seven reasons to fall | hitachiin

Sixth

"HEY, you."

Shiori smiled something soft at the greeting, pleased to have her studying interrupted for the third time that day. The cramming, ironically, was for her conversational French exam- a subject that, for a few weeks now, she couldn't quite concentrate in. Truthfully, she was never quite good at studying on her own, although she did things by herself so often. "Hi, Hitachiin-san."

The twin in front of her had eyebrows that were wickedly downturned, as they tended to be around Shiori, and Hikaru couldn't help but scowl. Unlike his brother, he'd never quite grown out of hating her. He didn't think he ever would. "It's Hikaru." he snapped, as if she couldn't tell.

"I know which one you are," she replied, not afraid of him in the way she used to be. Her newfound friendship with Kaoru let her know that not everything came easy to the twins; that the only really difference between her and them was how they coped. "I just thought you'd appreciate it if I used the formalities."

His expression didn't falter, but at the still venomous expression, Shiori's did. "Anyways. Come with me."

"Why?" She asked, but Hikaru's back was already facing her, and he was walking down the corridor without glancing back until the girl interrupted, again, with "Hikaru-san?"

The air was crisp that day, sometime in early April. There was no sign of the rain that usually accompanied the month, and for that Shiori was grateful. She was often terrified of driving in the rain, and even if today was filled to the brim with disaster, it would always be made better with sunny weather like this.

She liked to remember how the day felt to her when she knew something important was about to happen. And if the clouds were gone, it could never be all that bad.

He turned around, making the same disapproving face, and mumbled something about how he 'was put up to this' and 'would rather spend time with a rabid chimpanzee' before stalking away once more, faster. She had no choice but to follow.

Once uplifted by the weather, this made Shiori feel bad all over again, so she didn't say another word on the deadly commute to Music Room 3, where she realized they were headed when Hikaru curiously eyed both Music Rooms before that. And while she wasn't academically adept, she wasn't exactly stupid, either. She knew exactly what- or who- stood behind the third floor corridor.

With the amount of girl friends she made throughout the semester, Shiori Kuromiya knew what to expect when that door opened, despite never having the courage to visit the Host Club before (there was something unspoken between her and Kaoru, neither of them wanting to see each other in action in their respective positions). 

There was a piece of paper taped to the door, reading in big red letters: CLUB ROOM CLOSED! But, because of a few passing rumors, she had also heard some particularly grizzly stories about the amount of pollen in the room at all times. So, she took a deep breath, plugged her nose, and clamped her mouth shut.

Except, there was no onslaught of rose petals.

Instead, as the flash of light faded, in the middle of the room was an abysmally annoyed Kaoru Hitachiin tied to a chair, surrounded by five ridiculously attractive boys. From beside her, Hikaru erupted into a fit of cackles.

Before her fight or fight reaction could properly kick in, there was a grounding hand placed atop her head, only leaving room for her to shout a: "What the hell?"

"Don't... leave," Hikaru managed through bouts of laughter, smiling like he'd never seen something this hilarious. Upon seeing Shiori's fearful face, her features contorted in despair, he sobered up a little. "We still have some things to talk to you about."