~To be a Princess~
Chapter 16
~The sun, the beach, and memories~
Yuki's POV
With a final tug of the white shoelaces of my blue sports shoes, I was ready for my long trip to the beach. I had decided to wear what I wore the other day but with bike shorts and a sky blue sports cap, since I would be in the sun for most of the time. And I didn't forget to put on sunscreen. SPF 50+. I don't want to have melanoma.
I walked to the kitchen where I opened the cupboard to grab a drink bottle and fill it up with water. I looked up at the clock on the wall. 6 o'clock. I drank a glass of water before grabbing my phone and bottle and walking out to the shed where my bicycle would be.
The shed was made of a dark grey metal and was slightly rusted at the edges. Someone seriously needs to clean this place up! The metal door creaked open as I pushed it softly. The shed was littered with random tools and bits of wood and metal. Everything was covered in dust and adorned with cobwebs.
I looked around for my bicycle, hoping it wouldn't be in too bad of a condition. I was in luck. There, in the corner of the cold dusty shed, was my good old bicycle. No joke it was pretty old. There were cobwebs on the wheels, dust all over the metal and the woven basket out the front was a little tattered. I walked over to it and grabbed the faded pink handle. I pushed it outside, making the wheels clank against some other random objects on the way out.
At last, I escaped the abyss of cobwebs and darkness and my bike saw light for the first time in years.
I jumped up in fright when I spotted a hairy thing in the basket. What the heck is that doing in there???
It was my old teddy bear that I brought along everywhere. Always. The bear was still in a pretty good condition, considering the way it was being kept. It still had the same glassy brown eyes and the once fluffy light brown fur. Just looking at it made me feel better.
I remember crying to sleep when father took all my toys away. All things cute, fluffy and pink were all thrown away and replaced by plain boring beige colours. It was a sad day for me. I just added to the sorrow of that other day.
Lucky it was in the bike! Otherwise it would be gone. Just like everything else.
I picked the bear up tenderly and hugged it to my chest even though it was covered in dust and other unknown matter. Although I was only holding it for a few seconds, it made me feel lighthearted. Like I had been given a piece of my childhood back.
I decided just to air it out a bit and flapped it around, patting it softly. With each pat, a drizzle of dust fell of the surface of the bear and down to the ground like rain.
Once it was clean, I lifted it up over my head pretending that it was waving at me. It made my smile grow slightly. It was all clean now. Just like the old times.
Then I recalled the reason I went in the shed. To get my bike and ride to The beach. I put the bear under my arm and pushed the dirty bike towards the garden hose. I gave the bike a spray to get rid of all the dust and cobwebs. After that I just gave it a drying off with a small scrap of material. Meh... It's good enough.
When the bike was all dry, I pushed my bike out to the gate. I put my drink bottle, phone and bear into the front basket and hopped onto the bike. I took a few deep breaths with my eyes closed, trying to calm myself before I went off on my long trip. When I was completely calm, I opened my eyes determinedly and rode down the road at a fast pace.
The wind made my hair fly back behind me like a mass of streamers. I knew I should've brought glasses. Without them I had to squint my eyes because of the wind. The scenery slowly started to change as the sun rose higher into the sky making the once peachy sky morph into a clear blue sky.
Suddenly, I heard the ringing sound of my phone so I reduced my speed and used my right hand to grab my phone while the other still held onto the handles as I pedaled onward.
"Hello?" I greeted as I snapped my phone open and put it to my ear, still looking ahead. I wouldn't want to crash into anything. That would be troublesome.
"Good morning Miss. Sukinozuka. Are you busy right now?" the familiar voice of the Shadow King asked. What is he doing calling at this time of day?
"Oh, morning Kyouya. I'm not going to be at school today, I'm on my way to the beach. For training purposes." I explained trying not to make him angry for not turning up to the Host Club.
"Ah... I see. That's quite efficient then. We are planning on heading there today." he informed with his usual calm all-knowing voice.
"What for?" I asked curious to why the Host Club needed to go to the beach. Another holiday? The beach? They sure as hell are NOT getting me in another swimsuit!
"Well since Haruhi said she wouldn't mind going to the beach, Tamaki wanted to go today." Kyouya sighed. He sounds like he doesn't really want to go to the beach. But he has to go. What would we do if we got in trouble with something? None of the other Hosts would've been of any help. They'd just be running around like headless chickens. I wonder what would happen of Kyouya wasn't there to manage and organize club activities... We'd probably be bankrupt from all the money we spend on pointless things.
"Ah I see. Well I might be a little late." I mumbled shyly, slightly afraid of what he would say. Mitsukuni told me that Kyouya is even worse than he was when he's really angry. Especially if you wake him up. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers. Anyone who can get more scary than Mitsukuni would scare me.
"Why is that? Didn't you say you were on your way now?" he asked with a curious voice. It's just like Kyouya to notice everything.
"I'm kinda going by bicycle?" A short silence crept in before Kyouya spoke again.
"Ahahaha... I'm sorry. I thought you said bicycle." he chuckled all too brightly.
"I did say bicycle. I'm riding to the beach on a bike." I said with a deadpanned face waiting for his response.
"....... Well then what time do you think you'll be there?" he asked after a long awkward pause.
"Uhmmm... Around.... 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock?" I estimated. Hmmmmm. That means I have around another... 8 hours of riding. This is definitely going to kill my leg muscles.
"Okay... That's shouldn't cause to many problems." he said with relief.
"For a split second I thought you were actually concerned." I laughed. Ha! That'll be the day.
"Of course I would be! Who would be 'the shy type' then?"
