Chapter Four:
By the next morning I had cleaned up all the blood in my house and on me, knowing that my father would throw a fit if he saw blood. I had taken a shower and wrapped up my hand as best I could. When I saw myself in the mirror, I was shocked. I was pale, like a ghostly pale, with fresh new scratches on my face. There was a small bruise on my cheek and along my arms and slight bags under my eyes. My head was still bleeding from hitting the stairs wrong which caused a small trail of blood to drift down my face.
"I can't go to school." I said to myself. If I went today, someone would see my bruises and scratches and my bleeding head and they would question me. I couldn't tell them about my father. I couldn't say anything. I didn't even call the office to tell them I was going to be absent. I just layed in my bed, sighing into the pillows as I fell asleep again.
The next day I stayed home again. None of my wounds had healed and I still looked sick and bruised like hell. I had received numerous calls and messages not just from everyone in the host club but from some of my guests, though I don't know how they got my number. Kyoya probably told them. The latest one was from Tamaki and it said:
From Tamaki:
Athena! Please answer me!! Your Daddy's been worried sick about you my little princess!!! If it's because of what Takashi did then DON'T WORRY he said he texted you OVER AND OVER AGAIN APOLOGIZING! Just...come to school. We're all worried about you!! :(
I had smiled when he said "little princess" but I couldn't text any of them. If I ignored them they would eventually forget about this. It was Friday after all and I had started at Ouran on Monday. If I just don't talk to them the weekend will past in a haze and I'll soon be back to normal. I only texted one person back though and they said they were going to visit me today. I knew my wrist would be strained for at least a week and all my bruises and scratches from the stairs would stay even longer. Just as I finished this thought I heard the distance ring of my doorbell. Thankfully my father wasn't here today and the butler was able to take care of it. I closed my eyes and started to drift off into a light sleep. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Miss Hana, there are some guests waiting for you. Should I let them in?" Someone asked and I recognized it as my butler's voice. I groaned inwardly. It was probably my father with some of his friends. He was probably going to show me off like a trophy and when asked about my sores he would say I fell and was so clumsy. The innocent act. A hurt daughter and a caring father would drive them crazy. That's what he did last time he hurt me this badly.
"Yes you can let them in." I said, sitting up straight on the edge of my bed. At least I had changed into decent clothes that morning. I had expected my father to come barging in but what I saw next only gave me a slight heart-attack. The twins barged through the now open door followed closely by Tamaki, Honey, Haruhi, Kyoya, and Takashi who still looked guilty from the bar night. They all stopped though when they saw me. With my ghostly pale skin, bruises, scratches, and bleeding head I was surprised they weren't already bombarding me with questions already. Do I really look that bad? Bad enough to leave them speechless?
"A-Athena, wha-what happened to you?" Tamaki whisper-asked me as he leaned in front of my face, studying me intently.
"Nothing! I fell down while walking home!" I said quickly, wiping the new trail of blood from my head off my face, revealing my sprained and bloody wrist. I hadn't taken a shower since the day I was hurt because I couldn't move well enough to reach the bathroom. Haruhi then gently stepped up to me and picked up my hand, studying my wrist. She unwrapped the bandages in silence and I had to look away from my own hand. It was extremely red with dark bruises here and there. It was also still bleeding from when I had landed on something hard on the floor that day. When I looked back, it was Takashi this time with my hand in his. He was staring at me intently.
"Who did this to you?" He asked quietly. I looked away from his intense stare only to find myself facing Honey next.
"Hana-chan, if someone did this to you, you can tell us right?" He asked me. I stared for a moment at his tear-filled eyes before I turned my head away from everyone.
"Nobody did this." I said quietly. Takashi opened his mouth to say something but a loud hissing sound caused him to stop. My eyes widened with worry. I forgot that Midnight was here and that she did not like anyone but me. The other host members turned to look at my dark closet and the twins and Tamaki jumped back slightly when a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared.
