Blueberries are quite interesting. They grow in rather odd climates, in mountains and valleys, and don't have very many relatives. However, in Franche-Comte, located in northern France, a fruit grows in the valleys that is almost the exact duplicate of a blueberry, but is actually named a brimbelle. Brimbelle tarte is quite popular in this region, and is also exceedingly similar to blueberry pie. The funny thing about the two being so similar, is that some tea makers who get imports from France don't realize that the two are actually different, but they still label their tea 'Blueberry' rather than 'Brimbelle'.
That isn't the case with the tea I was served at the Ootori facility, though. So the tea I'm served at the host club is indeed blueberry chamomile tea.
"Are you enjoying the sights of the garden in full bloom?" My eyes wander back to the tall raven-haired host. I pull my legs out from under me and set them down onto the ground.
"May I ask, Kyoya, why exactly you choose to serve me this tea?" My pinky finger caresses the lovebirds etched into the side of the cup.
"There was some research done a while back.." I feel my pupils dilate, and my heartbeat accelerate. "... it said that one of the more therapeutic things a person can do for themselves, is participate in something they find comfort in." He admires a branch of cherry blossoms, and I admire the contrast of his onyx eyes in comparison to the bright pink flowers. "Since the records show you ordered the same tea every day for the past year, I figured you take a bit of comfort in it. Was I wrong?" He smiles whilst his head tilts to the side. I let my eyes fall to the glass teacup within my hands.
"Not at all, I do find quite a bit of comfort in it." I bring my eyes back up to his figure, taking in how well the black vest accentuates his slim figure. "That's also why I like speaking with you, you were the first person outside of my parents to truly offer me any comfort and compassion." He pushes the edge of his glasses up as his eyes close.
"I simply spoke science with you." I scoff and take another sip of my tea.
"That's what was comforting." He opens one eye, his emotions still unreadable to me.
"If you'll excuse me, I have some titles to sell. I shall return shortly, and I promise we'll stay after a bit later together to make up for the lost time." I give him a nod before watching him approach a few girls sitting at a table with the twins. I rub my thumb over my teacup, nearly subconsciously, and lose myself in thoughts for a bit before losing my entire train of thought to a rather dazzling smile.
"Excuse me, Princess?" I turn my head to see that the headmaster's son, Tamaki Souh, has taken the chair across from me in place of Kyoya. I offer him a small smile. His violet eyes scan my facial features, before he leans forward in the slightest. "Has anyone ever expressed how your beauty is much more brilliant and vibrant than any of the flowers surrounding us?"
"How forward of you." I chuckle and remove my hands from my teacup."Tamaki Souh." The corners of his mouth raise.
"Hello, Rin Seikan. It's been a while." He pushes his back against the chair and gives me a rather cat-like grin. "I'd say about a year. Do you remember the last thing you said to me before you left?" I sigh and cross my arms, watching the blonde's eyebrows wiggle.
"I believe it was something to the extent of 'I don't have any time to waste on your silly club, Souh.'" The host rises from his chair and lets out a dramatic laugh. I roll my eyes and he holds a rose out to me with a wink.
"I knew you'd give in eventually. No one can resist my charm." I stare blankly as Haruhi approaches in his pink kimono.
"Actually, she came for the honor students, and intelligent conversations, so I really doubt she has much interest in talking to you." I hold back a laugh as Souh lets out a heartbroken squeak.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY SUCH MEAN THINGS?!" He places himself in the shade of a cherry tree and pokes a the ground with a stick. I sigh and rise from my chair, holding a hand out to him.
"I'd love to chat with you, Tamaki." He rises like a lost puppy and skips dutifully back to the table. I shake my head and return to my seat across from him, taking a sip of my tea and offering him a smile.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, princess, Why exactly did you take a year off?"
"Medical reasons."
"Such as?" I lean forward a little, and usher him a bit closer. He gets a determined look on his face and I scootch in a bit closer, placing my cheek against his and whispering in his ear.
