"Akane taught us all some English. When we were fighting other gangs, we used English for the most part to communicate. When we really had no idea what the other person was saying though, we'd switch to Japanese. But using English threw the opponents off and they wouldn't know what to expect from us. Like we could be yelling directions of what to do next, and they'd have no idea.
We'd challenge a few gangs every once in a while. Others would come and challenge us. Each time, we'd tell them that if they lost, they had to submit to us. Sometimes there were random ambushes by gangs, so we started traveling together. We became quite the well-known gang out there.
There were a few fights that ended in a draw. Some were interrupted by the police, and we all had to scramble. Those moments were scary and thrilling. I really am crazy, huh?" I grinned at the ceiling. "Then there were a few where we actually lost. Maybe three? And we'd just accept defeat. All our challenges had the condition that the side that lost could always get the chance for another challenge. So when we did lose, we'd just regroup and strategize a bit more than usual. Then challenge again! In the end though, we always win."
Then there was that one... I thought. I could feel a tingling sensation at my left side where the light brown scar was. That stupid gang.
"There was a biker gang, right? That one was fun. We rode around the streets on motorcycles. A lot of the days though, we'd actually spend in our club room. We'd do homework together and talk. I brought in some nice tea cups and a hot water maker. Mina brought in tea, and so we drank tea there a lot of the times.
We changed. Those four changed the most. I changed too though. I found that I really liked... commoners. I liked the town. I liked the people living there. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go back to that stuffy place full of rich snobs. Ah, but, Ouran seems to be different." I smiled at Honey. "Maybe it's because the Host Club is there, but there doesn't seem to be that many snobby people. Or maybe I just haven't met any. Well, I guess it doesn't matter what economic status you have, there will always be those kinds of people around.
I think Ryota changed the most. He became a more considerate person. Not so closed off. He started telling us lame jokes, and we'd always grin at them. He was the one who found the 3 Musketeers. They were some of his old elementary school buddies, but they were in a different class. They joined us, and he always seemed happy talking and messing around with them.
Akane became more friendly to others too. I remember in our third and second year that she got so many confessions. She started talking to others more and smiling more. It was like something suddenly hit all the guys. Wham! They started chasing after her, confessing and giving her flowers and chocolates on all days and occasions.
At least it was a good thing Akane loved chocolate!" I grinned at the memory. She was so easy to bribe. All you had to do was offer her some delicious dark chocolate. She liked pocky too, but not as much as she liked chocolate.
"Mikiya and Mina, those two, mainly just had a nice confidence boost. They seemed happier too; Mikiya certainly did. But it took a while for us to come together and become good friends. After that little spat, I set up a bonding event to try and mend us back into a team. It worked, sort of, and then I treated them to ramen and ice cream. But, I guess, we really noticed our similarities after this one thing...
It was the week before exams and summer break. Mina was the one who suggested it, saying, "Since exams are coming up, we should put our energy into studying! So let's not meet up for club for the next few days!"
We all agreed. I had to review some things anyway.
On the first day though, I didn't know where to go. Back home? No, not where Mariko was busily studying for her college classes. I'd just disrupt her, because then she'd feel the need to attend to me.
I didn't feel like studying that much anyway, so I went to our clubroom. I slid open the door, stepping in. "Rika-san?"
I looked up and saw a familiar blond girl sitting at the desk with a textbook opened in front of her. "Akane-san!" I grinned, closing the door quickly. I sat down across from her, feeling happy to be able to see her again.
"So what are you doing here?" I asked her, staring at her science textbook.
"The library was too noisy." She replied, then glanced at me. "What about you?"
"I don't have anywhere better to go." I said. Since she was studying, I figured I'd study with her. I pulled out my history textbook.
We both read quietly. That was the thing with Akane. It was easy to be with her in just plain silence, which was nice for me.
The door slid open, and we heard a sigh. I glanced up, wondering who it could possibly be. Ryota pulled the chair next to me out and sat down. He nodded at us and then buried his head in his arms.
Akane stared at him for a moment before shrugging and returning her attention to her studying. "Uh, Asari-kun?" I said, poking his arm.
"What?" His muffled reply came.
"How come you're here?"
"No where better to be." He said, lifting his head up. He stared at our two open books and then sighed. "Guess I'll study too then."
Akane watched with raised eyebrows as he pulled out his math textbook. "Don't you have the worst grades out of all of us?"
Ryota shrugged. "Who cares?"
The door opened again and someone stepped in quietly. The three of us turned to see Mikiya carrying some books. His eyes widened when he saw us and then he smiled. "Hello everyone!"
