It's only a couple of hours to midnight here. I'm sleepy but happy. Personally, I love Kyoya in this. And a little haruhix? for some of you, a possible hint as to the OTP of this story. ;3
Thanks for waiting!
xxxxx
By an unstated law of the universe, saturdays are supposed to be boringly mundane. It is a rule that every saturday, every single saturday has to follow. It was a basis of life, the reason that the world managed to keep spinning on it's axis. However, for some odd reason, the rules seemed to have been thrown out the metaphorical window when it came to that particular saturday.
It started out right. The way a saturday is supposed to start out. Laziness dripped around and within the Brooke's mansion. Everything seemed to be on slow motion, the sky that was slowly turning a light pink, the dew formed on the flowers through the night when the air is much more damp, even the wildlife that couldn't bring themselves to leave their respective homes in search of food. The predominant feeling floating between all life then was a feeling of 'to hell with the worms! Let the other birds have 'em for all I care'.
Inside the ridiculously overstated excuse of a house that was really a mansion that was really like five mansions glued together, it wasn't any different from the outside world. Everything that could breathe in the building was asleep, even the staff had trouble forcing themselves out of their beds to prepare for their masters whom they knew would be asleep at least until mid-morning. Upstairs, in bedrooms that were the size of apartments, the tenants and their guests slept peacefully, blissfully out of tune with the world. Each Host had a room to themselves (save the twins) that was close enough to the next that they didn't feel isolated but far enough that they had privacy.
Because that saturday morning conformed to one of the most basic laws of the universe, it was a crime, nay, a sin, that there was actually someone who was awake. A living, breathing creature was awake before the sun was even properly up itself. It was blasphemy in the purest, most foul of senses. Worse still, this criminal, sinner, was an eight year old boy.
The door to the bedroom opened with a soft swish instead of the usual creak that accompanied unwanted intrusion. Small feet padded into the room, silenced by a thick luxurious carpet. The target of this young boy was lying unaware in bed, asleep. He crept up to the large bed and slipped under the covers at the foot of it. He wriggled his way through what seemed like an endless cloth tunnel until he surfaced at the other end of it. Pushing the covers back a bit so he could settle with his legs crossed comfortably, he stared at the peaceful face in front of him. They lay on their back, an arm flung carelessly at the side of their head, next to the pillow. The covers rose and fell with the deep, even breaths of slumber.
Being too young to understand the importance of sleep to older people, he stretched out his hand and poked their nose with his index finger. When he got no reaction, he repeated his actions, this time getting a flinch out of them. He continued his annoyingly effective tactic of waking them up until they forced a single eyelid open. The young boy stared into the glassy eye and saw his own reflection there. His victim closed their eye and then cranked open both eyes to stare, or glare – sleep makes eye communication difficult – at him in silent askance. When the boy said nothing but sat there and stared into the dark pools that were usually hidden to him by a layer of glass, the other sighed heavily and shut both eyes again, this time to summon up the energy to unglue their lips and to remember how to function their tongue.
"What do you want?" They croaked, the exposure to dry air through the night showing it's effects. Usually, this person would never speak just after being woken up. They would never even grant the invader of their peace the chance to sit there for so long after they destroyed their sleep. Not alive, at any rate. But this kid was an exception.
Their question was met with silence. Figuring that the boy just had nothing else better to do, they shifted slightly in the bed to go back to sleep. On the verge of their goal, they felt another stab, this time at their forehead. Losing patience fast, they looked up at the boy, their expression this time conveying annoyance and a sliver of a deadly desire to murder a very specific someone. Finally, the boy spoke,
"Play with me." It wasn't a request, but a demand. The other blinked, startled. Then they closed their eyes with another sigh and tried to push back the rather interesting and creative images of them killing with the nearest thing available to them which happened to be a cellphone.
"Maybe later." They said, trying to hide the hostility in their voice from the child.
"No. Now. Everyone else is asleep." The child insisted, stubbornly crossing his arms and frowning disapprovingly at the older of the two. The latter vaguely wondered where he learned the art of such a guilt inducing glare.
"I was sleeping too." They said testily.
"But you're not now," was the retort that they got.
"Because you woke me up," they ground out, their hand under the blanket curling into a fist.
"So you could play with me. Play with me." The unfortunate victim of the child turned their face away, shut their eyes and forcefully took deep, slow breaths. "I'm tired, Kyoru. Go find someone else to torture." Their voice brooked no argument as they finally decided that they had given in to the child too much already.