This comment caused me to sweat drop. I'm surprised he has any guest requests at all. He seems so uncaring. But maybe that's the trait that some customers like? Strange people...
"Okay then.... See you at 2-3 ish." I sung as I hung up and put the phone back into the woven basket.
Only... 159 kilometres to go!
The Host Club's POV
The entire host club, minus the shy host, sat in the black leather seats of Tamaki's limo once again. They all looked excited yet slightly drained for their little trip to the beach. Perhaps they were still tired from the trip to the pool. Or a long school day perhaps.
"Ne, Tama-chan! Where's Yuki-chan? I didn't see her at school today." Hani-senpai asked. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Now that I think about it I didn't see her in class..." Haruhi mumble with a thoughtful look on her face.
"You realized that just now??? You're such a good friend Haruhi." the twins chimed sarcastically as they leaned on her shoulders.
"Thanks?"
"I dunno... Do you know Kyouya." Tamaki asked as he stopped glancing out the window and looked at Kyouya who was writing in his clipboard once again.
"Yes I do. She's taken the day off school." he informed them all as he pushed his glasses up, making them glint as he did so.
"Why? She's not sick is she! Oh! I feel so guilty that I will be enjoying a small vacation while Yuki is sick at home!" Tamaki fretted as he made his dramatic gestures and poses.
"Calm down. She's absolutely fine." Kyouya assured, still focusing on whatever he was writing in his clipboard.
"Well then why did she take a day off school?" the Hitachiin twins asked eagerly.
"She said it was for training purposes." Kyouya recalled. Tamaki jumped out of his seat.
(A/N: Please do not copy Tamaki. IT IS DANGEROUS!)
"TRAINING PURPOSES!?!?!?!?!? That's not very ladylike at all!!!!! Surely that's too vigorous of an activity for a lady!!!" Tamaki ranted still moving around in a dramatic way.
"She'll be meeting us there at around 2 or 3 o'clock." Kyouya reassured as he pushed his glasses up once again.
"Oh, that's good! It's nearly 2 o'clock anyway!" Tamaki cheered with a small blush on his cheeks and swaying in a childish manner.
After a few more minutes of an almost silent ride to the beach, the limo came to a halt and the chauffeur opened the door for all the hosts to hop out. They were all dressed in the correct attire for the beach. All the hosts, except for Haruhi of course, were wearing board shorts and were shirtless. Haruhi just wore similar clothing to what she wore at the extreme tropical pool.
Once the chauffeur had done his job and unloaded the bags. The car zoomed off into the horizon, seemingly shrinking as it drove further and further away.
"Okay!!! Shall we be off?" Tamaki asked his 'family members'.
"Have you forgotten already Tama-chan? Yuki-chan's not here yet!" Hani-senpai reminded with a small tilt of his head.
"Of course! How could I forget my wonderful little girl? With her cute little nose and bright smile! No one would be able to forget her!" Tamaki boasted as his over-the-top personality came into affect. Kaoru's eye twitched at his statement and he clenched his fist and took a step forward, ready to pummel Tamaki down to the ground. Fortunately, he was stopped by his twin who gave him a knowing look and calmed him down.
Now all they had to do was wait.
~Time Skip~
"Where is she? It's already 2:30." Kyouya grumbled impatiently as he checked the time on his wristwatch.
"WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER? WHAT IF SHE GOT IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED???" Tamaki screamed in shock as his eyes widened to the size of saucers and he fell to his knees.
|~|~|~|Tamaki Mind-Theatre|~|~|~|
The sound of sirens echoed down the road, alerting all people that something was not right. Ambulances and police cars surrounded a scene. Two cars, a limousine and an old buggy both with enormous dents on their bonnets and their windscreens shattered into a million pieces. The shocking site was blocked off by the surrounding police vehicles who had come to investigate the traffic accident. A crowd of people were already forming, eager to find out who was injured in the serious accident. A particularly curious blond pushed through the masses of people and reached the front.
"Who was it?" he asked a random woman standing next to him.
"I don't know yet. They're still trying to recover the body." she replied as she returned her attention to the paramedics who were rummaging through the wreckage carefully so that they wouldn't do any further damage to the victims.
The paramedics carried a limp body of a young girl out of the wreckage. A trickle of blood streamed down her bruised porcelain face and her hair was all tousled and slightly bloody. Although she looked a mess, she was still just as beautiful, like a fragile little doll.
"Get her onto the stretcher! Check her vitals and stop the bleeding!" the lead paramedic commanded as he pointed his team back to the ambulance.
"Hai(Yes)!" they shouted as they swiftly carried the injured girl to the car.
"Oh! It's that girl! From that Sukinozuka family!" a woman gasped as she recognized her face.
"How tragic!" another cried. A flash of recognition crossed the blonde's face as he realized it was his dear friend/daughter they were talking about.
"YUKI! Yuki! Yukiii!" he called out the her as loud as he could. But she didn't stir. It was as if she were already gone from this world.
|~|~|~| End Tamaki's wild unlikely fantasy|~|~|~|
"That's what happened right??? YUKI, MY DAUGHTER, COME BAAAACK!!!!!!" he fretted to his group of unsurprised friends. Of course, they had already gotten used to his antics.
"As usual, you're fantasies are unrealistic and completely foolish." Kyouya reprimanded as he, yet again, began to scribble in his clipboard.
"BUT IT'S A POSSIBILITY!!!!!!!!!!" Tamaki exclaimed as he cried out bucketfuls of tears and ran around in circles.
"An unlikely one." the twins muttered in unison with deadpanned faces.
"Ne, Takashi, what's that thing headed towards us?" Hani-senpai asked as he pulled on Mori-senpai's shirt to get his attention and pointed down the road.