I grinned. "Hey!"
Akane waved and Ryota just nodded. Mikiya sat down at the head of the table, setting the books down.
"Guess we're all studying here together huh?" He said.
"What are all those books for?" Akane asked, picking the top one off. "Oh, English? And this one is Basics of Biology."
"And the History of Japan," Ryota read off the third book's cover.
"You can't just study from the textbook." Mikiya said as if that explained everything.
Ryota put the book back. "Actually you can."
"Says the one with the worst grades." Akane replied, opening the book on biology. Then she sighed, closing it and returning it to Mikiya's stack of books. "Nevermind, too much weird kanji in there."
"I can read it for you." Mikiya picked the book up. "It's not that bad."
The door opened again, and we all knew who it was this time. Mina came in, also carrying some books.
"Eh? What are you all doing here?" She asked, taking the seat next to Akane and Mikiya. And now, our gang was all here.
We started laughing. At least Mikiya and I did, and Mina joined in. Ryota just smiled, shaking his head as if in disbelief. Akane laughed quietly with a bright glow to her face.
I think that was when we realized how similar we started talking about why we were here when we'd all planned on not being here.
Ryota admitted reluctantly that he didn't like being at home. There was no one there anyway. His younger brother spent the day playing outside with his friends. "And it's not like I have friends." He said, refusing to look anyone in the eye.
"We don't either," Mikiya, Akane, and I said in unison.
"Except each other," I smiled.
Akane nodded. "Then it's just Mina-san then." We turned our gaze to the girl, who blushed under the sudden attention.
"Eh, not really." She smiled sheepishly. "All my friends are from elementary school and I'm not that close to them. We just eat lunch together."
"Then how come you don't have any friends?" Ryota asked Mikiya bluntly.
He shrugged. "Th-They don't want to talk to me, cause they're afraid they might get, uh, well, bullied too if they do."
"But the bullying stopped!" Mina said, looking pleased. "Ever since you beat those jerks up that day, Akane-san!" Then she glared at Ryota.
"Hey how come you guys can do what you do?" I asked. "Like building things and programming and climbing and stuff."
"Too much time," Ryota and Mikiya said. I grinned. Those two were more alike than they'd ever admit.
"There's nothing else to do." Ryota said with a shrug. "I've been tinkering with things since I was a kid."
"Same. I'm an only child, and my parents are busy with work. And I was interested in programming so I read a ton of books on it. My parents give me lots of things to try and makeup for their absence." Mikiya stared at his lap. This wasn't exactly a light and easy topic to discuss.
"And I've been learning gymnastics since I was a kid. And I like trees and being at tall heights, so I climbed trees a lot as a kid." Mina grinned.
"And then you decided to go and climb buildings," Mikiya said, shaking his head. "So dangerous, Mina."
"It's fun!" She replied with a frown. "I have a younger sister and my parents are always busy with her. She models for some company."
"Woah, really?" I said.
Mina nodded. "Yeah. She's busy and my parents are busy. So I just go outside and climb whatever I feel like. They don't care."
"What about you Akane-san?" I asked her.
"I don't know anyone here." She said. "And I didn't want to. I thought my family would move back soon so there wasn't any point in making friends. But now that's not true, and my dad said we weren't moving back anytime soon."
"How'd you learn how to fight?" Mina asked. We were all interested in that.
"I've been taking martial arts classes and self-defense classes and stuff since I was a kid." Akane replied. "My family moved here when my dad got a job
opportunity. And my step-mom is Japanese so they were both happy with it."
"And what about you, Crazy Red?" Ryota asked, leaning back in his chair to stare at me. Uh-oh. I couldn't just tell them I was a rich kid who decided to come here for some fun.
"My parents are busy with their jobs too." I said with a smile. Then I realized what he'd call me. "Wait, don't call me Crazy!" He smiled genuinely. "Only crazy people would want to form a gang in middle school."
"Takes one to know one." I replied smugly. "You guys must be crazy too to want to join." We laughed. I think they agreed.
By the time we were in our second year, we were already quite notorious. I made sure the principal and others of the school kept quiet about it though. Hiraga Mariko was my 'official' guardian, and I bribed and threatened her to not say anything to my parents. She was a college student. A nice girl from a poor family that couldn't afford to pay for her college tuition. So she worked for my family. She cooked and cleaned for me. When I came back with cuts and bruises after the first fight, she was so startled and frightened that she wanted to call my parents immediately.
