Oblivious || Hikaru Hitachiin Love Story

Chapter Twenty-Six: Arai

I was up and about at 6:00am the next morning, hurrying around to get dressed. After carefully choosing an outfit, I brushed out my hair, put on some shoes, and was out the door. I'd already heard Haruhi leave her own room, so I knew that I could find her in the kitchen. When I went downstairs and into the dining hall, I saw her tying her apron on.

"Good morning, Haruhi~" I sang, and ruffled her hair. She groaned, and slapped my arm lightly.

"Do you have to be such a bother so early in the morning?" she asked.

"It's not as fun at any other time," I said and stuck my tongue out at her. I walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see that Tamaki was standing next to Misuzu, both working at the stove.

"You have to flip them over after seven minutes precisely," he was telling Tamaki. Tamaki was hanging onto his every word, and watched what they were cooking in the pan very intensely.

"Um, what are you doing here, Tamaki-senpai?" I asked. He spun around and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Miyoko! You look very cute this morning," he said, then went back to listening to what Misuzu was telling him.

"What's going on?" I asked Haruhi. She shook her head and sighed.

"I have no idea. He's been in here working with Misuzu before I even got here."

"So he just showed up?"

"Yeah. I expect that the other hosts will be arriving later," she said.

"Get a move on girls, the kitchen will be opening in less than an hour," Misuzu instructed us, and Haruhi and I both got straight to work. I went out into the dining hall and fixed each of the tables. I arranged the cloth-napkin clad cutlery at each table place, and went out into the garden to pick some fresh flowers. I gathered a few bouquets of different flowers, and went around to each table, sticking each small bundle of flowers into the vase in the centre. By the time that I was finished, a few people had begun to wander into the dining hall and occupying the tables. Hikaru and Kaoru were among them, and I approached their table first.

"Good morning!" I chirped, and held my serving tray against body. "What can I get you for breakfast?" I asked.

"I'll have two pieces of baguette toast with clarified butter and garnet seal syrup," Hikaru said in a demanding tone.

"I'll take poached eggs with bacon, and a bowl of whole grain cereal. The kind with those little pieces of dried fruit in it," Kaoru said. His voice, as always, was much friendlier than his brother's, but it was clear that neither of them were in a good mood that morning.

"Okay, well I'm gonna need you to repeat that order, but first I need you to go to a restaurant where they actually serve that kind of stuff, cause you won't find it on our menu," I said. They didn't seem to appreciate my sarcasm.

"Behave!" Tamaki said, rushing up to the twins and slapping them both on the head. "Just who in the world do you think you are, acting like members of some privileged aristocracy on holiday?"

"We are aristocracy," Hikaru pointed out in a bored tone.

"So are you, boss," Kaoru added.

"You are missing the whole point of travel. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, that's what I say. Just look at this!" Tamaki opened the lid of a large silver platter, and placed it on the twins' table. "Karuizawa cuisine fit for a king! Cold pasteurized Jersey steaks, fresh juice, highland vegetables, smoked salmon cooked over cherry wood, the local pride I might add! And last but not least, freshly baked breads with homemade jam. Bon appetite!"