"Hm?" he hummed as he turned to look at what it was. There was a small dot that seemed to be increasing in size rapidly. Soon the figure could be identified as a person on a bike. The sound of the buzzing wheels of the bike met the Host Club's ears causing them to turn in that direction.
In less than a second, a person riding a bike appeared next to them. They were completely covered in sweat and were panting heavily. There, standing in front of them, was the missing host, Yuki.
"I... I... Made... It..." she panted as she tried to calm her frantic pulse. The everyone with the exception of Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai and Kyouya stood there in shock from her sudden appearance.
"Oh, hey guys! Sorry for the wait!" she apologized, bowing down politely.
"Oh! My daughter has returned from the dead! Come to father! We were so worried!!!" Tamaki squealed as he engulfed her in his lean arms.
"Uh huh... Hang on... I was dead?" she nodded, ignoring his arms that encircled her before tilting in confusion.
"Just ignore that comment. Why were you so late?" Kyouya interrogated with a glint of his round glasses.
"Hey I said I'd be here at two to three o'clock!" she argued pulling herself out of Tamaki's rather tight grip to glare at Kyouya.
"... Fine, but make sure that you get changed out of those clothes." Kyouya reminded wih a small smirk on his face.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because, how can you serve our customers looking like that?" he asked rhetorically as he smiled happily.
"Our WHAT???" the twins and Yuki shouted in unison, outraged by his declaration.
~Time Skip~
"It's so beautiful here... I can't believe I'm all alone with Tamaki-kun at the beach. It's like a dream." a customer with slightly wavy brown hair sighed dreamily as she sat on a lone rock, admiring the magnificent blue view with her chosen host, Tamaki.
" 'Tis not a dream. But... If you should desire it, I would like to appear in your dreams tonight." he whispered into her ear gently as their foreheads met.
"Tamaki-kun..." she whispered back with a soft smile.
On the shore, a beach volleyball game was taking place. All of a sudden, the ball was hit at a high angle, forcing it down the shoreline.
"Ah! Go easy on us Hikaru!" Kaoru exclaimed as he ran to retrieve the ball.
"My bad! I'll go get it. Wait up, Kaoru!" Hikaru called out to his twin as he ran after him, laughing.
"Don't come after me; the ball will roll too far!" Kaoru yelled back as the two continued to run after the rolling ball.
Another pair of hosts were sitting under the shade of an umbrella, protecting them from the sun. Haruhi and Yuki both had their legs curled up enough so that they could rest their heads on their knees.
"Why?" Haruhi asked with an emotionless expression.
"I know right! I thought this was supposed to be a 'small vacation'. I don't think we need any more profits anyway..." Yuki grumbled with a pout.
"Agreed." Haruhi sighed and nodded.
"Your 'Alone with Tamaki' time is up. Next lady please come up." Kyouya called out to the girl sitting on the rock with Tamaki and gestured to the next lady to go and have their 'alone' time.
"Why are we being hosts at the beach too?" Yuki sighed tiredly as she gazed around her surroundings.
"And what on earth are they doing?" Haruhi asked as she spotted a few customers doing some strange form of dance/exercise with Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai.
"Oh, they're just some exercises designed to stretch your muscles. It's actually really helpful even though it looks kinda strange." Yuki informed smartly.
"Oh, I see." Haruhi muttered as she resumed her previous activity of gazing into space.
"Haruhi-kun," a girl whispered from behind them. She and a group of her friends we're there to chat with Haruhi.
"Oh, your guests are here Haruhi, I s-should leave you to it." Yuki excused herself awkwardly as she stood up to make room for the girls. She still had to be the shy type after all.
"We don't mind Yuki-kun!" they exclaimed with small tints of pink in their cheeks.
"Oh no! It's no problem at all! I... Was going to ask Kyouya-senpai about something anyways." she said with small cute smile.
"Awww... Yuki-kun is so cute!" they squealed as their barely visible blushes became obvious. She quickly speed walked away before she was bombarded by her very own customers.
"We've been completely had, huh?" Hikaru sighed as he grabbed the ball.
"I didn't think we'd actually bring customers here." Kaoru said tiredly.
"Me too!" Yuki chimed as she walked over to Kyouya.
"You hosts are invited here for free, so please work diligently servicing our guests." Kyouya asked kindly, if he could be called kind. It was more of a polite way to ask someone.
"But with customers here, with customers around-" Kaoru started.
"-we can't let Haruhi or Yuki wear a swimsuit." Hikaru finished with a sigh.
"Even if there were no guests I still wouldn't let you guys make me wear a swimsuit! You perverts!" Yuki exclaimed with an irk mark on her head and her hand clenched in a fist.
"Aww..."
"Everything is as planned. Who I their right mind would let you fools see my adorable little girls in their swimsuits?" Tamaki smirked with his two hands behind his head.
|~|~|~| Tamaki's Mind Theatre Encore|~|~|~|
3
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1
0
And... When the time comes from the sun to set... I will take a walk with my family. My two daughters, Haruhi and Yuki.
"Ne, ne, Otou-san (dad)! Isn't the sunset so pretty?" Yuki exclaimed as she gazed into the horizon with watery eyes, making it seem like her eyes were glittery.
"Yes it is..." Tamaki mumbled as he patted his brown haired daughters.
"I just want to stare at this scene forever." Haruhi whispered loud enough for them both to hear her.
"Me too!" Yuki exclaimed cutely with a bright closed eyed smile.
|~|~|~| End Encore of Tamaki's Mind Theatre|~|~|~|
"Ahahaha!!! Or something like that! I can't hold this feeling in!" Tamaki laughed as he wriggled around like a red faced fish out of water.
