Promise 

“, you might become my bride, you know?” the five-year old Kyoya was holding ’s hand in his, leading her to her house. “I heard mother and father talking about it last night.”

The girl looked up at him. “Kyo-chan, do you want me to be your bride?”

Kyoya blushed, turning to face the other way. “There’s a lot of merit in marrying you.”

“Kyo-chan’s always all about ma-reet,” she pouted.

“It’s merit,” he glanced at , “And I guess… I’d rather have you as my bride than those loud, stupid girls in kindergarten.”

At this, grinned. “Then I’ll be your bride! I’ll get to wear a pretty dress, right?”

“Yeah,” he smiled back, “It’s a promise then.” Kyoya reached his hand out, outstretching his pinky finger.

“Promise!” she echoed, taking his finger with hers.

~*~*~*~

It was a beautiful spring day at Ouran Academy. Living up to its unofficial motto, “First comes class, wealth a close second,” many cherry trees were planted around the school, providing a luxurious and relaxing atmosphere for its rich students. Throughout the campus, students could be seen enjoying the cherry blossoms out in the courtyard and chatting amongst themselves.

“Neh, neh, did you hear?” a female student could be heard giggling, “The family is going to be hosting a grand tea ceremony party in time for the cherry blossom viewing festival!”

“They have the most beautiful estate,” another sighed, “I really want to go…”

On the other side of the school, the daughter of the family in question, , gave a delicate sneeze. She exhaled deeply before resuming her walk, her long black hair swaying slightly in the breeze. Her brown eyes gazed upwards at the cloudless blue sky, half-heartedly forcing her feet to make their way into the school.

was secretly dreading the upcoming tea ceremony; , the twenty-one-year old son of an elite PR company, was planning to attend. had met a few months ago, and he had been lusting after her ever since. She didn’t like the feeling she got when he kissed her hands and cheeks in greeting, or when he placed his hands behind her back or around her shoulders to escort her. It was as if she was a prize he wanted to win. What shocked her even more was the fact that he offered to take ’s hand in marriage in this upcoming tea ceremony. Her parents gladly accepted, for the tea business, however elegant and traditional it remained, was declining with the development of new culture and values. A tie with such a powerful financial group would highly benefit their family business.

And so, at age seventeen, was going to be engaged to a man she had only known for mere months.

She came to a stop in front of a certain set of elaborate doors in the north corridor, confirming the sign above that read, “Third Music Room.” With a sigh, she pushed them open and walked in.

When she opened the door, it was a tea party under the cherry trees.

“Irasshaimase!”  the Host Club called out, all dressed in traditional clothing.

stood there, frozen. She was used to the Host Club’s antics, but this… simply came to her at the wrong timing.

“Oh! It’s the Devil Queen!” Hikaru and Kaoru chorused, “The perfect person for today!” Ever since they had learned that was Kyoya’s childhood friend, the twins nicknamed her as the Devil Queen, Kyoya being the Devil King.

“Sorry, I think I’m going to go,” she shut her eyes, trying not to remember the fact that her own tea ceremony was in a week from today. But the twins grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the room.

“Can you let go of me?” asked weakly, “I don’t have the energy to do this.”

But the twins gave an identical grin before seating beneath a very realistically-looking cherry tree. “We’ll be back to be your hosts for the day, so don’t go anywhere, -senpai!” Hikaru said cheerfully before heading off with Kaoru.

couldn’t help but smile as she leaned against the tree, examining the indoor flower viewing. As always, the Hosts had outdone themselves. The scenery was marvelous, and flower petals were constantly falling down from the trees, showering the inhabitants with pink.

Not far from her, Tamaki, the King, could be seen explaining the different kinds of tea held in the elaborate china. “Now, princesses, would you prefer Assam? Worchester? Or just a cup of simple Jasmine tea?”

Before could roll her eyes at Tamaki’s upcoming, predictable punch line to swoon the girls, she spotted Honey and Mori sitting before a crowd of females, apparently trying to carry out a formal tea ceremony. Her eye twitched irritably when she saw Honey stir the tea so aggressively that almost nothing was left. She forced herself to calm down before she could march towards her senpais and take lead. She didn’t want to cause any commotion for the day.

The very next moment, something else caught her full attention.

Kyoya and Haruhi were standing together, apparently engaged in a light conversation. noted how the traditional clothing suited Kyoya very well. But her thoughts were completely blanked out as she saw what was happening. Soon, Kyoya was laughing and patting the younger girl’s head. visibly flinched at this action; ever since he had told her of Haruhi’s situation, she had struggled to accept the fact that Kyoya could be kind to other girls than her. It was rare, but it did happen. It hurt her. It pained her to see Kyoya open up to someone else.

