Chapter 16

Yuki paced back and forth in the living room. It is already 7 in the morning of Sunday.


He stopped and faced his friends. "Is she really coming back?" Worry marked his voice. He sat down and hugged his knees.


Ranmaru looked down at the floor. "I feel suddenly dreadful."


"I'm also actually worried." Takenaga agreed. "Where would she go? Her father's in Africa, her aunt's in London. We don't know any relatives of hers around here."


Kyohei snorted. "We don't but maybe she does and that's where she went." His eyes went closed, lying down on the sofa with his hands under his head.


Yuki threw a couch pillow at Kyohei's face. Startled, Kyohei jolted up.


"What was that for?!"


"We are still worried here about Sunako and I can't believe you're being indifferent!" Yuki shouted at him.


Kyohei bit his lip and and rolled his eyes, clearly irritated.  He threw the pillow back at him before stalling out of the room.


"That Kyohei." Yuki huffed and then there was silence in the room. The only sound heard was the large front door banging shut.


They all shook their head, smiling.


Haruhi woke up the next day feeling set free. Thoughts about her confusion on Tamaki were all washed away after Rika and she went to have fun at the street fair. Right now, she is so engrossed in finishing her homework that she didn't notice that it was already lunchtime. Standing up, she looked out to the kitchen and thought of what to cook. Just then, there was a knock on the door.


She thought that it could possibly be Rika, visiting again but when she opened the door, it was the guy she was so filled up with thoughts of recently. In her shock, she slammed the door at his smiling face.


"Haruhi! Is everything alright?"


She doesn't want to answer, her voice might crack as her throat felt instantly dry. Everything she has forgotten for a few hours since yesterday is all coming back to her now. It has not been a day! She complained. He called her name again. Why is he even here?


She has to answer so that he'll go away. She kept the door closed. "Everything's fine. You just came at a wrong time. I'm really busy." Should I ask why he came? She shook her head.


There was silence on his side of the door and then he spoke. "Oh, okay." He sounded disappointed. "I'd just want to invite you for lunch. But I guess you can't go... so..."


Haruhi bit her lip. The two of them, having lunch together on a Sunday. Doesn't that seem like a date? I definitely won't go. But there's something at the back of her mind, telling her to go, to try and see what it really is she's feeling towards him.


"Haruhi, I'll be going then, bye."


The words struck her more than it should be. She groaned and then opened the door, he wasn't there. She stepped out and looked at the direction of the stairs and there he was with his head turned back from her.


"Haruhi?"


Heat rose to her cheeks. She didn't return his gaze as she spoke. "I'm... going with you. Wait here." She glanced at him and saw him smiling widely.


She got out of the door again after getting annoyed at being indecisive on what to wear. She kept repeating to herself that this isn't a date and this is just a friendly lunch. In the end, she wore a simple light green short sleeved dress. As soon as she stepped out, she swore she heard the twin's voices downstairs.


She breathed deeply realising what this really is.


"Haruhi! Come on! We're already so hungry!" She looked down and saw them waving at her.


"Haruhi." She tensed when she heard Tamaki's voice. For a moment she forgot he was there. She turned to face him and he blushed, looking away.


"Were the twins with you all along?" She tried not to sound frustrated.


He nodded and then he managed to look at her. He slightly wondered why she asked that. Did she think I was alone and we'd have lunch together, like a date? His blush went deeper with the thought.


She stepped towards him, her expression seemed annoyed. They started walking down the stairs.


So much for taking this chance to figure out these confusing emotions. She went inside his car and saw a sleeping Kyoya at the backseat.


"He's also here?" She sat beside the sleeping figure.


Tamaki smiled amusedly. "We dragged him out of his house." He laughed and then told the driver to head to the street fair.


So this is what this is all about. She leaned back on the seat and then suddenly Kyoya's head was on her shoulder. He let him be; it looks like he's really deep in his sleep. But Tamaki gasped when he saw and reached out from the front seat to straighten Kyoya on the seat.


Haruhi raised her eyebrows at him and then looked out the window away for his drilling gaze. "So by the way Tamaki, I believe you just want me to tour you around a commoner's street fair?"


"Yup!" He drove the thought away of having a date with Haruhi. He's still unsure of what he has towards her. Instead he focused on the street fair and what fun and interesting things they could all do.


She just nodded and he doesn't know if she is at all pleased.


Well, certainly she's not.


Sunako is living her life. Since yesterday, these guys have provided her with everything that she wanted: to be left alone in a room with Hiroshi, Akira and Josephine, to watch horror movies in a wide projector screen, to be surrounded with preserved experiment specimens and torture instruments, undisturbed. When she woke up this morning, she went out to the door, headed to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast.