"Uh... What's wrong with Tamaki?" a few customers asked the twins as they looked at Tamaki's actions, concerned.
"Don't worry. It's just his usual sickness."The twins dismissed as they took a sip of their beverages.
"Ne, Kyouya." Yuki called as she stood under Kyouya's umbrella.
"What is it?" He asked, pushing up his glasses to look at her.
"Since I thought we wouldn't have any customers...I hope that I can still train...?" She asked hopefully probably to avoid punishment from her father.
"Hm... You should ask your customers. It's them you're trying to please after all." He suggested before turning back to his clipboard to write down some more notes.
"Okay! Thanks Kyouya!" She said as she ran off to find her allocated customers.
"Ne, ano... Is it alright if I still train... I thought this was going to be a training trip." She asked shyly, twiddling her fingers and looking up at them hopefully.
"It's absolutely fine Yuki-kun! There's no problem! No problem AT ALL!" They reassured as they eagerly pushed her along to get started with her training.
"Okay..." She mumbled as she walked off to get ready to train.
"KYA~! I hope Yuki-kun takes off his shirt!" Her customers squealed in delight as they jumped about in happiness.
She ran down the beach, the grains of sand rubbing against the sole of her feet and creating a tingling sensation on her feet. The bangs of her wig flew to the behind her and flopped on the air. She ran and ran until she reached the end of the private beach where there were cluttered rocks and high cliffs. She took a moment to observe the scenery before turning back around to where the rest of the hosts an their customers were. By now she was drenched in sweat and panting.
As she approached her friends, her customers gathered together and sent flying love hearts her way, which she merely dodged. She then stopped for a small rest, grabbing her drink bottle and squirting a considerable amount of cool water in her mouth.
"Here Yuki-kun! A towelette!" A girl with short light brown hair offered, holding it out with both hands.
"Oh, thank-you..."
"Why don't you rest here with us instead Yuki-kun?" Another customer suggested eagerly as she pulled her towards a mat with an umbrella.
"Yeah Yuki-kun!" They all chorused encouragingly.
"Ano...." She mumbled as she thought about the offer. Training or Host Club? Her father did say that he would know I father did her training or not. But she could always train later... Or maybe not. Kyouya looked at her straight in the eye, mentally convincing her to stay.
"Okay...." She agreed as are let herself be swept off by the group of girls.
"YAY~!" They cheered as they all moved over to the mat.
"Sit here next to me Yuki-kun!"
"No, next to me!"
"No, ME!"
They all began bickering around and arguing on who should sit next to Yuki. She sweat dropped before she broke her silence.
"Why don't I just sit in the middle? Then everyone can be next to me..." She suggested shyly.
"Great idea Yuki-kun!" They praised as they all glomped her causing her to fall on the mat flat on her butt.
"Yeah! You are so smart!" They squealed as they began massaging her slightly sore muscles.
"That just looks unnatural... A girl cross dressing as a boy being pampered by other girls who think who she's a boy." The twins muttered quickly as if they were reciting a tongue twister.
"Eh. And your 'twincest' act isn't 'unnatural'?" Haruhi said with her eye twitching madly.
"Hey! The chicks dig the 'twincest' act!" They exclaimed as they hugged each other lovingly, causing numerous girls to huddle around them and witness their little act.
Haruhi sighed before she was called over by none other than Hani-senpai.
"Haru-chan! Let's 'hioshigari'!"
"You mean 'shiohigari'?" She corrected with a deadpanned look on her face.
(A/N: "shiohigari" means "to dig up shells at the beach" whereas "hioshigari" is a meaningless pseudo word. According to the subbed episodes:D)
"Besides. I've never heard of being able to dig up shells around- EH? WHAT'S THIS???" she shouted as she spotted the huge array of sea urchins, shellfish, crabs and other crustacea surrounding her.
Finding this slightly suspicious, Mori-senpai checked over the rock hiding the other side of the beach from view. On the other side was the Ootori family's secret police force unloading an unknown amount of sealife onto the beach in small buckets.
"Mori-senpai. Our family's private police force wants to apologize for the earlier slight done to Hani-senpai so I am letting them do as they wish." Kyouya informed as a member of the private police force saluted to Mori-senpai.
Meanwhile on the other side of the gigantic mound of rock, Haruhi and Hani-senpai had collected at least 10 buckets of sea animals.
"Wow! There's so many!"
"Tonight's side dishes are going to be nice!" Haruhi exclaimed cheerfully, probably looking forward to dinner. "They look so delicious!"
"Well, these two look happy." Tamaki smiled as he looked on.
"Senpai!" Haruhi called out, breaking Tamaki out of his small trance, "Tonight's dinner is going to be huge!" She shouted, her excited voice echoing across the large expanse of the beach and reaching the ears of all the customers and their hosts. They all perked up and looked around for person responsible.
"Ah! I see! My precious girl!!!" Tamaki fussed over Haruhi before he ran over and grabbed one of the larger crabs.
"Well Haruhi? Do you like giant crabs?" Tamaki asked with a glint of his pearly white teeth.
"I do!" Haruhi replied with a cute blush and smile.
"Cute..." Tamaki swooned as he blushed at her adorable face.
Suddenly, a head of a long crawly animal peeped out from behind the crab and crawled out of its hiding place.
"Cent...ti...PEDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the customers squealed as they ran from Tamaki who was frozen on the spot.
Haruhi merely glanced at the creature, picked it up and threw it away.
"Yo, Haruhi. I can tell that you're a bug loving girl but can't you be a bit more gentle?" The twins whispered into her ears simultaneously.