Kyoya was the first to notice . “Ah, you’re here,” he called out. Haruhi gave a polite bow before turning to answer her clients. watched with an impassive face as Kyoya walked towards her, holding his usual clipboard. “Did something happen?”

“Does something have to happen for me to come here?” said , rather colder than she had intended.

He had noticed her coldness and was frowning. “Not particularly, but I was under the impression that you didn’t approve of me being in this club.”

Of course she didn’t want him in this kind of club. He had so much more potential. But most of all, she didn’t want so many girls openly fawning over him. It downright annoyed her. She stepped behind the curtains dividing the interior garden and the normal portion of the room, hiding herself from the rest of the club. Kyoya followed, sensing that something was wrong.

“What happened, ?”

“Come to the tea ceremony next week,” she said quietly, looking down at her feet.

Kyoya hesitated to answer. “I already told you that I have to attend a meeting-”

“I’ve never asked you to give anything up for me, Kyoya,” swallowed hard, still unable to look at him, “Just this once… forget about your merits and come. Please.” She didn’t know why she couldn’t just tell Kyoya about her engagement. What did she expect him to do when he heard about it at the ceremony? She knew him too well, and she knew that he would tell her that this engagement was in her best interests.

She knew that.

But she wanted to cling on to that childhood promise, something that Kyoya probably had long forgotten.

She wrapped her arms around Kyoya, clearly startling him.

“, tell me what’s going on,” he said, slightly frustrated. Nevertheless, he placed his arms around her slim form.

“I want you to come without me having to tell you the reason,” she whispered, suddenly pulling back from the embrace, “But I guess if you don’t come, I won’t blame you.” didn’t want to be a burden to Kyoya. No matter how much she wanted to confide all of her troubles to him, she didn’t want to be the one preventing him from reaching his dreams and ambitions with her burden.

As she turned to leave, Kyoya startled her by grabbing her arm in a surprisingly strong grip. He stared at her with a deep frown. “You’ve got to spill it. Right now.” tried shaking him off, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Kyoya, let go of me,” she said desperately.

With a loud sound, Kyoya threw his clipboard to the ground and pushed up against the wall. She gave a surprised gasp, watching her much taller childhood friend draw even closer. His face was inches away from hers, and his hands were pinning her wrists and body to the wall. couldn’t believe the amount of strength he had.

“Just tell me the reason you’re so unsettled,” breathed Kyoya, “You have no idea how frustrating it is to see you in this kind of state.” He ignored her struggles and tightened his hold on her, resting his forehead against hers in a surprisingly gently manner. “Just tell me, . What’s making you so uneasy?”

They gazed at each other for a few silent moments.

Then, as if it were the most natural thing to do, Kyoya suddenly closed the gap between their lips. He watched her brown eyes widen before he closed his own eyes. He let go of her wrists, letting them fall helplessly to her sides, and brought his hands to either side of her face. Slowly, Kyoya slipped his tongue past ’s soft lips, smirking slightly when the girl flinched against him.

As he began to taste her mouth, Kyoya silently cursed himself. He couldn’t stop. He had originally meant to tease her and make her flustered enough to blurt out everything. But he couldn’t stop. After granting and himself a moment to breathe, he claimed her lips again, this time bringing her down to a nearby couch. He vaguely remembered the fact that just beyond the curtains, the rest of the Host Club was still carrying out their duties. But he simply didn’t care at the moment. He didn’t think about the consequences. All he could see was .

whimpered slightly beneath him, not understanding why this was happening all of a sudden. This wasn’t the first time they had kissed – being childhood friends and going through the stages of puberty together, they shared many moments of unexpected intimacy, but Kyoya always put a stop to it before it got too far. He was always the more sensible one. But this time, it wasn’t stopping, and she was very aware of the fact that she didn’t want it to stop. She wanted to continue. Her mind and senses were clouded as Kyoya continued to kiss her, still trapping her beneath him. His hands were travelling up her smooth legs now, soon disappearing under her skirt.

“Ah!” gasped, clutching Kyoya’s shoulders in an attempt to steady herself. “S-stop it,” she whispered weakly, “We’re in school right now…”

“Do you want me to stop?” Kyoya breathed into her ear, making her shiver, “You know I hate half-hearted things like that.” His hand was truly close to reaching its destination – once he claimed it, he wouldn’t be able to stop at all, even if begged him to. was breathing heavily, eyes shut as she concentrated on not fainting.

