Haruhi gripped Usa-chan tightly, burying her face in his strawberry-scented fur as thunder rolled outside. Mitsukuni returned with two generous helpings of strawberry spongecake on a platter, stopping at the doorway and surveying the situation with confused eyes.
The girl had put herself firmly in Mitsukuni's spacious wardrobe, surrounded by a collection of pajamas and towels, and was shaking like a leaf. The door was half-open, due to the fear of being trapped in there. She felt nauseous, and petrified, as a brief stab of lightning illuminated the room.
"H...Honey-senpai?" Her voice trembled over to him from the wardrobe.
A look of irritation shadowed over his face - Usa-chan's shoulder thoroughly dampened with Haruhi's tears - but it was gone with a blink. "Haru-chan? What's wrong?"
The thunder roared through the boy's room, and Haruhi cried out, rolling onto her side away from Mitsukuni. The bunny was slightly stretched, her quivering thighs clamped around its waist and her arms choking it. Her core quaked with sobs that found their muffled home in Usa-chan's shoulder.
"Haru-chan!" He set the platter on the floor and ran over to her, arms outstretched in a hugging gesture, until they collided and were locked together.
She felt the unwavering strength in the martial arts master's arms as they struggled to wrap around her fully, and his chubby cheeks pressed against her own due to the position they were in.
"Haru-chan, are you okay?" He spoke too loudly, too obnoxiously, and Haruhi recoiled from him, deep pain and terror in her eyes.
BANG! Thunder split their ears. She bit into Usa-chan to stifle a whine, eyes screwed shut.
Mitsukuni's eyes were filled with shock, and he fell back from her. Intense concern tempered the viciously blooming anger in his heart.
His voice was solemn but kind now, as if speaking to a spooked horse. "Haru-chan, is the thunder that scary?"
She nodded brokenly, and not a moment after, Mitsukuni was drawing all of the curtains in his room shut. They were cream, and felt similar to the walls of a commoners' cinema, designed to be soundproof. Indeed, the thunder was muffled greatly, just growls in the sky now.
Haruhi's cries were cut off rather abruptly as she could no longer hear the thunder over them, but she still trembled, and swallowed.
"You're gonna be alright now, yeah, Haru-chan?" He smiled sweetly as she pulled herself from the sanctuary of the wardrobe.
Her cheeks blushed furiously as her mind was once again thinking logically - Mitsukuni had seen everything..
He was thinking logically now, too, and started towards the abandoned cake.