"Don't worry. It won't die from a throw like that." She assured.
"Haruhi-kun is so brave!" The customers complemented as they regained their calm. "And gentle at the same time!"
"KYAAA~!" They all squealed with hearts flying straight at Haruhi.
"Oh well." Hikaru sighed.
"I guess she doesn't react like a normal girl." Kaoru said. All of a sudden, both boys perked up with cheeky smirks on their faces.
"Ne, Tono! We just thought of a new game!" They cheered jumping towards him. "It's the who can find Haruhi's weak spot... GAAAAAME~!" They chimed.
"That's sounds like such an ill natured game. No." Tamaki refused as he crossed his arms sternly.
"Alright then. You know, people only show their weak spots to people they're close with." The twins stated as they walked away from him slowly. He has to take their offer now.
"What are the rules?" He demanded as he turned around to face them, now determined to win.
"We knew you'd come around. The rules are simple. The first to find Haruhi's weak spot before sundown wins." They instructed in unison.
"Allow me to add a reward for the winner." Kyouya added as he took a stash of photos of Haruhi in middle school out of his breast pocket. Hikaru and Tamaki's eyes basically popped out of their sockets. Tamaki became extremely eager take the pictures and lunged at them but Kyouya merely moved the images away from his reach.
"We're in too!" Hani-senpai cheered on behalf of himself and Mori-senpai.
"So the whole club is participating." Kyouya stated as he noted something down on his clipboard.
"I'm not participating in this game! Us girls of the host club need to stick together!" Yuki exclaimed, staying faithful to her only female friend.
"Kyou-chan, where did you get those photos?" Hani-senpai asked curiously.
"Don't tell me... You were stalking her this whole time??? I'm gonna report you!" Yuki accused with a point of her finger and a disgusted look on her face.
"WHAT???" Tamaki shouted incredulously.
"No Yuki, I didn't. I got them from a certain source." He corrected with a smile that was obviously fake.
"Which makes it more suspicious!" Yuki mumbled under her breath as she edged away from the Shadow King.
~Time Skip~
After a long tiring day, most the hosts were completely drained from scaring Haruhi all day and simply resorted to lazing around the Ootori family's private beach. The only hosts who seemed to have energy were the secretly female hosts, Yuki and Haruhi. The sea morphed into a bright orange along with the sky making it seem like it was just a huge expanse of orange for miles.
"Man, this game is impossible! Hikaru complained as he sat on a stone wall, staring at the scenery along with his twin Kaoru.
"Tell me about it!" Kaoru agreed as he stretched his worn out muscles.
"So you guys are finally giving up after trying to scare her with ghosts, the dark and enclosed places and a harpoon?" Yuki asked with a smirk upon her lips.
"She's the worst heroine for not being afraid of anything." Hikaru sighed in defeat as they spotted Haruhi walking along the shore, trying to look for more 'side dishes' for dinner. Suddenly there was a rustling of leaves behind them.
"Hey! These will definitely disgust her! Look! Green snakes!" Tamaki said proudly as he showed them a whole bucket full of writhing snakes of different sizes and colours.
"Honestly senpai. Anyone would be disgusted at that." The twins said simultaneously, their faces twisting into identical looks of disgust.
"I'm going to call Haruhi back. It's nearly sunset and I wanna have dinner. See ya later!" Yuki shouted back at them as she ran off as fast as the wind, her wig still on just incase one of the customers were still outside. She must be pretty hungry.
"Ja ne!" The twins called out to her as they watched her run into the distance.
"Hmm... Since when are there green snakes in Okinawa anyway?" Kaoru asked as he faced his senpai who was still oblivious to the fact that the snakes were not of the correct species.
Yuki's POV
I ran around the shoreline where there were quite a few rock pools but I couldn't find Haruhi anywhere. It's like she just disappeared.
"Oooh! There are a couple of chicks here! Lucky!" I hear a slurred male voice from the cliff above me. I tensed and waited for what they would say next.
"Who are you people?" A girl asked with worry laced in her voice.
"This is a private beach!" Another stated, probably hoping to keep them away.
"Private beach? Y'all rich girls or something?" Another deep voice asked before I heard the squeals of two girls. All right. That's it. I'm going to save them.
Suddenly, I heard one yowl in pain as I ran up the steep slope leading to the top of the cliff.
"Stop it! They don't like your come ons. Leave them alone!" The familiar voice of Haruhi demanded fiercely.
"Haruhi-kun!" The customers exclaimed happily, glad that they had been saved, in a way. One decided to run off while they were distracted. Probably to call the rest of the host club for backup.
"This kid..." One grumbled angrily.
"I'm gonna make you pay!" He shouted as I heard him running towards Haruhi. I ran faster and quickly made it to the top of the cliff. They didn't even seem to notice that I was there.
"Gosh you have skinny arms for a guy!" he growled as he grabbed her wrists and pushed her closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, "People like you deserve to-" he shouted before stopping abruptly, not being able to finish his sentence because he was being held back by his rather long hair.
"Deserve to what?" I asked as I pushed his head back painfully and pulling Haruhi back to safety.
"Yuki-kun!" The customers exclaimed once more.
"Another one?" He mumbled under his alcoholic breath. My eye twitched and I kicked him in the gut making him crouch down in pain. I glare at the second man and in a flash he also was down in the ground writhing in pain.
"Thanks Yuki." Haruhi thanked.
"No problem."
"Yuki-kun is so strong and heroic!" The two remaining customers cheered.
"Haruhi!" Tamaki's voice cried out in worry as he and the twins approached us.
"Oh, senpai, there's nothing to worry about!" Haruhi assured them as she showed them that she was unharmed. I sighed in relief as everything seemed to be okay.