“Heh~ Definite proof that Kyoya-senpai is an S!” two identical voices mused from behind them. “We knew you were a sadist, but not to this extent!”

Kyoya and both froze, turning to come face to face with Hikaru and Kaoru. began to scream, only to have Kyoya’s hand cover her mouth the next second.

“Hikaru, Kaoru, what the hell are you doing here?” he asked in a dangerously quiet voice, his eyes deadly and his smile as cold as ice, “Shouldn’t you be serving the guests tea?”

Hikaru smirked. “See, -senpai was supposed to help us with the Japanese tea thing, since Honey-senpai is clearly wasting precious resources…”

“But you just had to whisk her away and do this right under our noses,” Kaoru tsked.

“We had innocent motives, but we ended up seeing something far from innocent,” said Hikaru, placing a hand over his forehead.

Kaoru sighed dramatically. “We should sue for mental anguish.”

“I’ll really give you mental anguish,” Kyoya rolled his eyes, “If you don’t get back to work right this instant.”

“How about we guard the area so you guys can get back to-”

“GET OUT.”

watched Hikaru and Kaoru race each other past the curtains without another word. Kyoya truly possessed a demonic aura when he was pissed off. That aspect had worsened over the years.

There was complete silence between them.

began to blush in recognition of their position; Kyoya was still above her, his hands inside her skirt and on her bare hips. She struggled to free herself, but he wouldn’t have it.

“I’m still waiting for an answer,” he said emotionlessly. The passion that had been heating up seconds ago had completely evaporated.

“Let go of me, pervert,” she gritted her teeth, angry at Kyoya’s sudden lack of emotion, “Go do this with Haruhi-chan, for all I care!”

“Haruhi?” Kyoya seemed genuinely confused now. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, shut up!” finally succeeded in pushing Kyoya off in his moment of hesitation. “I’m not your toy, Kyoya! You can’t just kiss me and touch me anytime you feel like it!”

“Are you saying that you think I do that to every other girl in this school?” Kyoya was truly mad now, wearing a furious expression he normally suppressed.

She unflinchingly glared back at his rare expression. Like Kyoya, she rarely got this mad; she was trained to remain calm and elegant in public. But the fact that she was getting engaged to a man who was only interested in her body, the fact that Kyoya was so friendly with Haruhi, the fact that Kyoya would never marry her because her family was not as great as the ones his brothers married… They were suffocating her, and she exploded.

began to cry silently, startling Kyoya. Tears dropped down her flawless skin, and she furiously wiped them away, biting her swollen lips. “You hate half-hearted things, right? I detest them too. Especially half-hearted kisses and touches.” She wanted to scream at him, ‘Don’t kiss me, don’t touch me if you’re not going to keep your promise! Don’t give me false hope!’ 

She loved him.

She knew that she had loved him ever since their childhood. What they had together was something special, something that she couldn’t bear to have with anyone else. Yet he had betrayed their promise for his goal of surpassing his brothers. No matter how long ago it was, a promise was still a promise.

Kyoya hesitantly reached for her, not knowing what to do. “…”

She backed away from him, smoothing out her skirt. She forced herself to collect her professional calmness and put on a fake smile that stung her heart. “I’m sorry. I think I need to go home. I’m not feeling well,” she turned from him and began to walk towards the curtains. “And you don’t have to come to the ceremony if you can’t make it. I was being unreasonable,” ’s heart pained at such forced lies, “”It will probably be boring anyways. I know you have better things to do.”

“,” Kyoya called out again, this time slightly desperate.

“I’m okay,” said , without looking at him, “I’ve just been a little tired, that’s all. You should go and look over the club. The twins may be harassing Tamaki-kun again, you know.”

Before he could stop her again, quickly walked past the curtains, stepping back into the cherry blossom gardens. When she came face-to-face with Haruhi, managed to give the girl a wide smile before being dragged away by the twins again.

“Come on, senpai, show Honey-senpai how it’s really done!” Hikaru led to sit on a mat with the proper tea ceremony equipment.

With a great sigh, emptied her thoughts, focusing on nothing but the tea.

But she couldn’t help feeling Kyoya’s watchful gaze on her back, or remembering the passionate kisses and touches they shared behind the curtains…

~*~*~*~

largely avoided Kyoya for the week.

