with a serious glint in her eye and a tight, little frown on her face. She looked to me from the corner of her eye, wordlessly telling me that she had seen the article. I reached up to fix my glasses once more, glancing to the grinning singer; perhaps Haruhi can fill in the gaps...