"You should learn to keep your guard up, kid!" A humored mumble reached my ears before a hand grabbed my ankle and I felt myself flying into the cool sea breeze as gravity pulling me down until the hosts were out of sight.
"YUKI!!!" A bunch of shocked voices called out before I was hit by a huge mass of cold water and dived into unconsciousness.
Kaoru's POV
I stood there, my feet rooted to the ground as I watched Yuki fall off the side of the cliff in seemingly slow motion and disappear down below into the deep blue sea. Why won't I move? What's wrong with me? I should go and save her. Why won't I move?!
I spotted a blur of blond hair go past me and dive in after her. Tamaki-senpai. Why didn't I do anything? Are my feelings not as strong as senpai's? I'm sure I love her more than anyone else. Yet, why? Was I just too much of a coward to go in after her? Or was I-
"Kaoru! Let's go to the shoreline! Tamaki-senpai should be there soon with Yuki!" Hikaru shouted as he shook my shoulders getting me out of my trance.
"Oh, let's go then." I mumbled as I ran with them.
Was I just in shock that I couldn't move? That doesn't matter. The point is I couldn't save her. I couldn't be there for her. Do I even deserve to be her friend? To be by her side?
At last we reached the beach and spotted a figure that was Tamaki-senpai, the hero, holding Yuki in his arms. Her wig had fallen off and was swept away with the waves and her beautiful long hair was drenched and clung to her figure. She looked so fragile for one that was strong.
"Is she all right?" I asked worriedly.
"She seems to be perfectly fine but I called a doctor just incase." Kyouya-senpai informed us as Tamaki-senpai reached the shore.
"There's no need for that Kyouya. I'm fine, see?" Yuki assured us as she spun around with a smile to prove her point. What's she thinking? She was in a situation where she could've been seriously injured!
"What were you two thinking? You could've been hurt or worse! We were worried sick!" Tamaki raved as he shook their shoulders.
"But Yuki was there! She's as strong as Hani-senpai!" Haruhi exclaimed in their defense as she stepped forward.
"But she's still a girl! There's a difference!" Tamaki shouted angrily stomping his foot on the sand. I could see that both girls were upset at his seemingly sexist comment.
"Are you saying that guys are stronger than girls?" Yuki growled as she stepped next to Haruhi and glared at senpai.
"No! I'm saying that since you're girls there's certain things that could happen to you!" Tamaki-senpai grumbled, getting impatient at their obliviousness of the situation.
"Well, we're sorry for making you worry but I don't see how we did anything else wrong!" Yuki shouted back at senpai defiantly.
"I see. Fine then! I'm not talkin to you both until you admit hat you're wrong!" Tamaki stated as he stomped back to the hotel.
~Dinner Time~
Third person's POV
By now the sun had already set and the sky had darkened as clouds moved over and began to grumble much like some of the stomachs of the hosts.
"The crabs are ready!" Hani-senpai sung happily as he placed the last of the red cooked crabs on the table along with the rest if the food they had caught.
"Thank-you, Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai. I'm sorry that we don't have any maids around here right now." Kyouya apologized politely.
"That's alright! Thanks for letting us stay here! Takashi can you go and get Haru-chan and Yuki-chan?" Hani-senpai asked Mori-senpai.
"Ah." Mori-senpai replied as he turned around and walked off to fetch the two hosts.
"It sure looks gloomy outside! I wonder if its going to rain?" Hani-senpai wondered as he stared out the window.
"You think it's gloomy outside? There's something over here that's even gloomier." Kaoru muttered rather depressingly.
"If he was going to be this depressed he shouldn't have picked a fight with her." Hikaru sighed as he leant back in his widen chair.
Then, the door creaked open revealing the two hosts Haruhi and Yuki. They were both dressed in frilly nightgowns that hung loosely on them. Haruhi's gown was pink while Yuki's was a sunshine yellow.
"Wow! Yuki, Haruhi, you guys look so cute!" Hani-senpai cheered with flowers bouncing around all over the place.
"Where'd you get the dresses?" The twins asked in unison.
"My dad always wants me to wear this kind of frilly stuff so he probably repacked my bags and Yuki didn't have stuff to wear so I lent her some of my clothes." Haruhi explained sighing at her father's antics.
"Good job Haruhi's dad!"the twins praised with thumbs ups.
Yuki's POV
When we were all seated, an extremely tense atmosphere filled the air making it extremely awkward. Tamaki, the sexist upperclassman sat between Haruhi and I while Mitsukuni and Takashi sat on Haruhi's right. Kyouya, Hikaru and Kaoru sat on the other side. Both Haruhi and I sat with annoyed looks on our faces while the rest of the hosts sat there staring at us cautiously except for Kyouya of course.
"Ne mina, why don't we start eating? The crabs look really nice!" Mitsukuni urged as he held up a big crab along with Takashi.
"Itadakimasu." I said as I picked a rather large crab with huge claws. With just my thumb and index finger from each hand, I grabbed the top of the shell and opened it like a scallop, making its hits flow out onto my plate. I smirked in satisfaction as I spotted Tamaki's expression of absolute shock. I also saw Haruhi on the other side of Tamaki snapping the crab legs at the joint and forcing all the meat one half to slip straight out of the shell. Skills. Respect to Haruhi.
"These crabs are in-crab-able font you think?" Haruhi asked with a tiny smirk.
"Definitely." I agreed as I smirked evilly and gave Tamaki a confident stare.
"A-Aren't you two eating a bit too much?" He stuttered as he marveled at the amount of crab we had consumed. His head shook from left to right as he looked at my pile of crab shells to Haruhi's. they were both around the same height which was around 30 cm tall.
