16. Daisuke

                                    

                                          
Hibiki walked home that day with a lot on her mind. Takashi offered her his company, but she didn't want him to see her the way she was; it would only make him worry. 
                          
The walk home was relaxing, she could admit, and when she made it home, the bakery was busier than normal. She opened the doors, happy about the amount of business, but confused at the crowd. 
                          
She pushed her way through the crowd to the register. And when her eyes met with a pair of dark brown lenses, she could feel tears welling in her eyes. 
                          
"Hibiki," her father breathed, a smile on his face. 
                          
"Dad," she nearly whispered before running to him, slamming her body against his. He stumbled back with the sudden impact, but hugged his daughter the way he did whenever he came home - tightly and relentlessly. She dug her face into his black uniform vest, trying not to let the tears that burned her eyes fall. "I missed you."
                          
"We have some news for you that i think you'll be excited about," her mother said. Hibiki squeezed her father tightly. There wasn't any news she could have been given that would have made her any happier than she was in that moment, her arms wrapped around her dad and his arms around her.
                          
They sat in the living room together after closing the shop as Hibiki drowned her dad in every detail of her life at her new school. He smiled at her with warm brown eyes, his hand holding her mother's endearingly. 
                          
"And then there's Takashi," she said, trying to subdue the smile that threatened to grace her lips. "Him and Honey-senpai are close. I've never seen anyone with a relationship like theirs," she noted. "All the boys are really nice to me. They're trying to help me find out who tore up my gym clothes." Her father's smile faded and his brows. 
                          
"Someone tore up your gym clothes?" Daisuke repeated. Hibiki berated herself, not wanting to worry her parents about the mishap at school. 
                          
"Well, I mean, we have an idea on who it is,"'she tried to explain. 
                          
"We switched your school trying to avoid these things, Hibiki. Now they're happening there, too? I can't-"
                          
"Calm down, Daisuke. Let her tell us what happened," Hanabi said, patting her husband's hand. 
                          
"It's not a big deal, Dad, really," she said softly, her gaze dropping into her lap. 
                          
"Have you talked to the dean yet? I won't stand for this, Hibiki," Daisuke said sternly. Looking at his daughter's forlorn face, he sighed and moved closer to Hibiki, placing a hand on her head to get her to look at him. 
                          
"I didn't think I would come home to someone bullying you already, Hibiki. We wanted you out of public schools because we thought that private school would be better for you," he said softly, earning Hibiki's eye contact. 
                          
"I'm not being bullied, Dad, I'm just-"
                          
"Hibi, honey, we just want you to be safe and happy where you are," Hanabi said, smiling weakly.
                          
"I am, happy, Mom. I have Takashi and Haruhi and the host club!" Hibiki argued. 
                          
"But you're being treated the same way you were at-"
                          
"It's nothing like that," she said. "That is different." 
                          
"You're being tormented," Daisuke said. 
                          
"It's one person!" 
                          
"They're hurting you, Hibiki!" Daisuke shouted, lifting her skirt to expose the bruise on her thigh. She pulled her skirt back down and turned her head, avoiding the hurt look in her father's eyes. 
                          
"It was an accident," she pleaded. 
                          
"And so was getting your gym clothes torn, huh?" Daisuke sighed, closing his eyes. Hanabi moved to Hibiki's side and gently brought her head to her daughter's shoulder as she rubbed her back 
                          
"I'm happy here. I am," she said softly. 
                          
"I'm not letting this happen to you again, Hibiki. Things like this is what made you quit playing baseball. You loved baseball," Daisuke said. Hibiki couldn't argue with what her father pointed out. "I don't want you to be somewhere that people are willing to hurt you, Hibiki. What kind of father would I be to let my own daughter do this to herself?" 
                          
"A father that listens to his daughter and what she wants," HIbiki muttered.
                          
"You want to stay somewhere that sends you home with bruises and ripped up clothes?" 
                          
"I want to stay with my friends," Hibiki explained. Daisuke sighed and closed his eyes, pressing two fingers to his temples. 
                          
"The same friends who are letting these things happen to you?"
                          
"They didn't let this happen, Dad, they just-" Daisuke sat moved over to where his daughter and wife sat, placing a hand on his daughter's head, then on her cheek. 
                          
"Hibiki," he said softly, looking his daughter in the eye. "I didn't want our first interaction in months to be an argument. I've missed you." He kissed her on the forehead, then met her eyes again. "Besides, we have news for you that we think you'll be very excited about." Hanabi moved to her husband's side and they faced Hibiki together with smiles on their faces. 



                          
Takashi met with Hibiki that next day in the library - their usual spot. Her eyes moving along the pages in her book, he sat directly across from her. They read together in silence for the entire duration of the class period. When the bell rang, Hibiki stood up, shoved her book into her bag and waited for Takashi to stand up. He looked to her as he rose, an offset look about her face as he avoided her gaze. He frowned. Takashi reached for her hand, asking silently what was wrong. She looked up to him with glossy eyes, but tried her best to pull a reassuring smile on her face. 
                          
"Hibiki." 
                          
"Takashi." Her voice quivered, just slightly when she spoke his name. 
                          
"We have something for you," he said, in hopes of aleviating whatever it was that'd been bothering her. He hauled her down to music room three where the remaining hosts waited for the two of them; all of them surrounding some strangely shaped item cloaked with a sheet. 
                          
"Welcome, Hibi-chan! We've been waiting for you," Honey said with a warming smile. 
                          
"We have something that'll either make you cringe."
                          
"Or make you feel like one of us," the twins alternated.
                          
"With all the money we made and the extra we had left over, we decided to get you a little present," Kyoya said. 
                          
"It's nothing major, just a little thank you for helping us out with the baseball game," Haruhi smiled.
                          
"And it was Mori-senpai's idea, so you can thank him for this," Takashi said. 
                          
The twins pulled the sheet from the odd shaped figure and, on an armless mannequin, there was a hideous, canary yellow, fitted-bodice dress. Hibiki approached the uniform slowly, her eyes stinging with tears. 
                          
"Y-you guys," she managed to say with a croaking voice. She touched the smooth, steam-pressed material. 
                          
"It's nothing major, but now you're kind of like an official student of Ouran Academy!" Haruhi cheered.
                          
"You guys, I-"
                          
"We didn't know what size you wore, so we all took a vote. If it doesn't fit, we can exchange it for a new one," Tamaki said. 
                          
"Tamaki, I-"
                          
"We found out your shoe size after finding your baseball cleats here in the club room," Honey cheered, holding up a pair of black uniform shoes. 
                          
"Honey-senpai-"
                          
"We even got you a new school bag!" the twins sang.
                          
"You guys!" Hibiki snapped, freezing everyone. "I have something to tell you."

                          
hello, kiddos. just a small announcement. i won't be posting as often the level of feedback is slim to none. i want to know what you guys think so i can make changes! i have already finished writing the story, so now it is just a matter of editing & publishing. please leave me feedback. votes let me know you like it & comments are personalized opinions. i really appreciate both! thanks :)