"So, why'd we come to Okinawa?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked. We had just arrived at Okinawa, and we were beginning to set up our things. I had noticed something, though. There were a bunch of the girls from the Host Club with us, and we hadn't discussed that part of the trip. It seemed Kyoya had tricked us into working for the day, which really ruined the idea of relaxing I had.
"Because Kyoya's family has a private beach here," Tamaki answered.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Honey grinned, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Yeah," Mori agreed.
I spoke up, "I've never been to Okinawa. Actually, I haven't been to much of Japan, but this place is incroyable!" I looked around at the blue ocean crashing into the sand with a huge smile on my face.
The twins said, "But why couldn't we have gone..."
Hikaru continued, "... to the Caribbean?"
"Or even Fiji?" Kaoru added.
"Do you think a commoner like Haruhi has a passport?" Kyoya reminded them. They made a noise of understanding.
"You do realize that I can hear what you're saying, right?" Haruhi frowned.
I sighed, putting my arms around the twins' shoulders, "You two are just being too picky. Local vacations are just as good as international. Honestly, how can you not love this beach?"
They shrugged, smirking, "As long as we get to crush you in volleyball." The twins and I had been talking about the trip a lot. We were excited to play volleyball and swim in the water, especially after telling them I had only been to the beach once as a kid.
"No way! I'm a lot better than you think!" I argued. Also, I had only played that one time at the beach, but I hadn't told them that.
"Whatever you say, Frenchie," Hikaru teased.
"Believe it, Devil!" I countered, which caused the three of us to laugh.
"Hey, sorry I'm late! My flight got delayed," someone called not too far away from us. I looked over and gasped. That... wasn't possible. It couldn't be because I had talked to him just the day before, and he said nothing. Was I really getting heat stroke already? Is that really Eric?
Hikaru whispered, sounding upset, "What's he doing here?"
I stuttered, "Je-Je ne sais pas. He never told me." I ran over and met him halfway. He grinned and gave me a hello kiss. "Eric? What are you doing here? I thought you were still in France!"
Eric revealed, "When you told me about how you promised you'd spend the weekend with the others, I called Kyoya and asked if I could surprise you by coming along." I looked over my shoulder at the person in question.
Kyoya acted innocent, "He was so polite and nice about it that I couldn't say no. Besides, now he can get to know the rest of us. Isn't that what you wanted." I had never said that, ever. How was it that he was always at the center of my misfortunes? I also noticed that the twins had already left in annoyance, and I knew they were going to be a pain the rest of the day.
"That's very sweet of you, Eric. Thank you," I thanked, even though I was very unsure how his present to me was going to turn out. "The only issue is that I'm supposed to work as a Hostess on this trip, but I'll be with you whenever I get a spare moment, okay?"
"Kyoya already told me. Don't worry about it, Amarante," he assured me, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go set up my things. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"
Those damn devils.... I didn't know why they were doing it, but the twins effectively kept me away from Eric whenever I had free time, which wasn't very often. The girls kept me busy most of the day, and the twins managed to either find other girls for me to entertain or made me play games. Not to mention there was an unnatural amount of shellfish on the beach that I had to avoid.
I came up behind Eric late in the day and grabbed his arm, panting, "I... I found you!"
"Whoa, are you okay, Amarante? You look exhausted!" Eric fretted, stopping so I could rest.
"They're working me hard today," I nodded. I gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry, though. I finally have a little bit of time to myself, and the other hosts aren't anywhere in sight."
He gripped my hand, "Good. Maybe we can go out into the ocean for a little while?" Suddenly, a beach ball rolled past us. No, I groaned.
Hikaru ran by and caught it. When he stood up, he saw Eric and I together. The devilish spark came into his eyes. "Oh, hey, Katashi... and Eric. I didn't expect to see you two so far from everyone else."
Eric explained, "I was just taking a walk. I wanted to enjoy the scenery."
"Sounds like fun. So, Katashi, Tamaki is playing volleyball with Kaoru and I. You want to join? It can be twins vs. twins!" Hikaru suggested.
I immediately denied, waving my hands around, "No way! I've already joué all your games today!"
He pouted, "Yeah, but you promised me you'd play this one. Please?" I sighed. I had promised him when I found out we were going to the beach. I was such a pushover.
Even though he looked disappointed, Eric told me, "Go on ahead, Amarante. It's fine." He knew Hikaru wasn't going to give up, either.
I apologized, "I'm sorry. I think Haruhi is down the beach if you want to try talking with her while I'm gone." I kissed his cheek and went off with Hikaru.
I asked Hikaru as we were walking, "Why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Pulling me away from Eric. He came all the way from France, after all. I have to spend time with him eventually."
He shrugged, "I'm not doing anything. I'm simply proposing games for us to play since you told me we'd spend time together at the beach." I began to smile. He glanced over at me. "What's that look for?"
