"Ryota, get your butt back over here!" I called, dashing after him.
"Need some help, Rika-chan?" Otsu asked cheerfully. He and Hirase were sitting outside of the Host Club doors.
"I've got it!" I yelled back, picking up speed. Ryota wasn't slowing down though. "You idiot! I baked a cake specially so that you and the gang can eat it! Now get back here!"
"No way!"
I gritted my teeth and forced my legs further. When the distance seemed small enough, I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Ryota!" I felt him falling. Uh-oh. I twisted myself to the left, and we crashed on to our sides. "Oof!"
"What the hell, Rika?" Ryota asked, turning to me.
"Ouuuch," I replied. My landing had sent all the breath out of me.
"You alright?"
I opened my eyes and saw Ryota's concerned face hovering above me. I bit my lip, sucking in some air. "Yup," I said, exhaling. He held out a hand and I took it, pulling myself up.
Then I stared up into Ryota's eyes. "Look Ryota, if you're going to regret coming... I don't regret it at all. I've wanted to see you for so long." I had to look away. It was hard to maintain a gaze into those strong, steady eyes. "I-I know that things may be a bit, well, strange or, um, awkward between us but you still - you're still really special to me. You have a really special part in my heart."
"I know," he said softly. His hand wrapped around my arm. "Sorry. I just can't stand... nevermind." "Rika!"
I looked up. Honey was barreling down the halls after us, and he wasn't stopping. Instead, he grabbed my arm and twirled me away from Ryota.
What the hell is going on here... Now I'm dizzy. Great.
"What? Mitsukuni," I grabbed my head with one hand, another latching onto Honey's sleeve, trying to focus on the spinning world.
"Didn't you say there was cake?" Honey said, grinning as usual. There were even flowers floating around.
I nodded, dazedly. "Specially made. Hear that, Ryota? It's chocolate with vanilla icing and-"
"I don't care," Ryota said. He turned around and began trudging towards Music Room 3.
I frowned, following suit. "Jerk face." I stuck my tongue out. "You've never had any of my cakes before. Once you get a taste-"
"Eh? Asari-san's never had a taste of Rika's cakes?" Honey said, popping his head in between the two of us. He smiled. "Asari-san is missing out then!"
Ryota made a displeased face. "Who cares? It's just cake. There's nothing great about cake."
Honey and I stopped at the same time, while Ryota continued. When he noticed we weren't walking anymore, he slowed and turned towards us. "Quit lagging. Weren't you two so excited about cake?"
"There's nothing great about cake?" I repeated darkly and slowly. "Nothing... great?"
"Cake is the best thing in the world!" Honey said, in a serious tone. He jabbed a finger into Ryota's face. "Cake is amazing! And delicious! And impossible to survive without!"
"For you two freaks," Ryota replied with that arrogant smirk of his.
"Head chop!" I smacked my hand on top of his head.
"Ow! What the fuck, Rika! Don't head chop me!" Ryota said, grabbing his head and looking teary-eyed. "Don't insult cake then!" I threatened, glaring at him.
"Okay! Okay!" He waved his hands as if to fend me off, taking a few steps backwards.
"What did Ryota do?"
"What did Ryota do?"
I glanced up and immediately grinned. "Akane!" I bolted to her and tackled her in a hug.
"Rika," Akane said, sounding happy too.
"Why does it look like a puppy reuniting with its master?" Ryota mumbled, with an almost appalled and annoyed expression.
I glared at him. "You wanna shut up?"
"Yeah, Goofy, shut up," Akane said.
"I'm assuming," I heard Hirase say in an amused tone. "That Rika would be the puppy?"
"I can see that too," Otsu's voice was quiet, but that didn't mean I hadn't heard.
I glared at the two of them. "Wasn't your job just to protect me? Nothing about talking." Then I heard a giggle from above me. Akane was smiling.
"Sassy as usual," she said, before pulling me even closer. I laid my head on Akane's chest. Hehe, no one else but me can do this.
"And someone calls us homosexual," an annoying voice whispered. I whipped my head to its source, and spotted the twins, and everyone else, watching.
"Shut up," Akane replied, arms tightening around me.
"Yeah, at least this wouldn't be considered incestous." I mumbled. "Besides, Akane and I aren't like that. You see, Akane gets lots of confessions. Right?" I glanced up at her.
She nodded, pumping her fist as if in fierce declaration. Her voice still wasn't that loud, though, when she said, "That's right! I'm as straight as the next man!"
...
"Where did you hear that saying?" I asked curiously, as the twins and Suzaku burst out laughing. Suzaku was silenced when Yukari punched his arm, and the twins quieted after being glared at by Tamaki.
"TV," Akane said simply.
I smiled, then chuckled. We finally broke the hug. "So? How many confessions have you been getting?"
