|3|: Neko Chan

4.9K 130 7
                                    

"So you're looking for your brother?" Nekozawa asked as put down his tea cup. Hiromi nodded with a smile on her face. After befriending Nekozawa, she went to his club room to have a cup of tea. She told him all about her "brother" Haruhi. She knew that her sister was posing as a boy and that it wasn't common knowledge to non host club members.

*~*~*~*~*

  "I didn't realize that Fujioka had a little sister. All the times I've talked to him, he's never mentioned you." Nekozawa said. I sighed. "Haruhi likes to keep his personal life close to the vest."

  "Why are you looking for him?" Nekozawa asked. "I wanted to surprise him. I know that he's in the host club, so I traveled here all on my own to see him." I replied.

   Neko Chan looked at me curiously. "Haruhi is always telling me about his classes and his friends. Every time we see each other, he goes on and on about the Host club. He doesn't like to admit it, but they're very important to him. I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about." I said and Nekozawa nodded in understanding.

"I have to say, this school is quite beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. Granted I don't get out much." I said with a serene smile on my face. "But I can see why Haruhi would choose to come here."

*~*~*~*~*

Nekozawa looked at Hiromi in awe. She had a radiant aura around her, that made him feel warm and loved. The smile on her face just added to her beautiful features. He couldn't deny that Hiromi was probably the most beautiful girl that he'd ever seen.

He had only known her for about an hour and a half, but in that time, she had already captured his heart. But he'd never tell her that. She'd probably never go for someone like him.

"Neko Chan? Are you alright?" Hiromi asked in a concerned tone. Nekozawa broke out of his thoughts and looked at her. "Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts." Hiromi chuckled. "I do that a lot too. I guess when you spend extended periods of time on your own, you end up befriending your own thoughts."

"I highly doubt that you've spent any time alone." Nekozawa said. A pensive look crossed Hiromi's face as she propped up her head with her arm. "You'd be surprised." She said calmly, but her eyes showed an inner pain. Nekozawa looked concerned for a moment but Hiromi immediately perked back up.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to bring down the mood." She said apologetically, with a closed eyed smile on her face that seemed rather forced. Nekozawa wanted to pry, but he also didn't want to upset his only friend, so he dropped the subject.

"Why don't I show you to your brother's club room now?" Nekozawa suggested. Hiromi immediately perked up. "That would be great!" She said happily. Her aura was absolutely infectious and Nekozawa found himself smiling right along with her. Hiromi looked at Nekozawa and blushed slightly. "Is something wrong?" Nekozawa asked her, noticing her red face.

"I've never seen you smile like that before. It's very becoming on you." She complimented. Now it was Nekozawa's turn to turn red as a fire truck. His thoughts were all a jumble, but he was brought back to reality when he heard a crash.

Nekozawa looked down and saw Hiromi sitting on the floor with a broken tea cup next to her. She looked up at him and smiled sheepishly. "Are you alright?!" Nekozawa asked concerned.

Hiromi smiled at him. "I'm fine. My leg must've fallen asleep. I'm afraid that I'm not quite used to standing yet." She said while blushing in embarrassment. Nekozawa arched a brow.

  Seeing the confused look on his face, Hiromi proceeded to roll up her pant leg. Nekozawa blushed and looked away, but a flash of pale blue and floral caught his eye. He turned to face Hiromi and his eyes widened in shock.

On her right leg from the thigh down, was a pale blue prosthetic leg with flowers painted on it. (A/N: picture in character description.)

Hiromi looked at her prosthetic leg with a pained look on her face. "I was in a nasty accident a few years ago. The doctors didn't think that I'd survive. After three long years, I was released from the hospital earlier today. I wanted to surprise Haruhi, because I wanted to show him that I'm all better now. He's always worrying about me." She said sadly.

Nekozawa just stood there in shock. He had no idea what to say. He couldn't find the right words. I mean really, what do you say in a situation like this? What would be appropriate? "Hey, I'm sorry that you lost your leg and three years of your life?" Or what about "Damn girl, I had no idea that you carried that kind of pain."

At an utter loss for words, but knowing that his friend needed comfort, Nekozawa gently placed a hand on Hiromi's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

She looked up at him in shock as he smiled kindly down at her. It wasn't a smile of pity either. It was a "You're the strongest person that I've ever met and I truly admire you." smile, and it was perfect. Hiromi returned the gesture by squeezing Nekozawa's hand and smiling right back. "Thank you Neko Chan." She said.

Even if it was unspoken, these two friends could tell what emotion the other wanted to convey. And sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

Right now, in this moment, a comforting squeeze on the shoulder was all Hiromi needed. In that one small gesture, Nekozawa's feelings came across perfectly, and Hiromi would be forever grateful to the strange man that she called Neko Chan.

__________________________________

* Super short chapter, but I think it's kinda sweet. I just wanted to get a chapter published. The next one will be longer.

Kitty cats and the color pink: OHSHC Where stories live. Discover now