"Midnight." I said quietly, calling my cat. Instantly she was at my side, eyeing Takashi angrily. I swear she was almost human. She had sat herself between Takashi and me and was now slowly pushing Takashi's hand away from mines with a paw, causing him to look at her in confusion. I laughed at his bewildered look as my cat had successfully removed his hand, giving looks like She's mine.
"This is my cat, Midnight." I said to him, causing his eyes to widen in understanding.
"She's cute." Tamaki said, reaching to pet her. Midnight snapped at him and he jumped back, hugging Kyoya.
"MOMMY! Athena's death cat is trying to kill me!!" He yelled while clutching to Kyoya who looked at him in annoyance.
"It's not trying to kill you Tamaki." He said, also glaring at Midnight who glared at him back. I smiled at their silent staring contest.
"She doesn't like strangers. I'm sorry but she's really overprotective about me. I've had her since she was a kitten." I said, stroking her back while her eyes shined as I swear she smiled at me. Just then, there was a commotion outside my door and my butler opened the door and peeked in.
"Miss Kurosaki is here to see you." He said before disappearing. The door slammed open and in the doorway stood a girl, same height as me. She had white hair like mine up to her shoulders and violet eyes the same shade as Tamaki's and she stood there, glowering at me. She seemed oblivious to the other host members as she marched into my room and straight up to me. She then grabbed my wrist lightly as I stared at her in surprise. She was the one that I texted to come see me.
"Athena, while I appreciate you contacting me first, I do not appreciate how that dog treats you." She said quietly to me. She was always soft-spoken.
"Shinji…" I said. My eyes began to water slightly as I flung myself into her arms, hugging her fiercely. She returned the hug, careful not to break any more of my bones as she allowed me to cry silently into her shoulder.
"It's okay Athena. I'm here now." She said, rubbing my back in smooth circles. Apparently the next moment she finally realized everyone else in the room staring at her in shock. She pulled me closer and stared at the others coldly. In an instant, Tamaki stepped forward and took one of Shinji's hands in his, also kneeling in front of her.
"My dear lady. It is an honor to stand before you. I feel as though nothing can hold back the joy pounding inside of me." He said to her in his host manner. Shinji looked down at him blankly. Then she turned to me.
"So this is the silly host club you've told me so much about?" She asked me as I stood there, smiling at her blank expression.
"Yeah. Shinji, I would like you to meet the host club. Tamaki is the one growing mushrooms in the corner. The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru. Four-eyes is Kyoya, the boy who is actually a girl is Haruhi, the silent tall one is Takashi and the little one is Honey." I said, pointing to each person as I introduced them. Shinji bowed in respect to them all.
"It's nice to meet you in person. Athena's told me quite a lot about you guys." She said, her eyes shining the same way mine did when I was happy or excited. Tamaki's eyes lit up as well when Shinji mentioned that I talk about the host club.
"What does she say? Does she mention how charming her Daddy is! Or, does she mention how amazingly fun the club is!" Tamaki asked Shinji, spinning around in circles.
"No." Shinji said simply. Tamaki went back to his emo corner. "But…" She added, causing him to look up in excitement. "She does mention how amazing you all are. I wanted to thank you all for being there for her."
"It's what the host club does, although I don't appreciate Athena with naming me four-eyes." Kyoya said, looking up from his little black book he had brought.
"It pretty much suits you." I said, causing him to glare at me.
"I can't deny that but anyway, who exactly are you?" Kyoya asked, this time turning his gaze to Shinji who was watching the twins and Tamaki argue. She glanced at Kyoya quickly before replying:
"Shinji Kurosaki." She said. I swear I could see Kyoya's eyes light up but it lasted only for a second before he was back writing into his book.
"So, what do we do now?" Honey asked, looking up at me in the process.
"Well, I didn't really plan on doing anything today and aren't you guys suppose to be in school?" I added, remembering that it was Friday.
"They let everyone leave school early. As soon as they did we came straight here. We needed to make sure you were alright." Haruhi said. I could see Shinji nodding her head vigorously in agreement and Honey and Takashi give me a smile.