"se-cr-et." His determined look shatters and I smile widely at him. He sighs and smiles back.
"Guess I should've expected that. If Kyoya doesn't know it, you obviously worked hard to make sure no one did." I give a victorious laugh.
"Indeed I did, and it shall remain so until I say." I finish my cup of tea "So, you can tell Kyoya that if he wants to find out, he needs to find it out directly from me, kay?" I wink at Tamaki, who laughs a bit nervously.
"Who said Kyoya had anything to do with this?" I raise an eyebrow at the boy, who rises from his chair and scurries across the courtyard. I look off to my left to see Kyoya scribbling away in his black notebook. I rise from my chair and approach him.
"What exactly do you keep track of in that little book, anyways?" He smiles before tucking his pen in and closing the book.
"Se-cr-et." My heart stops for a moment as he starts to walk away, and in my effort to follow him, I wind up bumping into something that feels a lot like a brick wall. Rather, some ONE that feels like a brick wall.
"Sorry." I open my eyes to see the victim of my carelessness still standing. I can hardly call him he victim, considering I am now the one covered in green tea.
"Princess!" Tamaki rushes over and helps me up from the grass. "Are you alright?" I nod and stair down at my wet dress. "Hikaru, Kaouru!" The ginger twins look up from their table and scramble over to Souh. "Can you find something more suitable for our lovely guest to wear?"
"Yes sir!" The twins salute before each giving me a coy smile. "Let's go play dress-up, Rin~" My mouth dries instantly and I'm unsure of how to react to the twin boys wrapping themselves around both sides of my body. Boys do this?
"I'd really be okay with just a spare uniform, you don't have to go through so much trouble.." I squeak as they shove me into a room covered in mannequins, each decorated beautifully with silk kimono and yukata meant for celebrating in.
"Just pick one and change, it's really no trouble!"
"Our mother is a fashion expert, so really the clothes are no trouble." Their voices echo through the doorway and I admire all the beautiful silk gowns. My eyes eventually fall onto a black kimono, covered with sakura branches and falling petals down the sleeves. The obi and obi-taa were a lighter shade of pink, with white sakura flowers that glittered in the light.
"Are you positive it's alright?" My hand traces down the sleeve.
"Of course! Just change out of your uniform so we can have someone clean it!" My eyes fall back down to the rather large stain on my mid section. With a sigh, I undo my neck tie, collar buttons, and sleeve buttons, pulling the large yellow dress off of my body, leaving me in a slip. I carefully undress the mannequin of it's garments and slide them onto my body, pulling the tie out of the sleeve where it's stored and wrapping it tight around my waist before pulling on and tying the obi. I pat my hair down once to make sure its not in disarray before picking up my uniform and exiting the room. The twins greet me with a smile. "Woah, that suits you perfectly, Rin."
"I'd love to show my mom you sporting some of her designs, I bet she'd hire you as model." I raise a hand to my cheek.
"I'm flattered, thank you." One of the twins grabs my uniform from my hands and places it in a bag before they escort me back to the host club.
"Woah! Rin-chan looks so pretty!" The boy lolita bounces towards me and greets me with the sweetest of smiles. "Maybe it's not such a bad thing Takeshi spilt that tea on you, or else we wouldn't have gotten to see you looking so cute!~" The brick-wall boy, now known as Takeshi, nods with a smile.
"Cute." I look around the courtyard, noticing the eyes of everyone falling upon me. A look I hadn't seen in a long time, a look that's etched into my memory and nightmares. Jealousy.
"She is kinda cute.." I hear one of Takeshi's guests whisper. This causes a flood of whispers to fill the courtyard, and the sensation of dry mouth returns to my throat. My heart pounds inside my chest, and I realize my brain is reacting yet again and causing a chemical imbalance, one I usually try to avoid.
"It's that time again, ladies! I'm afraid we must call this blossom viewing ceremony to an end!" Tamaki's voice rings out from behind me, and I watch as the girls rise from their chairs and head out the main gate of the courtyard. My knees shake a little, and I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to see Kyoya smiling at me.