"At least two a month," Mikiya said, holding his laptop up for me to see. It was a spreadsheet, with columns for name, grade, and whether it was a confession, love letter, flowers, chocolates, or other gift. There was even a column for the date that said person gave said gift or confessed.
"Uh, Mickey, are you a stalker?" I asked as I went down the sheet. "Ha! Even first years from college and from high school? You've gotten even more popular, Akane!"
However, when I turned to face her, she was frowning. "I turned them all down." "What? Why? Akane!"
She shook her head. "I barely know any of them. There's no way I'm just going to go out with some guy whose name I've never heard of."
"What about Ashida Kazuki?" I asked. I could hear the others chatting in the background.
"I haven't spoken to him since middle school," Akane seemed surprised that I was bringing him up. He'd befriended me for the sake of getting closer to Akane, and he'd confessed in our second year. Akane had turned him down, though, and after that, he'd never spoken to me again.
"Seriously?" I sighed. "Wait, Mickey, why are you keeping record of all that?"
Mikiya smiled and then shrugged. "It started out because Akane wanted to keep track of whoever possibly liked her, so she could avoid them. And then it turned out like this."
"That's some extreme escalation," I said.
"It's ridiculous," Ryota said, crossing his arms behind his head. "And it's annoying. Do you know how many chocolates she gets? We have a constant supply of free chocolate in our club room."
"Isn't that great? You don't even have to spend a yen on chocolate," I said with a smile. Akane nodded. Of course, she'd enjoy free chocolate. "Oh yeah, are you guys still using the same clubroom?"
The gang nodded.
"The one at Akawari Middle?" I asked, shocked.
"The school lets us," Akane replied. "Hey, Rika, what happened to my bow?"
Ah, crap. I knew she'd ask sooner or later. At least she was being blunt about it. "Sorry," I said, staring into her bright eyes. Her eyebrows raised.
"Explain please?"
"I lost it when I went to a waterpark," I looked down at my shoes. "It got cut in half, and it went into the water. So, it's a mess but..." I reached into my hoodie pocket and pulled the frizzled strand out. Azumi had done her best last night in washing it, but there was still a hint of chlorine.
"It wasn't Rika's fault!" Honey said. I smiled. He was defending me. He was helping. Even so, I was scared to look at Akane. Was she going to be mad? We weren't going to fight, were we?
Her hand fell on the one that was holding the bow. "It's fine. It wasn't that important to me, anyway."
"Wait, what?" I looked up, confused, although relief was overwhelming me. Akane was just smiling warmly.
"I said it's fine. I just thought that, since we were the Red Dragons after all, and you're our leader. Well, you ought to have something that's red right? And your hair was a bit plain, just in a ponytail. So I gave you the bow."
"But wasn't it, like, your mom's?"
"Yeah, but I don't remember a thing about her," Akane said, as if that explained everything. She took the bow. "It's so short now."
"Yeah," I said slowly.
She met my gaze and smiled. Okay, she was definitely not mad. Thank goodness. "Come on, Rika. Did you bring that bag of yours?"
I followed her back in, where she located my bag.
"Don't worry. This little thing shall not go to waste," Akane said, before taking my old bow and wrapping it around the strap of my bag. She tied it into a bow. "See? A bow on your bag. It works fine."
"But now my hair is going to be plain again," I replied, though I did like seeing the bow on my bag. "It's just perfect like that." Akane smiled sweetly.
"I feel like we're watching a drama," Kaoru said, sitting on a couch nearby.
"I know right? Anyone have some popcorn?" Hikaru agreed.
"They've always been like this," Mina said grinning. "Isn't it cute? They're, like, the bestest friends." "Are you sure that's a word?" Mikiya muttered quietly.
"I wouldn't call that cute," Hikaru replied.
"Says the incestuous twin," I snapped back.
"How are they incestuous?" Yukari asked curiously.
I stared at the twins. "Care to perform for them?"
"No thanks!" They replied with bright grins. "We're just fine like this!"
"Oh! Cake!" I clapped my hands together. I ran to the fridge and pulled the box out. Someone had followed behind me.
"Ooh, cake," Honey grinned happily. "I'll help, Rika!" "Thanks!"
It was a chocolate cake, with vanilla icing and those small cherries usually found on ice cream lining the edges. It was the center design, though, that I was most proud of.
"Ta-dah!" I said, gesturing at the cake.
"Wow!"
"Oh cool!"
"Rika-chan, you made this by yourself?"
"More cake. Yay." That was the twins with their ever exuberant enthusiasm. "It looks nice."
"Amazing," Ryota said almost breathlessly. "You seriously made this all by yourself? Why didn't you ever tell us you were this amazing at-at baking?"
I smiled. "Well, now you know. What do you think, Akane?"
"I like the dragon," Akane replied. It was a red dragon head. It'd taken some time last night, trying to paint the icing on like that, but it'd turn out alright.