The guys who saw her stayed far away from her and just peeked at the kitchen door.


"She's cooking. Can you believe that weirdo could cook?"


"And it actually smells delicious. I got hungry suddenly even just after having breakfast."


"For whom could she be cooking for?"


"For me, of course."


"Boss!" They exclaimed in surprise.


"Shush! She might hear us and get shy." The boss held a dreamy gaze towards Sunako. "I could already see my future wife in her. I am so lucky."


The others just shook their head. Their boss is clearly seeing something in her that they don't. They put their attention back to her and noticed that she seems to be looking for something. The boss stepped forward.


"What is it you're looking for, Sunako dear?"


The others acted to puke upon hearing it. The boss glared at them and they looked away.


"There's some spices missing. I'm going to buys some." She started for the door.


He nodded. "Oh sure, of course." He told her before she closed the door.


"Boss! Why did you let her? She might not come back!"


They are welcome to that thought but the boss' eyes widened in realisation. "Follow her! Make sure she comes back here no matter what!"


The streets are new to Sunako so she doesn't know which one leads to the market she frequently goes. She went on walking until she reached a busy street. It was lined with different items for sale: organic and not. She was overwhelmed with how much the prices of vegetables have dropped. She was so focused on the display that she didn't notice she was being followed.


After looking separately for hours, the four met with Noi. A few minutes ago, she called Takenaga and told him that she saw Sunako at a street fair alone. He then informed the others


"Where did you see her?" Yuki asked. He ran his fingers through his pale blond hair damp with sweat. Others were doing the same, totally worked out. Girls around can't help but pause and stare at the hot guys. Noi glared at them.


She brushed it away as she tried to focus on the serious matter with Sunako. "She's just around here. I lost sight of her when she suddenly disappeared when I looked up from my phone."


"Thank you, Noi. You narrowed down our search." He brushed a hand at the length of her arm.


"No matter. I'm glad I could help. Sunako's my friend, too."


"You heard that, Kyohei? Kyohei?" Takenaga saw when he turned that Kyohei wasn't where he was standing seconds ago. Others were also surprised. He sighed. "Let's go."


They found it wonderful. The twins and Tamaki walked along the streets with Haruhi trailing them. She felt really sorry for Kyoya who they left sleeping in a bench.


"Wow!" The twins exclaimed and Tamaki came towards them.


"Haruhi, these are the coffee you always buy for the host club, right?" Kaoru asked.


She nodded. "But not the same brand. No matter, they're all commoner's stuff to you."


"This Soya bean pancake is really tasty." Tamaki said.


"I can't believe you considered this idea of lunch: walking around with take-out food." She stepped beside him.


"You do this often,  right? I'd want to know what it's like to live your life. No offence meant, Haruhi. I find your lifestyle really interesting. Experiencing this with you makes it even better." He smiled at her and she managed to smile back. They stayed staring at each other for seconds more when running figures pushed the two apart when they passed between them. Tamaki managed to not stumble while Haruhi is caught from falling on the ground by a guy.


"Are... you al-alright?" The guy with shaggy red hair stammered when he saw her looking at him. He helped her stand up. She faced him and bowed her head.


"Yes, thank you so much." She straightened her clothes and then a hand was placed over her shoulder. She looked up to see that it was Tamaki. She nodded when he asked if she was fine. They looked at where those running figures went off to and saw the last one with a familiar spiky blond hair.


Walking out of a diner, Mia and Azumi bade goodbye to each other after a whole morning and lunch spent together. Going to street fairs is one of the many things they enjoy doing together out of the blue. Walking the street alone, even if she already saw the displays with Azumi earlier, her eyes trained on something interesting; a souvenir shop she and Azumi must have looked over. She was so focused on it that she didn't notice a foot splayed on her way and she tripped. She winced in pain when her knees and palms scraped the concrete road; thankful it's not her forehead or her chin. A woman stopped and helped her up.


She dusted off her clothes after thanking the woman. The irritating pain caused her to tear up but she tried not to cry, instead she turned back to the foot's owner and to her surprise, it was Ootori, asleep in a bench with his head down, arms crossed.


Unbelievable; he could sleep in that position?


People who passed by were careful to avoid his foot so it's her fault she wasn't looking at where she's walking?


No, it's his fault. He even must be pretending to be asleep.


She walked slowly towards him and then reached down to his collar then shook him awake amidst the pain in her limbs.

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