I told her not too. I told her not to tell my parents anything. They were busy worrying about all the scandals anyway. In return, I paid her extra. She took it. I was pretty mean to her though, pushing her around. Even though she was so nice to me..." I fell silent for a moment, staring at my feet. I sighed. If there was one thing I regretted from that time period, it would be how I treated her.
"Anyway, by the time we were in our third year, we'd just about beaten every gang in the area. The scandals were quieting down. We didn't get many challenges. Some gangs refused the fact that they'd been beaten and would continuously challenge us until Akane paid them a personal visit. She'd usually beat up the leader and tell the gang that they were being annoying and to stop challenging us when they obviously didn't stand a chance.
The adult gangs were pretty tough. They had the most members actually, but they didn't cause as much trouble. To beat them, we always had to bring the Color Squad. And the Color Squad would bring some of their buddies in the judo, kendo, or wrestling club to help us out. They'd all heard of our mission, I guess, and they wanted to bring peace back to the town too.
At some point though, for me, it stopped being something just to make trouble and have some fun. I actually did want to help Mikiya and Mina bring back their town. I actually liked the place.
And I think it's the same for Ryota and Akane. Goofy had never liked the town that much, you know. I also learned what "commoners" were like. They weren't as terrible as my mom had always painted them to be. There were so many humble, kind people. I... I loved these people. They were so much better than those stuck-up rich snobs.
And for Mickey and Minnie, it stopped being a mission. Of course they still wanted to bring peace and stop all the gangs, but, I guess, they started to enjoy what they were doing. Geez, we were like criminals in the making, huh? Ha.
The gang found out who I really was. One day, they came over and Mariko called me "Rika-sama" and that made them all very suspicious. And they found out that she wasn't a relative of mine, and that my parents were living elsewhere.
The day after, they told me that they'd looked up my file. Mikiya had hacked into the school's database and found my information. My parents' names were on there as under emergency contacts. Plus I bought everyone lots of things, and I guess they put it together. So I told them that, yes, I was a rich kid, but that shouldn't matter, right? I told them to keep it a secret. They were really surprised, like jaw-dropping surprised, but they agreed. I trusted them.
They did bombard me with questions like what it was like to be rich, like questions about having maids and butlers. They asked me how big my bedroom is and how many houses my family had. It was amusing, actually, the way they reacted when I answered their questions.
But then, one day, we were at our club room, doing homework together. It was our third year, nearing the end of the first semester. We talked, played video games, read books. We just chilled there. Then...
The door opened suddenly. Mom was standing there, wearing a sky blue and white kimono. Behind her were several members of the Black Garlic Squad, our own personal police force.
"I've heard everything, Rika!" Mom yelled, as two members grabbed my arms and pulled me out of my chair.
Akane was on her feet immediately, throwing a punch at one.
"Stop Akane!" I yelled. She probably could have beaten the two, but there were a lot more of them behind my mom.
"Who are these people?" Mina asked fearfully.
"That is my question." Mom said. "Forming a gang and getting into fights. Really now, Rika, shouldn't you know better than that? You're coming back home. Immediately."
"W-Wait! I haven't even-" I tried to get out of the tight grip, but I was slowly being pulled out of the room. "Guys! I though-"
"Get your hands off of Rika!" Ryota yelled, lunging at the man holding me. I shook my head furiously, staring into those dark brown eyes for the last time.
"It's fine, Goofy!" I said. "I guess this is goodbye though!"
"What?" Mikiya stood up.
"Why?" Mina asked.
I was thrown into the limo before I could answer. I still remember their shocked faces. Who could have betrayed me? That was all I could think.
"How did you find out?" I asked Mom. "Was it Mariko?"
"Mariko? No. Your principal told me, and some kid who called himself Asari Ryota." Mom replied calmly. "I can not believe you would do something as barbaric as this, Rika. It's ridiculous. I've transferred you to an all-girls school. Perhaps mingling with commoners is the reason why you've changed."
"Damn you." I screamed. I kicked and fought and yelled the entire ride through. Eventually, Mom threw me into a hotel room and put guards there.
I don't know what happened to Mariko. I was brought back to the house I usually lived in, where I baked cakes endlessly. That week I came up with four
new cakes that all became very popular at our Hayashi Sweets stores.
I ate an entire cake on the first day back. I screamed at anyone who approached me. I watched anime, played video games, and read manga. Then, when I went downstairs to my own small dojo, I found all my equipment gone. The room was completely empty.
Mom told me, "You're being childish and foolish."