She would turn off her cell phone to stop his flow of calls and text messages; when he confronted her in class (where it was hard to ignore him, since he was in the same class and sat two seats away from her), she gave him the excuse of being busy with preparations for the tea ceremony. This was a complete lie, as she needed no practice after all these years of it.

During lunches, she would tell Kyoya that she would be inviting various important people in the school, and so she couldn’t join him in the cafeteria. felt slightly guilty, but she didn’t want to be hurt anymore.

To be fair, she wasn’t only avoiding Kyoya. She was desperately trying to ignore all the messages she was getting from , requesting her to join him for dinner, sending her elaborate gifts… He even sent her a beautiful, priceless kimono for her to wear to the ceremony. sat in her bedroom, caressing the silk material and admiring the detailed embroidery. It was exquisite, but she didn’t want this.

She would be obliged to wear it, but if she had a choice, she would wear the black and gold kimono that Kyoya gave her two years ago. It suited her more. This didn’t know what she liked, or what she wanted.

buried her face in her hands and collapsed onto her bed.

She was scared.

She didn’t want to marry .

She didn’t want to keep avoiding Kyoya.

All she wanted was…

What did she want?

She didn’t even know anymore.

What was she expecting? What did she want?

~*~*~*~

It was the day of the tea ceremony.

Many visitors were crowding the family’s large and beautiful estate, admiring the cherry blossoms from the courtyard, gardens and within the house. Their traditional Japanese house contained state-of-the-art technology blending in with the traditional furniture and paintings adorning the rooms, adding onto the splendor of the home.

stood by the foyer, greeting every visitor, dressed in the priceless kimono that sent her. Many people had commented on her clothing already. Even Honey and Mori, who had come with their families, noted upon her kimono. It was a good thing that Tamaki wasn’t able to make it, because couldn’t have stood his exaggerated compliments or enthusiasm over the Japanese culture.

After most of the guests had already arrived, the doors opened again, and cast a hopeful look to the visitor. But it wasn’t Kyoya. It was .

“It looks like I have picked the perfect outfit for you,” he said smugly before stepping up into the house. He was a tall man with black hair, dark eyes and very sharp features. He didn’t look like your average university student, especially in his elaborately designed traditional outfit.

gave a polite and elegant bow. “Thank you for your generous gift, -san,” she said in a quiet voice, “It’s really beautiful.”

“Only as beautiful as the wearer,” smirked before bending down to kiss her cheek. instinctively pulled back as she realized how close his lips had landed to her own. “Don’t be so shy,” he winked, “After all, we are going to be engaged.”

He placed a dominating hand on her back, this time dangerously close to holding her hips in an intimate fashion. hesitated, looking back at the doors. No one was there.

“Are you expecting someone else?” asked , not letting go of her.

bit her lip. Kyoya wasn’t coming. “No.”

The tea ceremony itself was done in a very delicate and beautiful fashion, impressing most, if not all, of the guests. had done an extraordinary job as well, and she couldn’t help but notice the glint of satisfaction in ’s expression. She wasn’t pleased with the kind of satisfaction in his eyes; it was a possessive, animalistic kind. She busied herself with directing Honey and Mori towards the back of the courtyard, where there were all sorts of sweets and rice cakes.

Just as the guests were enjoying their tea and snacks, suddenly grabbed ’s waist and pulled her towards him. She let out a startled gasp, but he ignored her.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced in a confident voice, “Before you get too immersed in the beauty of the cherry blossoms, I would like to reveal some happy news.” kept her eyes on the pebbles by her feet, unable to even breathe loudly. “Miss and I, , will be engaged as of today. I personally hope to marry her as soon as she graduates from high school. Please give us your blessings!”

There was a loud round of applause and cheers. felt sick. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with this man. Soon, they were being congratulated by countless people, and both of their parents came up to shake their hands and embrace them. ’s parents were especially jubilant.

desperately searched the crowd for a familiar face; the one with glasses, grey eyes and black hair. But he was nowhere to be found. Before she could search again, though, was suddenly pulling her into the house, dragging her upstairs into her room.

The doors closed shut, and was alone with in her bedroom. She was frightened. She tried to walk past him, but he had a firm grip on her.

“I saved your family’s business, didn’t I?” he smirked, “I think it’s about time you show me your gratitude, and not just in words.”

gasped as he undid her sash, throwing it carelessly to the side. She instinctively clutched the front of her robes, stepping back. “Please,” she breathed, “Stop this.”

