Ouran High School Host Club Fan Fiction ❯ Good Luck Always Comes In Pairs ❯ Futility ( Chapter 1 )

 

Good Luck Always Comes In Pairs

 

Chapter 1: Futility

by ovulating

 

 

At the corner of a quiet neighborhood café, a sizeable bumble bee grazed an azalea leaf once… twice… before landing with intense busyness. He was looking for something close by. He could sense it. A few feet away, inside the café, two middle-aged women were also looking for something.

 

“An earring?”

 

“A silver hoop, apparently. Kid said it was half the size of a yen.”

 

“When did she say she'd come by? She can look for it herself.”

 

“He.”

 

“He?” There was a snort. “…Even better.”

 

“Sachiko…”

 

“Vain, spoiled children should learn to look after themselves. What kind of boy wears earrings, anyway?”

 

“Ah! …Found it.”

 

“What?”

 

“Miura!” The voice of the manager. “You're at the register today!”

 

Miura rubbed her thumb over the smooth, silver hoop and caught a glint of sunlight streaming in through the windows. “Yes…” It was a pretty earring, Miura thought. Small, rounded curve turning sharp and narrow at the bottom, like an upside-down tear. Was it really a boy's? She thought of her two year-old, Kenji. Would she allow him to wear earrings? …Probably not. Maybe it had belonged to a girl who had her boyfriend call instead. Though earrings were becoming increasingly popular on boys these days…

 

Sachiko piffed and walked away. The other workers eyed Miura with something like distaste while she looked around, folded the earring into a spare, white napkin, and stuffed it in her pocket. Well, if they had any better ideas, they could say so. What else was she supposed to do?

 

“Miura!”

 

“Coming…”

 

Just then, thin-plated chimes tinkled above the glass door. Miura looked up… and then found that she could not. The sun, for some reason, had become astoundingly bright through the doorway (while her eyes were still watering, she could have sworn a cluster of red rose petals had just blown in past her head). But after the unidentified white light faded, all she saw and heard was a crowd of overexcited academy girls.

 

Wha… What was that?

 

Miura rubbed her eyes and took her place behind the register. “Ah… Welcome to The Red Leaf Café! Is school out already?” she asked politely.

 

But they were too occupied with something else to reply. As they raised dust clouds squabbling amongst themselves, the object of their contention—an extraordinarily attractive, orange-haired lad in a sharp blue blazer—emerged from the chaos like a natural god and stilled the crowd by raising his chin to speak.

 

“I'm the one who called about the earring,” he began directly. Miura glanced at his ears and saw that both of them already wore slim, silver hoops.

 

“Ah, um… yes! I found it just—“

 

The hazel eyes flickered as he moved in. “Where is it?”

 

“What?”

 

“Where is the—?”

 

“Ahha… yes! The earring,” she laughed nervously. “Let me see here…”

 

But while Miura fished her pocket for the earring, to her astonishment, an identical figure also emerged from the crowd, flushed and breathless.

 

“Ha… ha…” the second boy gasped, stumbling forward desperately. “Hi…Hikaru! I told you... you didn't have to do this… for me…” Completely identical… except that his expression was both needy and apologetic.

 

Wait. Needy?

 

“Kaoru…”

 

Before anyone else could react, the one called Hikaru swept him up into a beyond brotherly embrace, and leaned. “Kaoru…” Hikaru breathed, brushing his lips against Kaoru's bare, right lobe as he spoke. “I wouldn't be a good brother if I didn't do everything for you… and more…”

 

Miura blanched.

 

But Kaoru shivered, positively flushed… and dug his face into Hikaru's chest, right on cue. The crowd of girls exploded into floral hysterics.

 

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! It's the forbidden BROTHERLY LOVE!!!”

 

“Oh, let me buy you a drink!”

 

“Can I get you something? Anything?!”

 

Embarrassed and alarmed, Kaoru shook his head while squirming within Hikaru's embrace. “Oh no… we couldn't…” he resisted feebly. Hikaru, meanwhile, became increasingly absorbed with Kaoru's ear.

 

“H-Hikaru! Not in front of all these people!” Kaoru gasped.

 

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

 

Back outside the window, the bumble bee finally found its pollen.

 

* * *

 

Kaoru eventually got his earring back that day, at the Red Leaf Café. He found it on the counter, wrapped in one of those commoner novelties known as the Disposable Napkin. Lord knows what he was doing there in the first place. Incidentally, a part-time worker generally known for her goodwill and diligence left early from a busy shift that day without explanation and was consequently fired.

 

 

[A/N: I just love one-shot characters. Don't you? ^_^;;]