Second-In-Command

By Meganes Ultimate Fangirl

One-shot

He simply could not believe this. One of his own men; holding gun to his chest when the enemy was standing right there. One of his own men; a traitor. How the hell had that happened? How the hell had he not calculated it, noticed?

It had started when the assassins had entered his office unannounced. How they had gotten through security, he didn't even know. Twin assassins and she was calling them by specific names. Like she knew them. Like she knew how to tell them apart. It made no sense.

When she had barged in at first he'd thought he was saved. Being held at gunpoint with the threat of death had made him strangely fearful. Yet he hid that fear under a mask of pure calm. If he was about to be murdered he was going to go out with his dignity still intact. If the military had taught him one thing it was never to show your weakness.

"Hikaru, Kaoru!" her voice cut through the tense air. Any help would have been gladly welcomed at that point. But the way her voice sounded more friendly toward them than he would have liked. Any other soldier would have had a weapon drawn and pointed at the intruders at this point, but she was oddly at ease as she lounged her way into the room and sat herself squarely in a chair that was sitting in front of his desk.

How the hell did she know this people? They were the enemy. She shouldn't know them!

"Haruhi," they intoned evenly in acknowledgment, twin voices chorusing almost melodically at the same time that he asked in a questioning voice, "Haruhi?". And how the hell did they know her? She wasn't part of their army. She wasn't even part of their nationality! They shared no connection!

She glanced at him, catching his eye briefly before turning her eyes to the twin assailants in front of her. "What on Earth are you two doing?" she asked them coolly, though it was obvious by the sight of the rifle that was currently trained on his head.

"What's it look like?" the one on the right snorted.

"It looks like you're doing a job that Tamaki easily could've had me do myself."

The left twin rolled his eyes. "We'd have it finished already if you hadn't interrupted."

She smiled softly for a moment but it turned into a grimace. "You know... There's practically an entire army on the way up here right now. Go on ahead and get out. I'll finish the job for you. They won't suspect me and I'll just tell them that I found him dead." And then her face twisted into a smirk that matched the one that the red-haired twins were wearing. It didn't suit her at all. That twisted look of cruelty.

I stared at the exchange with disbelief as she drew her own pistol and trained it on my chest. "Go on and get a head start, guys. I'll be joining you shortly," she murmured, cocking her gun to the side a bit. "Just have a few questions for General Ohtori first."

The twins nodded and hurried out of the room as silently as they had come in. As soon as they were gone he shot her a look, keeping the sight of the gun barrel clearly in his line of vision. "What's this all about, Haruhi?"

She shrugged. "Nothing personal, Kyoya. Surely you must've noticed that you had a spy in your unit?"

I shook my head and stared at her. She was no traitor. "You aren't a traitor. Nor are you a spy for the enemy. What's going on?"

She shook her head, a small laugh escaping her lips. He always saw through her acts in ways that others never did. She hid the amused laugh with the pretense of cruelty again. "My dear, Kyoya. Why do you think I never got caught?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

Now that the initial shock had worn off and he was actually thinking, he could easily overpower her. The safety was still on her gun. He could knock her out and have her gun away from her in a matter of seconds. He mulled the thought over in his head. But something still didn't make sense. "There's something that isn't right with this," he murmured, staring her in the eye. She stared back fearlessly.

"You're right. There is." She unlocked the safety on her weapon. "You aren't dead yet. But you should be."

"There's a reason for that as well," he said, narrowing his eyes the slightest bit as he caught a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "It's because you aren't going to betray me, Haruhi."

She let out a sigh. "Shut up," she grumbled, shifting the barrel of the pistol to his left slightly and pulling the trigger in one swift movement. He suppressed a flinch as the bullet hit the couch behind him.

She moved quickly after that. "Fall to the ground," she hissed. He stared at her like she was crazy, causing her to give him an exasperated look. "Do it!" He sighed softly and let his knees fall out from beneath him. She worked fast, placing her pistol back in her belt and taking out a container of fake blood to spray on his chest to make it look like he had actually gotten hurt. Thunderous footsteps sounded from outside. "Now, close your eyes and pretend that you're dead."

"Is this really necessary, Haruhi?" he asked in a furious whisper.

"Yes, Kyoya," she whispered back determinedly, staring him in the eye. "If you don't want to have an attempted assassination launched on you again, that is." He merely rolled his eyes in reply and closed them right before the doors rattled open. She hurriedly pretended that she was checking his pulse, her small soft fingers pressing into the flesh of his wrist lightly.

Then she stood as her fellow soldiers watched her in shock. "Dead," she mumbled, forcing sorrow into her voice and checking her watch. "Contact the higher ups and inform them that General Kyoya Ohtori was assassinated at 14 hundred hours."

"Yes, Major General Fujioka!" the two officers in front of her saluted, marching out directly after.

Slowly, Kyoya opened his eyes and stared at her as she turned around. "You're free from the army, Kyoya," she murmured kneeling down next to him, "Just like you wanted."

He nodded slowly. "Thank you, Haruhi."

"I'll make sure to have something that's roughly the shape and size of a body delivered in a body bag to the funeral home. But remember, you're dead. So no walking around here like you own the place anymore."

He smirked. Her humor never failed to amaze him. "I think I can manage that."

She smiled and held out her hand so she could pull him to his feet. He took said hand and let her help him. "And this way, you don't have to worry about anyone trying to kill you from the enemy. They'll get wind that you're dead a–." Her hand slipped subconsciously out of his once he was steady.

"Haruhi," he interrupted, gripping the hand that was slipping from his grasp tightly. She looked back at him quizzically. "Thank you for saving my life."

"You're welcome," she replied warmly with a huge grin.

"But, I don't want to quit. My term as general's up in a year anyway," he continued, "It would be nice if the assassin attempts would stop though."

She sighed. "You just like making my life more difficult don't you?" She gave him this loathing look that made him smirk. Haruhi rolled her eyes and reached for her radio, pressing the button on the side and speaking into it. "Colonel Fuwara, over" There was static and then a scratchy voice came in.

"Yes Ma'am? Over."

"Are you with the higher ups currently? Over."

"Not yet, ma'am. Over."

"General Ohtori's alive. There was an assassination attempt but it was thwarted. Tell the higher ups that to the enemy Ohtori and for all intensive purposes he should be put undercover for now. Over."

"Will do, ma'am. Over and out."

Haruhi turned her gaze back to the smirking Kyoya who still had hold of her hand, she realized belatedly. "Happy, General Ohtori?"

"Not quite, Major General Fujioka." She rose a questioning eyebrow. Before she could say anything he stated, "I'll be happy once you're my second-in-command."

Her eyes widened. "Do you mean that military-wise or maritally?" she asked softly, knowing that he could mean either way. He tended to make lower-ranked females a little crazy and he'd been known to have a favorite in a certain Haruhi.

His smirk turned to a gentle smile. "Both perhaps?" he muttered, just barely hedging around answering directly. She could just feel her face getting red, despite her attempts to hold back the massive blush. He'd... basically just proposed. Indirectly maybe, but it was still a proposal.

"I... Umm..."

"Haruhi," he said quietly, "Just say yes and accept the promotion."

She looked at him, swallowing, and nodded slowly. "Alright."

A/N: Fighting writer's block. This is the result. Forgive my musings. And of course... I'm watching NCIS at the same time. I need something else to do in my free-time. I feel like I have no life.

Enjoy!