"Okay! Let's eat then!"
There was something special about this cake that Rika had baked. Honey took another bite and chewed carefully. What was it? It was different from her other cakes. He watched as Rika passed out cake slices to everyone. She'd given him a generous slice, which had earned him a strange stare from Rika's friends.
Oh dear, Honey thought. I hope I don't scare Rika's friends away.
"Something wrong, Mitsukuni?" Takashi asked, sitting nearby. He eyed the cake and the slow eating from his cousin. It wasn't usual that Honey would take so long to eat a slice like this.
"It tastes different," Honey replied. "What does?" Haruhi asked, intrigued.
"The cake tastes different. It's not like the usual ones." Honey stared at the slice in front of him. It was starting to bug him. Why couldn't he tell what it was?
"This is amazing, Rika!" Mina was saying.
"It's delicious!" Yukari agreed. Suzaku and Yuuta nodded.
"Thanks everyone!" Rika grinned. She looked up and caught Honey's gaze. She smiled.
"Rika, what did you put in this cake?" Honey asked.
"Hm? The usual stuff," she replied, walking over. "What do you mean?"
"It tastes different."
"Oh just let it go already," Ryota mumbled.
"Don't be so rude, Goof," Akane said.
Rika was smiling though. "As expected of Mitsukuni! You're right! I put just a bit of cinnamon in the cake batter, and some more vanilla extract than usual. So maybe that's why it tastes different?"
"Mm! Maybe!" Honey grinned, keeping up his cheerful attitude. But really, he was ready for her friends to leave. Rika had barely paid him any attention today. What was the point of inviting the Host Club over? Just so that her friends could meet them? Then in that case, they were only here because of her friends' selfish whims.
At least it seemed like the Host Club was entertained. Honey enjoyed the cake while watching Rika sit on the couch with Akane and Mina.
Akane pulled Rika's hair out of the ponytail. "I learned how to braid hair recently." "Really?" Rika smiled. "Are you braiding my hair then?"
"Yup."
"How have you two been?" Rika asked. "Hey Mina, is your sis still modeling?" "Wow! Your sister is a model?" The twins leapt into the conversation.
"Not anymore," Mina replied with a wave of her hand. "She quit a year ago, mainly because she was tired of it. Plus she was more popular as a child model than a teen one. We're not that close, though. It kinda sucks."
"Man, what a disappointment," Hikaru said, leaning back into his seat.
"What about you Akane?" Rika asked. "How are your parents? Oh, what universities do you guys want to attend?"
"My parents are fine," Akane replied. "I was thinking of a university in Tokyo, though my dad keeps talking about sending me back to the US for college."
"Will you?"
Akane shook her head. "No. I want to stay here, with you guys."
"Same," Mikiya and Mina said at the same time. They exchanged glances and smiled.
"We want to go to the same school, hopefully in Tokyo." Mina said happily.
"Ryota?" Rika turned to said person, but he wasn't in her view, sitting on a couch behind her.
He shrugged. "Probably Tokyo then."
"We'll try for a school in Tokyo too!" Rikuto piped up. "Though I'm not sure if Kenta will be able to make it." "Aw, shut up Rikuto! I'll study for the entrance exams and get in." Kenta replied.
They all wanted to go to a university here in Tokyo? Honey couldn't believe it. They'd need very excellent grades to be able to make it in, and the school tuition could get pricey. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe if Rika's friends were nearby, she'd want to stay too. Maybe she wouldn't want to go study abroad.
He didn't get what she saw in that Ryota though. He was just an angry, negative boy. Honey wasn't even sure if he'd laughed today. What was so great about him? She wouldn't pick Ryota over Honey, would she?
"Hey Akane, where did you hear that I was the heir to Hayashi Sweets?" I asked, as she continued to braid my hair.
"It was in your profile. And it's not just Hayashi Sweets, you've got your entire family's inheritance," Akane replied.
"But why?" I played with the zipper on my jacket. "I have an older sister, and she's certainly capable of taking over everything."
"There was..." Akane stopped braiding for a moment and then she sighed. "I dunno. It's your family business. Why don't you ask your mom?"
I nodded. I had to ask Mom about going on a trip with Honey too. Oh dear. "That might be why you've been the target for the kidnappings," Akane said.
"Kid- How do you know?" I jerked my head to try and get a good look at her. "Rika!"
"Sorry," I said, biting my lip. "So how do you know?"
"Well, Yuuta-kun told us, and Honey-san told us the details."
"Yeah, about that," Ryota said. Oh crap. He's not going to chew me out, is he? "You should be more careful, Rika."
"Huh?" I tilted my head, but couldn't see him. "Ryota, can you come here so I can see you?"
He sighed, then moved into my vision. Mina was sitting directly in front of me on the couch, talking quietly to Mikiya. Ryota took a seat on the ground, right next to me.
