Hello again, everyone! Here is the fourth chapter! Thank you so much to those who have been continuously reading and reviewing! I hope you will enjoy this next development to the story! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We've been over this. I don't own the shounen manga nor the shoujo one (meaning Inuyasha and OHSHC). I can't even draw that well.
"Kagome!" The teacher was the first person to react, rushing over to the student crushed under the weight of knowledge and supposed fantasies. "Oi! Fujioka! Taijiya-shibou! Help me get this thing off her! Itazura, Souran, pull her out when we lift it, instead of just sitting there!" Everyone scurried into a position that was either lifting the grand bookshelf or pulling the one trapped underneath said object. The sound of creaking wood rang throughout the library as the bookcase was lifted to its original position.
Books piled haphazardly along the floor and over the unconscious girl, who groaned, lightly stirred, as she was pulled out from under the heavy weight. Her face had contorted, eyebrows almost knit together, expression tense as though she was in pain.
"Kagome-san, wake up," The twins spoke in tandem, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, unaware that by doing so, they were causing her pain.
"Get away from her, you idiots!" The teacher shoved them aside, gently lifting the girl by her shoulders, wincing as her body tensed again.
"How bad is it?" Honey asked, eyes revealing his maturity and voice somber, immediately diminishing any sort of lightheartedness there could have been to the situation. The man remained silent as he checked her injuries, fingers lightly brushing over her midsection.
"A broken rib… maybe two," The history major responded.
Everyone jumped as he slammed his fist into the floor with an exclamation. "Damn it!" His eyes darkened, and a low rumble vibrated from within his chest. The sound lasted only a moment, but enough to be noticed by one unexpected person. Said person's eyes widened at the sound, but made no comment when he spotted the conflict in the black haired adult's expression.
"Shall I call an ambulance? My family runs a health care zaibatsu, and one of our hospitals is-" Kyouya was unpleasantly cut off.
"No, I've got it. One of the nurses is working later than usual. I'll get K-Taisho to her office and handle things from there. I'll come up with something," The teacher cautiously wrapped an arm around her legs and lifted her with ease, making his way to the library doors. "While I'm down there, pick up the mess caused by that b- by whoever did this," His right arm carefully shifted to carry the girl's weight while he opened the door. "Oh, and don't mention this to Taisho when she wakes up. Do it and I'll leave it to your imagination what will happen to any one of you," All of them could tell that the threat was empty, as the man's voice had been tight, as though fighting back something, though what it was remained a mystery.
And with that, the host club was left to their own thoughts in the library.
"So, what're we gonna do, Boss?" Hikaru asked, mirroring Kaoru as they both saluted.
"Shall we follow them?" Excited, the two were ready to stalk after the duo that had left to uncover the connection the two had.
Everyone, aside from Haruhi, who was busy with mentally deciphering what was actually going on with the woman, Kagome, and their teacher, had noticed that the man had switched from using her surname and her first name, without any honorific. The man normally refused to use honorifics, and used nicknames or surnames alone when referring to a student, but he'd never used a student's first name, meaning that there must be some connection.
Surprisingly, instead of giving the command to go, the king of the Host Club just shook his head, looking somberly in the direction of the library entrance.
"Not this time. For now, we should let him just bring her on his own. Eyes like that should be allowed to be left to their own for a while," Confused by the cryptic message, the others just shrugged, the only one who seemingly understood being Mori, who hummed in agreement. All of them said their goodbyes and left, leaving the crossdresser and her upperclassman behind.
Hoshino Sanae had felt like she'd known Takahashi Inouye for years, even beyond what she could actually remember. The teacher, while having an imposing presence, was for the most part quiet, when he wasn't dealing with his students. He was a bit more loud and strict around his freshmen students, but he always seemed to calculate and figure who would cause the trouble and deal with them personally at the moment the culprit was discovered. Among the female students he was considered a favorite for his supernaturally good looks and oddly mysterious disposition. He was entrusted with heavy secrets and never slipped one of his own. Even his emotions only shifted rarely from serious, to irritated or angry, to neutral.
Which is why she was surprised when the normally controlled man came barreling through the door in a panic with a student in his arms.
"Takahashi-kun? What happened?"
"Accident. Girl tried to reach for a book on a higher shelf and caused it to fall on her. From what I can tell she broke two ribs," Sanae quirked an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"That's odd for you. You carried her to the office yourself from one of the libraries? Normally you'd tell them to walk alone or with another student, muttering about how wimpy they are nowadays," Sanae smirked when the man shook his head and just carefully laid the student on one of the beds. She took note of how he handled the girl; like fragile glass, and with a reluctance to set her down. "So, her name is?"