I accused, "Hikaru Hitachiin, are you jealous?" He started to blush. "Vous êtes!"
"Don't be stupid, Katashi! I'd never be jealous over him. All I'm trying to do is stay true to our plans," he denied, gripping the beach ball tighter. "Stop looking at me like that! I'm not jealous!"
I laughed, "Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, Hikaru." He growled in frustration as we approached the net. A huge group of girls was already crowded around, and I could see more accompanying them. I left Hikaru to join Tamaki on his side.
"I've barely seen you at all today," Tamaki said, giving me a quick hug. A good portion of the girls squealed at the gesture. I suppose brotherly-sisterly love was just as cute as brotherly love.
"Tell me about it," I frowned. "I'll take the front if you're okay with the back."
"Sure. Let's beat these shady twins!" he declared.
"Let's prove we're the best twins!" the opposite team shouted.
Tamaki and I protested, "We're the best!" Soon, the girls were cheering for their favorite pair of twins as we got in our positions. Hikaru ended up being the one in front. We were directly across from each other with only the net in our way.
I smirked, "You're going to pay for working me to death."
"Lying isn't very nice, Frenchie," he countered. Kaoru served, and the game started.
The game lasted for about thirty minutes, but the sun was beginning to set in that time. We had to end the game a bit sooner than we wanted. It was an extremely close game, and we all had sustained some scratches from diving for the ball, but it hadn't ended the way I wanted it to. When time was called, the twins had been leading by two points. "We're the best! We're the best!" the opposing team chanted.
Tamaki patted me on the back, breathing hard, "We... still did good."
"Yeah, it could have been worse," I nodded. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the exhaustion I was feeling. "I need a break."
"Go ahead and take one. The girls will understand," he allowed me.
I was extremely grateful, "Thank you, Tamaki! I'll see you later!" I snuck away while the twins were still celebrating and went to a quiet spot along the shore before they could notice.
"Hey, Katashi!" Haruhi called as she ran towards me. Truthfully, there hadn't been many opportunities for us to be together alone, so I didn't know her as well as I wanted to, but we were still good friends. We had to talk about the Host Club's insanity with someone, right?
I grinned, "Hello, Haruhi. It's nice to finally see someone that isn't crazy."
She laughed, "Yeah, they're all acting really weird today. More than usual." I was glad I wasn't the only one who thought that. She looked down and picked something out of a puddle and put it in the pail she was carrying. "Another side dish!"
"What are you carrying?" I asked.
"I'm collecting shellfish for dinner tonight. Do you want to help me?" she asked.
I unconsciously backed away, "No, I'm allergic to shellfish. I can't even touch them without breaking out in a rash."
Haruhi brought the bucket closer to her, "Oh, then I'll keep it away from you."
"Hey, Haruhi and Katashi! Look up here!" a voice called out of nowhere. We both looked up at the large cliff behind us and saw three girls standing near the edge, waving at us.
"What's up?" another called.
"The breeze up here feels great!"
I told them, "That's really dangereux!"
Haruhi warned, "Be careful!" She turned back to me. "Hey, Katashi, I hope you don't mind, but I was kinda wondering about something."
I asked, "What is it?"
"I'm just confused. Do you like Hikaru, even though you're engaged to Eric?" she wondered.
"Qu-Quoi?" I shrieked. I was going to defend myself when I heard the girls above us start shouting. We looked back up and saw the girls trying to fend off two guys a few years older than ourselves. They definitely weren't from Ouran, and it was supposed to be the Ootori's private beach. Why were they there?
"They're in trouble!" Haruhi said and started running off.
I called after her, "Wait! Those guys are way bigger than us, Haruhi! It's too dangerous! They would hurt us!"
"Then, go get help!" she responded, never stopping once. I knew she wasn't going to listen, and I couldn't let her go alone. I quickly surveyed my surroundings and saw that there was no one around. Either choice seemed to have a bad outcome, and I was running out of time.
I sprinted after Haruhi up the cliff, but she still had a huge lead on me. I got there just in time to see that the shellfish Haruhi was collecting was spilled on the ground, and the smaller of the two men had grabbed her by the shirt, "You little runt!"
I picked up a beer can lying next to me and threw it at him. "Leave Haruhi alone! Sortez d'ici!" When I saw the way the two were looking at me, I wished I had brought more to arm myself than just an aluminum can. I took a step back as the larger one started stumbling towards me, drunk out of his mind. "Stay away from me!"
He roughly grabbed my chin and had a sick grin, "Well, you definitely aren't from around here, are you? We'd have a lot of fun with you."
I pushed his face away as hard as I could and shouted, "I said to stay away!" I cringed at how furious he was. It gave one of the girls a chance to get away, and I hoped she'd come back with help soon. The impact of the ground surprised me, but I hadn't been hurt.