I blushed. Okay, I hadn't expected him to get this close.
"What?" he asked, looking up at me.
"Um, I thought you'd yell at me for endangering Yuu-chan," I said.
He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, it's not like you have any control over the kidnappers. And if you get kidnapped, then that'll be troublesome."
"No really," I replied drily.
"Done!" Then Akane wrapped her arms around me, placing her head on my shoulder with a smile. "Are we going to go outside? I thought we could go see the city while we're here."
"That'd be fun!" Mina said with a grin. "We don't come to Tokyo often, so let's go!"
"Sure," I shrugged. Oh but what about Otsu and Hirase? They'll be obligated to come with me, right? Ugh. I stood. "Hey, Host Club, if you want to go home, now is the best time. Gang, if you want to see the city, uh, come with me. If not, you can stay here."
"Yeah, that's our leader!" Kenta said. I rolled my eyes at him.
"See the city?" Yukari asked Suzaku.
"I don't care. I've been to Tokyo before. What do you want to do?" he said with a laidback shrug.
"We'll be staying then, Rika," Yukari called to me.
I nodded. "Okay."
"Hey, Tomori-senpai," Hikaru said, hopping over to her with a devious smile. "Wanna see our creations then?"
"I'd love to!" Yukari jumped to her feet. "Show me!"
Suzaku sighed, as she followed the twins into the backroom. When did the twins have clothes back there? Oh well, shouldn't be a surprise by now.
"We want to go, Captain!" Kenta said.
"I'll come too," Eiji said, standing.
"Me too, Rika-nee!" Yuuta joined in with a grin.
"Then I'll be going home, Rika-senpai," Haruhi bowed at the crowd. "It was nice meeting everyone." "Thanks for coming, Haruhi!" I smiled, waving. "Oh, hey Kyoya."
"What is it?" Kyoya asked, glancing at me.
"Could you... maybe take Yukari-senpai and Suzaku-senpai to lunch?" I said hesitantly. "I'll pay you back."
He stared at me calmly for a moment, most likely calculating. Then he smiled. "Alright, I'll do that."
"Thank you!"
"Rika!" Arms wrapped around me. I stumbled from the sudden extra weight but kept my balance. "I want to go too!"
"Mitsukuni?" I said. He beamed at me. Mori stepped over with a small nod. I grinned. "Okay then. Let's go!"
We rode Honey's huge limo through the main regions of Tokyo. Since I hadn't grown up here, Honey actually did most of the guiding, pointing out important, interesting, and unique places. We ate lunch at a simple Japanese restaurant, then we visited a shrine, ate some dango, and wandered through a park. We talked the entire time, catching up with each other.
Ryota was quiet most of the time. The rest were quite excited to see everything. Akane just absorbed it all calmly, staying by my side. We picked Suzaku and Yukari up later, then went to Akihabara, otaku central, dropping by at a maid cafe. It was amazing, and it looked a lot like the cafe in Kaichou wa Maid-sama. Akane agreed with me too. We wandered stores, looking at video games, anime and manga products, and fancy technology. It was fun, especially seeing everyone's awed expressions.
Since the gang didn't want to spend money on a hotel, they rode a late 10 PM train back. Just at the train station gates, though, Akane wrapped her arms around me. "I don't want to go back yet! It's only been a day! Rika!"
"Akane!" I said, tugging at her arms. The others just chuckled at the scene.
"I don't want to leave you," Akane said. She tightened her grip. "Please, Rika. Come back with us."
"You're just tired, Akane," I replied. I patted her arms. It had been more than twelve hours, of course she'd be exhausted. And when Akane was tired, she became a lot more expressive of her feelings and dependent on others. I locked my eyes onto Ryota, who sighed.
He trudged over and grabbed Akane's arm. "Come on, Akane. Let's go home."
"I don't wanna! I wanna stay with Rika!" Akane protested, fighting against Ryota's tugging.
"Sorry, Akane," I said with an apologetic smile. Then I wiggled and slipped out of her grip.
"Rika!" Akane yelled, as Ryota dragged her through the gates.
"Bye! I'll email you!" I waved with a grin. "Thanks for coming everyone! Bye!"
"Bye!"
"See you!" The gang called, waving and smiling.
Ryota glanced back at me one final time and nodded. I waved at him with a small smile. When they had disappeared, I turned to the two that had accompanied me here.
"Thanks for coming with us today, Mitsukuni, Mori," I bowed at the them.
"It's nothing, Rika!" Honey said with a grin. Mori nodded. They were awfully patient. "It was fun. Your friends are interesting."
"Did you like them?" I asked. Honey smiled. "Yeah!"
I was glad. The day had gone well. Plus I'd gotten everyone's contact information. Now, all I had to do was go home and get permission to go on a trip with Mitsukuni. It shouldn't be that hard... right?