A Song For Another Time - A Hikaru Hitachiin Story

Chapter Twenty Two - Where the Love Light Gleams

It was entirely too early to be awake. The sky was still in a deep state of purple and the sun itself was only just considering to start its day. The whole world was draped in the haze of not getting enough sleep and Rose decided wholeheartedly, staring at the back-lit signs in front of her, that it was much too early to deal with the Hitachiin's shenanigans.

It was only days ago that she had been sitting at a much-too-posh Italian restaurant, staring on in horror as a pair of similar but different boys used their voodoo magic to lull her into a stupor. It was like she blinked and suddenly, finals were over, her bags were packed and she was standing outside an air terminal at Boston Logan International.

She hadn't even planned on going home, but it wasn't like the Hitachiins cared much for plans. Or personal space for that matter. They were free spirits in a way she could never be and when they realized that Rose would be alone for Christmas they found themselves on the brink of not needing the fake tears they always kept hidden away in their pockets.

The dinner hadn't gone exactly as rehearsed for the Hitachiins but, then again, nothing with Rose ever really did. It was like she held the immunization to their scheming ways and their onslaught of annoyance left mere scratches where there should be flesh wounds. Honestly, they were trying their best to be well-behaved and understanding friends, but being considerate was a new skill for the brothers and their skill bar was running low on mana after an entire week of (attempting at) playing nice.

They had strong regards for Rose - one could even liken it to affection if they kept their voice low and didn't let the Hitachiins catch on - but enjoying having someone around didn't change the fact that the pair of them were innately bored individuals. To put it simply, they were always looking for ways to make any situation more fun.

When their twincest shtick only yielded, yet another, sarcastic remark they found themselves scrambling for some other way to get under her skin. How naive of them to assume they would get the results they desired with only one trick up their sleeves, but, well, you know what they say about assuming.

It was then that each brother realized, at the same time as is typical of those two, that they really didn't know that much about their short-tempered companion. They immediately set out to mine as many personal details out of her as they possibly could.

To say that Rose had unparalleled grace under pressure would be giving her too much credit, but she was rather skilled at keeping the Hitachiin boys in line. As the two double teamed her, so to speak, with incessant questions about her bygone days, Rose stood firm as a dam refusing to let anything but a trickle of information pass from her river of sorrows. But Hikaru and Kaoru have almost always been known for being crafty, and eventually, after bemoaning the woes of constantly being alone at Christmas, she cracked.

Details she never wanted to see the light of day started pouring out - how she didn't even know the names of her real parents, that she spent her first eight or so Christmases in eight different places without so much as a cheery greeting sent her way, how confused she was the first time she ever got a yuletide gift from a smiling Molly and Todd and how entirely miserable she had been last year as she spent the holiday away from them. It left her teary-eyed, confused and wondering what, exactly, had happened.

And that was how she ended that night, in a daze, outside her dorm room door with a stomach full of risotto and a promise from two mischievous boys that she was going to be home for Christmas. At the time she had thought the two were just so overcome with emotion (and perhaps swayed by their own overly-used crocodile tears) that they were making hollow promises to a girl who had learned to stop dreaming long ago.

But when finals were over and Rose, sighing with relief, had tucked herself fully into her bed, thinking that was exactly how she wanted to spend the entire winter break, there was a knock on her door and two starry-eyed twins were waiting behind it to whisk her away. She wasn't ready, but they were prepared for that.

They flew into her room, the second she opened the door, and dramatically started throwing clothes into the suitcase they had conveniently brought with them. They were so deep into their mission of mischief that they didn't even take the time to make snide remarks about her clothes.

Those twins were in and out like a fast moving hurricane, blowing into Rose's room, spinning her about and leaving her seeing stars. Everything before her became a blur - forcing her into such a state of confusion that she was hardly aware of being pushed out of her room, down the hall and into a waiting town car.

She began mentally chiding herself when her butt hit the plush leather and she realized she had been effectively kidnapped without putting up even an ounce of a fight. Rose was so lost in her self-scolding that time became irrelevant and by the time the droning on of the two overly excited brothers managed to penetrate the walls of her personal thought palace, she was already standing outside the private Signature terminal, over-sized purse in hand.

They never even mentioned a private jet, she grumbled to herself as she pushed her way into the glass and steel building. Relief coursed through her body as she entered through the door, making her all too aware that she had been cold, and she allowed herself to assess her surroundings.

This was a much different experience to what she was used to at Boston Logan. There were no lines, far fewer government employees in blue button downs and far more business suits and expensive labels hung from the clientele. Airports, to Rose, were the ultimate display of the human condition. On the runways stood one of the finest inventions known to man - the kind that could take these fragile, dream-filled creatures to the skies - but inside the building those humans were reduced to the worst of their personalities as they filed through line after line, waiting with tapping feet and fidgeting hands, only to sit and ignore everything around them.

Rose enjoyed the juxtaposition. She loved to just sit and watch the world around her move. This terminal was a different story, though. While she was expecting the usual waits and grump faces, it seemed the rich really do live a different life and she was out of the terminal after only 10 minutes as she was ushered to a small, white jet.

Wonder filled her mind as she paused at the bottom of the steps and her hesitation allowed her escorts the time to rejoin her. Without warning, Rose felt an arm lean on each of her shoulders.

"Well...," Hikaru started.

"What do you think," Kaoru finished.

Rose didn't take her eyes off the stairway up into the small plane as she answered.

"I've never seen a personal jet before," she said softly. "Is it yours?"

Hikaru and Kaoru each turned their head toward hers in surprise. Private planes were just a part of life as far as they were concerned. How could she have never seen one before?

"This is our smaller plane," Kaoru explained.

"We asked mother to send it over since there weren't any decent first class tickets from here to Virginia," Hikaru continued.

They were so nonchalant about the entire thing. As if having a plane sent from Japan wasn't a big deal at all. And what a waste of fuel, she thought. She really couldn't understand them at all. Wait, this is the smaller one?!

"I don't see what the big deal is. We could have just flown coach," she said simply before shrugging the boys off and walking up into the plane. She kept a straight look on her face, not wanting to give any emotion away, but the mask fell the moment the interior came into focus. Eyes wide, she stopped in place and thought to herself: having this much money should be illegal. 

***A/N***

Hey there. Apologies for the two week hiatus and thanks, as always, for reading. <3