I was moved to the all-girls boarding school down south. That's where I met Azumi. She'd been sent there by Mom, and she was my boarding hall's caretaker. My entire closet was redone with nothing but girly clothes. My sneakers, boots, and slippers were taken away to be replaced with pretty, little dress shoes, flats, and those Mary Janes.
All my manga and anime was taken away. The school's internet blocked any manga and anime sites. I managed to hack it the first few weeks and got to read my manga and watch my anime online. But then apparently some of the girls saw me reading manga in the library. They reported to the librarian, and the librarian scolded me.
After that I couldn't enter the library for a long time. When I was allowed back in, they wouldn't let me use any of the computers. And Mom called me and lectured me for hours.
I fought at first. I refused to talk to any of those girls, who talked in sweet, quiet voices and smiled all the time. The ones who only worried about their hair, their makeup, their clothes, and their grades.
They ignored me, talking behind my back, saying things like how I was a messed up, psychotic kid. How I was bloodthirsty, evil, and I would contaminate anyone I talked to.
Eventually, I learned that fighting was useless. Mom would never give up. She was impossible to negotiate with.
The all-girls boarding school kept on through high school. During the summer of high school first year, I was sent to a short "recorrection" summer camp. I took that opportunity to pretend that I had changed. After the camp, I turned into one of those girls. Sweet, quiet voices, all smiles, fretting over my appearance.
It was so damn annoying.
I made some "friends" and on weekends I'd go out with them. I'd go shopping with them. I'd go watch movies with them.
It was terrible.
My parents had my cellphone and email address changed. They said that if they found out that I tried to contact any of my old friends, they would send me abroad to America or Europe or somewhere.
It wasn't too hard to figure out that they'd bugged my phone. The bug was right where the battery case was, and I threw it out the moment I found it. Those two years I spent a lot of it reading and plotting on how to get out of my parents' clutches.
Do you want to know what my plan is?" I asked Honey suddenly.
He blinked. He was probably still processing all the information. "Wait, so was it that Goofy that told the principal?"
"I don't know. I don't think it's him though."
"Hm." He stared off for a while, before glancing at me. "Oh, tell me!"
"After high school, I'm going to study abroad, probably England. And there, I'll find myself a good job, and then I'll never return to Japan! Isn't it a great plan? I'll be a legal adult, so my parents can't do anything to me!"
"You don't want to live in Japan?" Honey asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
"Well I'd like to, but not if it meant listening to my parents all the time. It's really annoying you know. Anyway, now you know everything." I said with a shrug.
"How come you ended up at Ouran then? Why didn't you stay at that boarding school?"
"Oh, that's cause Mom said after the second year that I could change my school if I wanted to. It was probably just a test to see if I had really changed. If I asked to go back to Akawari, she'd probably keep me at the boarding school. So, instead, I picked Ouran. Though I didn't expect for its uniform to be so ugly. If I'd known that, I probably would have gone to a different school. Not Lobelia though, ugh." I shuddered at the thought. "That school is full of crazies."
Honey laughed. "Well I'm glad you picked Ouran though."
I stared at his grinning face and smiled. "Same here!"
"But won't you take over your family's business?"
"No. Why would I? Isn't it obvious that Kimiko's going to? She is the older one after all."
"But I feel like..." Honey stared at his ceiling then shook his head. "Never mind."
What? Ah, whatever. "Thanks for listening, Mitsu-kun." I grinned. "Ah, that took a long time, didn't it?" "But there's still so much you haven't told me." Honey said quietly.
"Yeah. But how am I supposed to fit two and a half years of memories into just a few hours? There are so many stories." Like the little bonding event I'd set up for Mickey and Goofy to get along better. Our random picnics. Our sleepovers at Akane's place, just the girls though. And, of course, playing Cupid and getting Mickey and Minnie together in our second year.
"Will you tell me more some other time then?" Honey asked, glancing at me.
I smiled. "Sure."
There was a knock on the door. "Mitsukuni-sama, it's time for dinner."
Honey got up and started walking towards the door. I sat up and began to follow him. "Okay! Oh, is Father going to be there?" There was a pause and then, "No, Sir, he's out right now."
Honey opened the door and grinned at the maid. "Then it's okay if Ri-chan eats dinner with us right?"
The maid blushed. "Of course, Mitsukuni-sama."
Isn't she just enjoying saying his name? I thought, feeling a strange twinge of annoyance. Honey nodded. "Okay, come on, Rika. Aren't you hungry?"
This will be my third sleepover...