He ignored her and pulled her hands away from her kimono with little difficulty. Colorful layers of silk were being crumpled and wrinkled as they were removed, one by one, from ’s slender frame. She was frozen to her spot, unable to even struggle as finally reached the last layer of her outfit. Only then did she start to resist with all her power, realizing that he really wasn’t going to stop. She grabbed his hands, clearly dreading what was happening. She couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t even scream; she was too frightened. And even if people came, what could they do? They were engaged.

grabbed her hands and held them above her, succeeding in removing all the layers of the kimono. Now was completely exposed to the stranger before her. Tears were falling from her eyes as she attempted to cover herself up, but her efforts were in vain, as was too strong for her to resist. He pinned her down onto the floor, kissing her earlobe.

“Just relax,” whispered in a taunting voice, “I’ll make sure you scream my name in that delicate little voice of yours.”

Unloving hands and lips proceeded to violate her. Her neck, collarbone, chest… they all bore angry red marks now. His hands were doing unspeakable things to her. She was crying, her hands held above her head, with no strength to do anything. She cried even more as she realized that was removing his own clothes now; it was really happening. shut her eyes, wanting to wake up from this nightmare.

“Stop it…” she desperately whispered, knowing that he wouldn’t even listen.

A degrading and uncomfortable sensation suddenly attacked her, causing her to cry out.

“Kyoya!” she sobbed, almost hysteric, “Kyoya!!!”

“The name’s , bitch,” growled, covering her mouth with his hand.

A blinding flashlight finally stopped ’s movements.

slowly looked up to where was staring at.

It was Kyoya, holding a camera in his hand and dressed appropriately for the tea ceremony. “I suggest you step away from right now, -san,” he said in a deadly voice, his eyes menacing with fury. He was holding the door shut with his hand, in case made a run for it.

“Aren’t you the Ohtori group’s third son? What the hell are you doing here?” yelled, not moving from his position.

“Get off of her,” Kyoya said with malice, “Or my hand might just slip and knock you headfirst into the pond outside. And I assure you, the pond is entirely manmade, and there is a very, very hard base of stone underneath the water.”

seemed to understand that Kyoya wasn’t joking, because he pulled his clothes back on and stood up. He gave a scornful smirk. “I’m willing to share, Ohtori. If you’re looking for a good fuck-”

“First of all, it’s considered rape to force an unwilling female into sex,” Kyoya cut him short, his eyes growing colder by the second, “Second, is seventeen, and you are twenty-one. You are a legal adult, she is not. Therefore, you could potentially be charged with sexually abusing an underage girl.”

was still staring at Kyoya, unable to summon the strength to even reach for her clothes. Tears were still flowing down from her eyes.

“Third, you may be willing to share, but I’m not. After the tea ceremony has ended, you will have a private talk with your family to annul the engagement and explain that you made a hasty mistake,” Kyoya walked towards the older man, an intimidating and deadly aura emitting from every side of him, “And you will apologize to . Bow down to the ground and apologize until she tells you to leave. I have my cell phone ready to dial the police if needed, so take your time.”

It was no question that had to do all of the things Kyoya outlined for him, however grudgingly. As soon as he was out of the house, Kyoya rushed over to , covering her with her kimono and holding her to him.

“Did he hurt you?” he breathed, hugging her tightly.

Her answer was a quiet sob.

“Don’t worry. I’m going to make sure he never touches you again. I might even make him flee the country by slipping his picture to the police to add onto the sex offenders list.”

“You came,” whispered, holding his face in her hands.

“The meeting was postponed,” he admitted, “I got here in time to hear the announcement.” Kyoya reached for her sash and fastened the one layer of kimono around her waist. “I’ve got to say, I was pretty damn shocked… and you don’t know how I felt when I realized that you were missing, along with …”

rested her head against his shoulder. “Kyoya,” she breathed, “I don’t want to marry anyone else…”

Kyoya held her tightly against him. “I know,” he answered gently, “Me neither. I’m going to keep my promise, .”

She stared at him.

“I told you that you’re going to be mine, right?” Kyoya caressed ’s hair, “Sorry I took so long. Be my bride, .”

gave a bright, happy smile. And she nodded.

It was a silly, innocent promise from their childhood, but it was something that they had both cherished for all these years. After all, a promise is a promise.

They proceeded to kiss, and they did not emerge from the room for a very long time.

“Yeah,” he smiled back, “It’s a promise then.” Kyoya reached his hand out, outstretching his pinky finger.

“Promise!” she echoed, taking his finger with hers.

~*~*~*~

Lina

Edited by Butterfly - October 28, 2008