"Eh? We thought you weren't talking to us." We said in unison. Haruhi decided to hit him with a piece of her crab that flung and hit the bottom of his chin. Unfortunately her aim was poor and only skimmed the surface if his skin. The shard flew past Tamaki and towards me. Since I wasn't anticipating the attack, I didn't dodged and the sharp edge of the shell created a cut across my cheek and a trickle of blood to slowly flow down my face. I reached up and touched the crimson substance, wiping it off my face and onto my hand. I stared at the smear of blood that ran across my hand. My eyes widened as I recalled a horrible memory.
"So not cute!" Was the last thing I heard before I drifted off into my own world.
••••••••••••••••••••
It was so loud. Too loud. People were shouting. No, screaming. Crashing sounds of expensive vases and the shattering of glass echoed around me. I covered my small delicate ears from the chaos around me. Pushing myself further into the corner I had chosen to hide away. Hide away from the bad people.
There were thundering sounds of people running away in fear of losing their lives. The sounds of metal being unsheathed and the cackling of men. It was terrifying.
Then I spotted a person with long silky black hair being tossed on the ground in front of me. Her slender body was now limp on the floor, her limbs shaking as she struggled to get up. Then they opened their eyes to reveal gorgeous seas of green. The eyes that I inherited.
"Mum?" I whimpered as I reached out to her as I noticed the sticky red blood spilling out of a cut on her head. The blood stained her beautiful pale face red.
"Oh hime (princess), thank goodness you're...safe." She panted as she gave a soft smile and cupped my face. Tears began to leak out of my eyes as I saw that her eyes were full of pain.
"Mum! What happened to you? Mum!" I fretted as I examined her weak body full of cuts and bruises. It made me feel terrible just looking at the state she was in. I tried to help by trying to stop the bleeding and applying pressure to the biggest wound. The wound on her head. The sticky substance spread all over my hands as I held them there sniffling every once in a while.
"Don't worry Yuki. Every... Everything will be fine..." She cooed as she stopped my trembling hands from stopping the bleeding by hugging me tightly.
"Mum! Mu-" I shouted, still shocked as I hugged her back, staining the back of her clothes with her own blood. Blood.
"Yuki, hime listen to me..." She mumbled gently into my ear as she rubbed my back.
"I want you to...go find daddy... Then you'll... you'll be safe." She instructed, her voice now eying raspy and softer. She was so weak now.
"But what about you mum?" I asked as I gripped her shirt harder, desperate to stay with her and look after her.
"Don't worry about me... Just find daddy... Hurry hime...before they come back..." She whispered urgently as she slowly lowered herself to the ground and lay her head on the wooden floor.
"No! I don't want to leave you mum!" I refused as I grasped her arm tightly and held her hand to my cheek, making it wet with my salty tears.
"Hu-Hurry..." She muttered as her olive eyes shut close, never to see light again.
"Mum?" I asked softly looked at her bloodstained face.
"Mum! Mum! Mum! Mum! Mum!!!" I screamed as I shook her arm which dangled around hopelessly.
"Wake up... Please mum..." i begged as I too lay next to her and hugged her, "Let's go in the garden like we do every day mum... Your flowers will wilt if you don't water them... The tulips remember mum?" I urged, truing to get a reaction out of her, "Wake up..."
I lay there, covered in my mother's now dry blood. Her body was still warm but it was still. Her chest wasn't moving up and down. I couldn't here her heartbeat as I hugged her. She was gone. Forever.
"Did we miss anyone?" A voice grunted impatiently as heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway. The door slid open with a bang and reveal three buff looking men with tattoos on their arms and some of their necks and dark tanned skin. They wore scruffy looking shirts and shorts.
"Hey! There's a little brat still moving around over here!" One shouted loudly as if the others were near deaf. They all headed my way and snickered as they saw me whimpering at my mother's corpse. They grabbed me from the front of my shirt and pulled me away from my mother making me screech in defiance as I struggled to go back to my mothers side. They lifted me up so that my eyes met theirs and smirked evilly. I was so afraid, even more tears began to pour down my cheeks.
"What's wrong? You gonna go cry to your mummy? Oh wait, you can't!" One mocked as the others guffawed at his cruel joke.
"Let me go! Lemme go!" I protested as I wriggled around to loosen his grip. It didn't help one bit.
"Heh! Why should we? Your nothing without your last name 'Sukinozuka'!" They claimed victoriously as they lifted me up even higher, preparing to slam my small frail body to the ground.
"Stop! Leave these grounds and my daughter alone!" My father's voice demanded furiously.
••••••••••••••••••••
My mind began to drift back to the dining table where the fight between Haruhi, Tamaki and I was still continuing. I don't even feel like it anymore. I feel dead.
"Excuse me, I need the restroom. I think I ate a bit too much." I excused my self softly with my brown bangs covering my eyes, stood up walked out the room. I closed the door behind me and leaned on it slightly, still listening into their conversation.
"Fine then! You obviously wont admit that you're wrong! Kyouya, can you show me to my room?" Tamaki asked before sighing tiredly.
"Of course."
I took this as my cue to leave and so I did. I ran all the way back to the room I shared with Haruhi and shut the door behind me, keeping the world outside.
That was when I let all my walls tumble down. I let all my emotions that I held inside out. Tears streamed down my eyes and my breathing became uneven my voice shaky. The sound of sob and sniffles filled the near empty room. I flopped myself onto the soft mattress which had my bear on it and curled up into a small ball, hugging my bear.
Pain, pain, go away. Come again another day...