"Taisho Kagome, she's one of my students,"
"Mmmhmmm," Sanae gave a nod. "Just one of your students?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're extremely familiar with her, and you're acting outside of your usual character, Stoic Prince," He'd gained the title a while after the nurse had met Inouye's brother, whom she had dubbed Stoic King.
"She… reminds me of someone I used to know,"
"Ahh, I see. You're fiancee, perhaps?" His ironic smirk gave her the answer she needed before his expression reverted back to neutral.
"So, is there anything you can do?"
"Not really. At most I can tape it, let her rest here for the night, and then she'll have to handle the rest on her own," She sighed. "Glad to know I'm not going to be by myself in this place in the middle of the night,"
"Well, I'll leave her to you then. Protect her, Hoshino,"
"You got it, Takahashi," Saluting him halfheartedly as he left, she looked over to the injured student. "Well, better get to work, ugh," She headed to the cabinet and expertly collected the needed supplies.
"So, should I ask again why you're following me to my house, senpai?" Haruhi asked, a bit irritated by the king of the Host Club's antics.
"It's not following! I'm simply being a loving father watching over his daughter so that she doesn't run into danger!" Haruhi sweat-dropped just slightly as Tamaki announced his Host Club family fantasy to the public. "Besides," His tone lowered, expression solemn, "there's something I want to talk to you about," The crossdresser's eyes widened at the second year's sudden change in attitude.
"Sure, shoot," She complied.
There was a short pause as Tamaki thought over how he wanted to phrase it.
"Why was Kagome-san at the Host Club today after school? She's new, and judging from her reactions in the club, she seemed troubled," Haruhi nodded, confirming Tamaki's observation.
"She said she needed help finding out who put her in the school, and seemed really bugged by it. Knowing that you like helping out 'damsels in distress' I'd figured I'd let you guys know about it," Haruhi paused, as though wanting to say more, but holding back.
"Why didn't you let us know, then? You could've said something back at the Host Club,"
"She said not to tell you guys," The male teen's eyes widened in response. "I think there's something going on that's a lot bigger than what we should be dealing with,"
"How? She just wants to know who enrolled her. It's not like she's asking to meet in person," The concept of being enrolled by someone who refused to give their identity baffled him, never mind the issue of there being a problem of wanting to know the enroller. 'From what I'm understanding, Kagome has no further purpose than just knowing who brought her to Ouran, so why does it have to be a secret?'
"You know," the female teen interrupted his thoughts. "What if by knowing their name, Kagome could potentially be endangering herself, and the one who enrolled her is trying to prevent that from happening?" Tamaki could admit that Haruhi was making a valid point, and in most cases, that would probably be it. But, he felt as though there was something off with the whole thing; like there was this huge secret that only certain people knew, and everyone else was left in the dark.
"Maybe...Oh, we're here," He noted as the two finally arrived at the apartment building. Stopping, he took a quick glance at the girl. He didn't want her getting into this if it involved her getting into danger.
"So we are, huh. Well, see ya later, senpai," She waved lazily and turned around, walking towards the building.
"Haruhi-!"
"Don't worry, everything'll be fine, senpai," She turned her head to look at the worried Host Club king. "It's our responsibility, as the members of the elite Ouran Host Club, to make every girl happy, right?" She gave a warm smile to the now blushing high schooler, and continued to head up to her house. "See you tomorrow, senpai!" She called. He waved and watched her enter her apartment before pulling out his phone to call for a ride.
"That's not what I'm worried about… Why're you so cute?" Tamaki mumbled to himself, red coloring refusing to diffuse from his face, with the warm night leaving him without an excuse.
Well, that's a wrap! Wasn't that adorable? Have you guessed who the teacher is? It's most likely who you think it is. Anyway, felt like ending it with a cute scene instead of a cliffhanger, so you guys got luck this time. But who knows about next time? You'll just have to see. Also, really enjoyed writing a mix of serious and goofy Tamaki here, though I made him extremely perceptive. Not that he can't be perceptive, but it's like Kyouya-level perception, if not beyond that (Maybe I've been watching too much Detective Conan? hehe). So, many questions are left unanswered in this chapter. Who are all these new characters I keep bringing into the story? Who is this mysterious sponsor that everyone is talking about? Is Haruhi's theory correct?Hoped you all enjoyed reading! Please read and review!
Until next Time!