The man with Haruhi started dragging her to the edge, "What are you gonna do now, loser?"
"Stop it!" I yelled. I searched around me for something that would remotely slow them down, but there was nothing.
"Don't hurt him!" one of the girls said. Haruhi was right on the edge.
"Now, don't you try and act all tough, you little sissy boy," the one who pushed me said.
"I got an idea, kid. How would you like to take a dip?"
I screamed, "Stop!" The man pushed her off the ledge.
"Haruhi!" I heard Tamaki yell. I gasped as he ran by me and dived into the water after her. I was soon pulled up to my feet.
"H-Hikaru!" I stumbled.
"Get out of here!" Hikaru exclaimed, pushing me towards Eric, who had been just behind him.
"Come on, Amarante. It's not safe," Eric told me, wrapping his arms around me. The other two girls, Eric, and I ran down the cliff back onto the beach. The first thing I saw was Kyoya on his cellphone, and he beckoned the two girls over to him. They shortly left the beach after.
"Kata-chan!" Honey yelled, jumping on me. "Are you okay? I was so worried!"
I hugged him back, "I'm okay, Honey. I shouldn't be the one you're worried about." My gaze turned to the ocean where Tamaki and Haruhi had fallen in.
Eric assured me, "They'll both be fine." I believed him, but that still didn't make me feel any better.
A few minutes later, we saw Tamaki's figure in the distance carrying Haruhi back to shore. Around the same time, the twins finally came off the cliff with the two men in their wake. They left shortly after, and while the twins came and joined the rest of the group waiting for Tamaki and Haruhi, I noticed Hikaru was fuming. My eyebrows pulled together when he made the effort to not look at me. He's not mad at me, is he? I wondered, but I dismissed the notion quickly. What was there to be mad at?
Honey said as Tamaki walked onto the beach, "Haru-chan!"
"Boss!"
Kyoya handed Haruhi a towel as Tamaki asked, "Where'd they go?"
Kyoya answered, "We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave. The girls all went back to the hotel, and I called a doctor for Haruhi and Katashi. He should be arriving here any minute now."
"Thank you," Tamaki replied.
Haruhi got down from Tamaki's hold and told them, "I'm fine, you guys. I don't need a doctor."
I agreed, "Yeah, I don't need one, either."
"What were you thinking? You know, you're not like Honey. You're not a martial arts master," Tamaki said in a quiet voice. He looked between us as he took Haruhi by the shoulders. "Why did you confront them? What made you two think you would stand a chance? You against two boys?"
She argued, "But it doesn't matter that they're boys and we're girls. We were there. We had to do something."
I added, "I was going to find help, but there was no one around. There wasn't time-"
"That's no excuse, you idiots! Don't forget: you're girls!" he interrupted.
"Look, I'm sorry you had to come and save me, Tamaki, but I don't understand why you're so mad at us right now. I don't think we did anything wrong!" Haruhi defended us.
"We weren't going to do nothing! That would have been worse!" I protested.
"You don't think so?" he asked. He released her and started walking away back to Kyoya's beach house. "Fine, whatever you say, but I'm not speaking to either of you until you can admit that you were wrong!"
I gasped, "I can't believe him!"
Eric sided with me, "He's being too harsh. He'll come to his senses eventually."
Hikaru, who had been way too quiet that entire time, finally exploded, "How can you say that? She's your fiancée! She almost got really hurt! Aren't you supposed to protect her?"
I gaped, "What?"
Eric, someone who almost never got mad, shouted back, "Listen, I've been trying really hard to be nice to you today, but that's it! You can't tell me how to treat Amarante!"
"And here I thought you loved her!"
"I do, which is why I let her make her own decisions! I'm not going to dictate her like you have been all day!" Eric shot back. How did this happen? I watched in shock. I had no clue they hated each other that much. What was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to fix it?
Hikaru countered, "I've been trying to keep her away from you, and it looks like it's a good thing I was. Do you even care about her?"
My fiancé said, "Yes, but if she's ever in trouble, I know she can handle it herself. I'm not going to intervene when I don't need to."
I froze, "Wait, what does that mean?"
"Are you even hearing yourself? She needed you to step in just a few minutes ago, and you weren't there! I'm the one who protected her when she needed it, and I would do it whenever she needed me to, even if she didn't want it!"
I shouted, "Arrêtez de vous battre!" They both looked at me. "You two have done enough! I am going to my room, and don't either of you dare bother me!" I stormed away from the group.
I knew we hadn't done anything wrong, and the fight between Hikaru and Eric certainly didn't have me confused on which side they were on in that respect. I had so hoped they would get along, but it looked like they had drawn their boundaries. But what did they both mean?