Kaoru's POV
I walked, more like trudged down the empty carpeted hallway miserably as I headed back to my room to get some rest.
We just have Haruhi her lecture on how reckless she was today. Honestly, Yuki should've been there for it too. We were all worried about her. Me especially. But if I were that worried, why wouldn't I dive in after her? I could've saved her.
Suddenly the sound of muffled sobs reached my ears, catching my attention. Who could that be? Where is it coming from? I concentrated and deduced that the sobs were coming from a room, Haruhi and Yuki'a room to be precise.
Haruhi couldn't have taken our lecture to heart right? And Yuki left halfway through dinner with an upset stomach. So most likely it would be...
"Yuki!!!" I shouted as I quickly opened the door and rushed inside the room.
I saw a shaking figure lying on the bed in a ball. Their cries were full if pain and sorrow. It was Yuki. I felt my heart almost break just from hearing her cry like this.
"Yuki? Yuki what's wrong?" I asked softly as I approached her bed slowly.
"G-G-Go away!" She stuttered as she curled even more tightly into her ball. I stood my ground. I'm not going l stand and do nothing. I'm going to help her this time. I'm going to save her.
"I'm not going anywhere." I told her sternly and took more steps towards her causing her sobs to quieter down slightly.
"I said GO AWAY!" she shouted as she got out of her ball and threw something at me. I felt a soft object hit my face and fall to the ground. I picked it up gently and saw that it was a bear. A cute one at that. I assume its hers. It looks like something she'd like.
By now she had returned to her original position on the bed and was trying to suppress her tears and bottle up her emotions once more.
"Yuki... Please... Let me help you... I don't want to see you like this." I begged. She shook her head furiously before sinking back into a ball. I took a few more steps towards the bed and soon enough I was right next to it. She stayed silent for a while.
"You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to. Just let me be here for you." I told her gently as I sat on the side of the bed with the bear in hand. She lifted her head and I saw that her lovely green eyes were slightly puffy with tears still pouring down her face. She looked so...broken.
I lifted the bear up to her causing her sniffles to sop for a bit as she stared at the stuffed animal.
"Don't worry, ne? Everyone would be sad if they saw you like this." I squeaked in a high voice and maligning the bear move around as I spoke. I hope this will cheer her up a little.
She uncurled herself from her position and leaped into my arms, catching me by surprise. Her arms wrapped around me and she nuzzled her head into the crook of my neck, sending shivers down my spine and a blush to rush to my face. She continued to cry even harder than ever now, but it seemed that she was glad that she could have someone to lean on. I slowly wrapped my arms around her small body and rubbed her back I small circles to soothe her. My technique seemed to work as her breathing regulated and her sobs had quieted down to small sniffles. She slowly detached herself from me and looked down at her lap, avoiding eye contact with me. Not that I don't feel like doing the same thing. I'm not really used to being that intimate with anyone besides Hikaru.
"Thanks Kaoru. That meant a lot." She mumbled quietly, just loud enough for me to hear her.
"No problem." I replied with a small smile.
"Wanna go check on Haruhi? She had a stomach ache before from eating that whole pile of crab." I asked as I quickly changed the subject to lighten the mood.
"Sure." She answered as we both hopped off the bed and went out to the hallway.
"Ne, Kaoru! We're gonna go check on Haruhi! Come with us!" Hikaru called with Kyouya-senpai, Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai in tow.
"Alright, let's go." I agreed as I grabbed Yuki's wrist and pulled her to join the group.
We all walked down the hallway to get to Kyouya-senpai's room. He had told us that Haruhi had went into his bathroom to take care of her business. Hikaru began to come closer to me with each step until his mouth was millimeters away from my ear.
"Hey Kaoru, I see that you and Yuki are getting closer. Smooth brother, very smooth." He whispered into my ear. I could clearly hear the amusement in his voice and the smirk in his lips.
"Shut it Hikaru!" I muttered back angrily, getting tired of him teasing me all the time.
"Oh? Denying your feelings? So you won't mind if I-" he continued as he raised his voice slightly. He's not going to tell her is he? He can't!
"Shut up!" I shouted in his ear just as Yuki opened the door to Kyouya-senpai's room.
We all couldn't believe our eyes. There, in front of us was a blindfolded Haruhi sitting on the floor innocently, with Tamaki-senpai placing earplugs into Haruhi's ears. The entire scene looked entirely wrong.
"See? Then if you put the earplugs in it muffles up the sound!" Tamaki explained.
"Ah! It's true!" Haruhi agreed happily.
"You sick pervert!" Hikaru exclaimed as we all stared at senpai with twitching eyes, excluding Yuki.
"Eh? What's wrong with this scene?" Yuki asked curiously as she looked at us expecting answers.
"AHH! Shield Yuki-chan's innocent ears!" Hikaru and I exclaimed in unison as we both covered each of Yuki's ears with our hands.
"So you're an S&M pervert?" Hikaru speculated with a disgusted look.
"You're the worst senpai!" I added as I mimicked Hikaru's expression.
"No! It wasn't like that! You have the wrong idea!!!" Tamaki shouted as he ran about trying to explain himself.
I spotted Yuki smiling at the of Tamaki raving about his innocence and all the members of the host club contradicting him.
At last, she's smiling again, my princess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey guys! It's been a while!
I hope you guys like reading this chapter as much as I liked writing it!^_^ this is a momentous occasion!!! I'm actually proud of this chapter!!!
Some parts were humorous (in my opinion. I don't know if others actually think it's funny) And other parts were serious. So it was a mixture.
Well, I hope you guys liked it.
Also, please excuse some of the grammatical and spelling error made in this chapter. I couldn't wait to upload!^_^
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