"Ready to make up for that lost time?" He lets his hand slide off my shoulder and holds it out to me, and I feel my vision blur as a tear slides down my cheek and I take his hand. He leads me back towards our table. "Did you forget what I told you about tears already?" He smiles as he pulls out my chair. I smile a bit and wipe my cheeks with my palms.
"So you were quoting that conversation earlier... I wasn't sure." He takes a seat across from me and I rest my hands in my lap. "No.. I remember it. I was thinking about that day last night, actually." He places his black book on the table and writes something down.
"Yet you still let a few jealous people make you cry?" I sigh and look down at my empty glass teacup.
"I suppose I just haven't had to deal with it in a long time.. I'm not used to people talking about me much at all. After middle school I just kind of... laid back and watched." I bite my lip "That's not to say I didn't work, I did. I just chose not to make a show of it. If they can't manage to contain their comments, then I'll contain my knowledge and there won't be any reason for comments." He stares up at me through the top of his glasses as he leans down to write.
"Do you still believe geek is such a horrible label?" I shake my head with a small laugh.
"No, I'd just rather not have a label." I shrug "I just want to be Rin. Not geek, not princess, not cute. Just... Rin." He closes his black book and leans forward on his hands.
"Well... You certainly are cute." I feel my pupils dilate and my cheeks heat up, and I clear my throat.
"Thank you... y-you too."
"Haruhi! Have you thought about what electives you want to take?" I turn and see the twins resting themselves over Haruhi in the same manner they had earlier. "You should take an elective with us! How about French?"
"How come they get to spend so much time with Haruhi?" Tamaki stops beside Kyoya to pout.
"Well, they are in the same class, after all. In fact, according to my calculations the twins see Haruhi about 3/4 of their day, where as she only sees you for a little under an eighth of her day."
"She?" The two break their eye contact to turn and look at me. I tilt my head. "I-Is Haruhi... a hermaphrodite?" Tamaki narrows his eyes at Kyoya.
"Way to go, Kyoya, you blew it." The raven haired boy pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Well, I suppose I did. My mistake." He smirks and Tamaki narrows his eyes even more.
"Wait... You planned that... DID YOU PLAN THAT?" Kyoya turns his attention to me.
"You see, Haruhi is a bit indebted to the host club, so she works that off by hosting." I look over to Haruhi, taking in her features again. I suppose she was rather girly...for a boy.. er.. girl? I'm not sure how to address this. "But if our guests were to find out, I'm afraid she'd have to work off her debt another way, never mind move past all the odd looks and names she'd be called." I frown and nod my head. Kyouya smiles "I'm assuming this means you're willing to keep this our little secret?" I feel a smirk fall onto my face.
"Finally a secret we share, eh?" I wink "Of course I will, I've grown rather fond of her." I look back to Haruhi before straightening myself out. "But uh... Aren't physical examinations next week? Won't someone know then?" Kyoya doesn't even so much as bat an eye as Tamaki paces back and fourth in the garden.
"If everyone finds out... She could start dressing like a girl..."
"If everyone finds out, she won't be spending anymore time in the host club--which means that 1/8 of the day that she actually sees you? Gone." His tall legs freeze in place at my words, before he bullet-trains his way over to Haruhi and shakes her repeatedly.
"DADDY WONT LET THEM FIND OUT THE TRUTH, I PROMISE!" The small brunette looks up at him confused, before making eye contact with me. I give her a knowing smile before turning back to Kyoya.
"So why exactly DID you plan that?" He rests his chin on his hand.
"You said I should really spend more time with you, might as well give you an all access pass." I feel my teeth flash and I admire the crisp white table cloth underneath my fingers.
"What was there to gain from that?" Kyoya checks a watch on his wrist before holding a hand out to raise me up from my chair. As I stand, I catch a shine in his eyes.
"What was there to lose?"
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