"Thanks you guys. For being here for me." I said to them, causing Tamaki and the twins to engulf me in a hug, yelling "She's so cute!!".
"Get your hands of her!" Shinji yelled playfully at them, pulling them away from me. They pouted at her.
"But Kurosaki…" They started.
"Nope. She doesn't need to be touched, especially by boys and by the way call me Shinji." She said. She turned to me smiling.
"So little bro, what are we gonna do? I heard your father's gonna be gone all day today and tomorrow." She said, her eyes twinkling knowingly.
"Yeah he is. I'm so relieved to get a little break from him." I said back, smiling big. If he wasn't here then I didn't have to worry about him doing anything else.
"I've got it! Why don't we all have a sleepover at my darling Athena's place!!" Tamaki asked. I could practically see the sparkles shining on him when he mentioned the idea.
"Yay!! Sleepover!" The twins yelled, jumping up and down in excitement.
"Hana-chan we get to stay over! I'll bring some cake and we can have a big party with a movie too!!" Honey yelled as well, spinning around with me, holding onto my good hand. I smiled happily down at him.
"That's a really good idea." I said, causing everyone to yell happily (except for Takashi and Kyoya of course who just smiled slightly).
Shinji's Point of View
When Athena had contacted me saying what her father had done I had completely gone berserk. I was sick and tired of how her father treated her. Ever since her mother died and she moved to Japan her father had constantly made her life a living hell. Of course, when I ran into her room and found a group of boys I instantly thought that they were trying to win her heart in marriage or something. When the tall blonde boy complimented me in that stupid way though, I knew it was the host club Athena had mentioned.
"Are you sure you'll be okay Athena?" I asked her. She was after all still hurt pretty bad from her father. She looked at me, her eyes twinkling.
"Of course? Goodness knows I need a break from all this stress.Are you going to join us?" I looked at her in surprise. Did she really have to ask if I would come?
"Of course I will! Not just because you're my best friend but because I can't leave you with a group of boys either." This caused Athena's cheeks to redden slightly.
"You think we would do something with her?" Tamaki asked, clutching a hand over his heart as if I stabbed him.
"Well, I did just meet you guys a couple of minutes ago. But, if Athena trusts you then I trust you guys." I said. Then I whispered to them: "But if you look at Athena in any suspicious way it won't end well." This caused Tamaki to shiver violently and jump on Kyoya's back.
"Mommy, she's threatening me." I heard his whisper. I tilted my head at him. Who was Mommy? Was it that Ootori boy?
"Miss Kurosaki, I would appreciate it if you didn't scare Tamaki. As you can see he can be a bit clingy." Kyoya said to me, his eyes showing his annoyance.
"I will try my best but I can be a little overprotective about Athena." I said back to him. He shifted his gaze so that the light reflected off his glasses, hiding his eyes. He does that so people won't see what he's thinking. I thought. I did the same thing whenever I wore glasses. My eyes always betrayed me and showed my emotions. I guess he had the same problem.
"So Shinji, let's get set up!" Athena said to me, dragging me out of the room.
"Alright, alright. Anyways it was nice to meet you guys!" I yelled before Athena dragged me down the stairs. The boys stared at each other for a moment.
"She seems nice." Hikaru and Kaoru said.
"Yeah, just overprotective. I wonder how long she's known our darling Athena. Kyoya?" Tamaki said then turning to Kyoya.
"I don't know anything about her Tamaki. You can't ask me this time." Kyoya said, pushing his glasses up.
"Well, Athena must trust her deeply." Tamaki said.
"Yeah." Kyoya murmured to himself, his glasses glinting as he stared out the door that the two girls left through. I wonder…he thought.
About an hour or so later the sky began to darken and the two girls had finished with the preparations.
"Okay guys, everything is ready." I said, stepping into the room and looking at the host club members. I stared at them all blankly when I stepped in. Tamaki was chasing the two twins around the room while the Honey guy was eating a cake (I don't know where he got it from) with Mori. The Ootori boy was just typing away on his computer. I stared at the chaos the twins and Tamaki were making. Their yelling could wake the neighborhood. I sighed and grabbed the twins by the ear, causing them to stop.
"OW hey let go of us!!" They yelled trying to escape my death grip. I dragged them over to the bed and dropped them onto it. I then did the same to Tamaki, sitting him on a chair near the bed.
"Alright listen up. You guys are driving me crazy. I don't want to hear another word out of all three of you until the sleepover starts in an hour." I glared at them, my ice violet eyes burning holes in them, They shut their mouths and stared glumly at the floor.
"What happened in here?" Athena asked, suddenly walking into the room.
"I'm trying to get these three to stay quiet." I said. Athena looked at Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru with a surprised look.
"I'm surprised you were able to do that." She said, smirking slightly at the sight of the quiet twins and Tamaki. Tamaki suddenly jumped up and grabbed Athena in a hug.
"My darling daughter she's mad at me!!" He yelled in her ear.
"Yeah Athena, your friends scary!" The twins added, also jumping up. I stared at their bickering for a moment before sighing and taking a seat next to Kyoya.
"Honestly I don't even know why I bothered." I murmured to myself. In the corner of my eye I could see Kyoya glance up at me momentarily before staring back at his computer screen.
"At least the host club isn't boring." Kyoya said, smiling my way. I smiled slightly back at him.
"Yeah, Athena must be really distracted with you guys but, I've never seen her so happy before." I said, glancing sadly at Athena. She was yelling at Tamaki and the twins with her eyes sparkling playfully. I've never seen her smile like that.
"And what about you? What's your story?" He asked me, looking up from his computer to give me a curious look. My eyes darkened, not at him but at the memories popping into my mind.
"Oh how everyone's life is. I lived a peaceful life. It's been great." I said.
"Oh really? And here I thought you had some deep dark secret. I mean, why else would you hide your profile papers." He said. I looked at him coldly while realizing what he just said.
"And why were you looking through my profile in the first place?" I asked coldly.
"I have my reasons." He said simply, causing me to burn with anger. I stood up abruptly and leaned over him. He looked up at me in surprise, our faces barely an inch from each other.
"I have my reasons to hide. You know nothing about what I've been through. People have secrets for reasons." I whispered to him before turning on my heel and walking out the room, trying not to let the anger show on my face. Athena stared after the girl that had left the room in a hurry. She then turned toward Kyoya with a tired look on her face.
"What did you do to Shinji Kyoya." She asked wearily.
"Nothing." He said but added: "But I may have just questioned her about why she was hiding information." When Athena stared at him angrily.
"Just don't bother her Kyoya. She doesn't like it when people poke into her personal life. She's been through a lot but I promise once she gets to know you guys she'll tell you." Athena said. Kyoya was still staring at the door Shinji had gone through. Interesting. He thought. Meanwhile, I was pacing Athena's kitchen in a fury when Athena herself had walked in.
"Hey Shinji, you okay?" She asked me. I sat heavily on the nearest chair and sighed.
"Of course! I was just reminded of my wonderful past." I said, forcing a smile on my face. She frowned at me.
"It'll be easier if you tell them. Then Kyoya won't poke around."
"Athena, all I need is you and that's it."
"Shinji." Athena said angrily this time, slamming her fist on the table. I looked up at her surprised. "I know you haven't had the best past life. I know it was even worse than mine but you can't spend the rest of your life living alone hiding away from your grandmother." I looked at her sadly. "You need to open up to people." I nodded my head and looked down at the ground.
"Athena, I just need more time. I hardly know any of them."
"I know Shinji but just give them a chance. They actually aren't that bad and are hilarious." I looked up at her and smiled.
"Okay."
So now you guys know about Shinji!! I promose, Athena will reveal her story and I will be adding Kyoya's point of view as well. WARNING: In chapters ahead Kyoya will be a flirt I REPEAT PREPARE YOURSELFS