In reply, the child wrapped the covers around his small frame as though he was cold and pulled a pillow to himself that he hugged and balanced his chin on and continued to stare at the other.
xxxxx
A little over half an hour later, another door in a different part of the house opened. The small body walked across the room and slipped under the covers of a different bed. Kyoru lay on his side facing a new face that was as peaceful as the earlier person's had been before he had woken them up. As though instinctively knowing that there was someone else in her bed, Haruhi opened her eyes. A warm smile slipped onto her lips in greeting when she saw who it was. She reached out a hand and brushed a lock of hair away from the boy's forehead.
"You're up later than you usually are." She observed, her voice soft and sleepy. Kyoru shook his head, as best as he could with one side of his face against a pillow. "I woke up earlier. I wanted to play."
"Oh? Then why didn't you come look for me?" Haruhi's eyes drooped slightly even as the question left her lips.
"I wanted to play with Uncle," he replied. Haruhi suddenly felt very awake. "You looked for him? You woke him up? Did he touch you? Did you touch him?" She sat up, looking over what little she could see of the boy in search of a sign of abuse.
Kyoru scrunched up his face slightly, "I did find him, but when I woke him up he didn't want to play with me."
Haruhi let out a relieved breath she didn't even realize she had been holding and lay down again. "Kyo-kun, next time, look for me. Or any one of my friends. Or grandpa. Or any of the staff. But never, ever, look for your uncle again." Kyoru blinked at her for a bit then slowly, he nodded. Haruhi shot another smile at the small boy that had her black hair and the sharp, black eyes of the person whom she hadn't seen in almost a decade. Satisfied that the child was not harmed, she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, knowing that if she did so, the other would do so too.
"Haruhi?" Eyes still shut, she made a sound at the back of her throat to show that she was paying attention. "I think there's something wrong with the heater in uncle's room. It was freezing when I left. I think uncle might get sick," he said seriously, his forehead furrowed slightly in worry.
Haruhi stifled the urge to burst out laughing. "You don't worry about your uncle, Kyo-kun. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the heater. It was probably just your imagination."
xxxxx
Later that morning, the guests of the house made their way down to the dining hall. The room was large and spacious, at least the size of a football field. One wall was made of glass and had multiple doors that opened out to balconies that looked down onto an oasis. A long marble banquet table was pushed up against a wall instead of the middle of the room where it usually stood. On it was an amazing spread of dishes that could feed a continent. As the large table was pushed against the wall, small, round tables scattered the floor. The group of six spotted their hosts sitting at a table on one of the balconies. As they approached the three that sat chatting idly while they consumed their breakfasts, the servants pulled up another couple of tables so that the furniture formed a triangle.
The trio looked up as their guests approached and Haruhi greeted them cheerfully. Kyoru beamed at them for a moment before going back to gorging on his stacked plate. The third person at the table was a man that seemed in his forties, clean- shaven with a warm smile that made his eyes twinkle. That smile was now directed at them as they bowed slightly to him before they sat down at the two adjoining tables.
"How was your night?" The man, who was Haruhi's father, asked.
"It was very comfortable," Tamaki, ever the charming one, beamed at him. There was a chorus of agreements around the other two tables as four of the five remaining hosts voiced their appreciation of their rooms. Darren looked at Kyoya who had been silent. "Did you not sleep well, Kyoya?"
Kyoya shook his head slightly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips when he detected the slightly teasing tone that the older man always used when he talked to him. It was familiar and comfortable. This man was more of a father to him in his childhood than his own.
"I did, uncle. Unfortunately, my sleep was interrupted a bit earlier this morning than I am used to." The silence that followed his seemingly casual statement was deafening. Five pairs of scared eyes darted between their host and the bespectacled boy. To their surprise, Darren laughed, the sound relieving the tension that had filled the room. "Still unable to get up early, Kyoya? I would have thought that high school would teach you to be a bit more independent." Again, the tension was so thick, a butcher's knife wouldn't be able to cut through it.
To the shock and amazement of the Hosts, Kyoya burst out laughing. Tamaki almost died of a heart attack at the sound, Kaoru and Hikaru stared at each other, eyes so wide that they almost popped out, Honey's eyes peeped out from under the table where he was hiding, and Mori had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't still asleep. "It should have," he replied, looking thoughtfully down as a servant placed a cup of coffee in front of him. "But I really can't seem to bring myself to wake up at such an ungodly time of day."
He wrapped his hands around the cup and took a sip of the steaming liquid and froze. He slowly lowered the cup, his face expressionless. He turned to Darren, "Is Maria still here?" he asked casually. Darren nodded, his mouth full having just put a forkful of pancake into his mouth.
Kyoya slid his chair back and stood up. "Excuse me, I want to have a talk with her," he excused himself and walked away. The five pairs of eyes that followed his figure until he left the dining hall shot to Haruhi who was sipping her own cup of coffee, looking in the direction that Kyoya had left thoughtfully. Sensing the eyes on her, she turned to Tamaki and raised an eyebrow.
"Who's Maria?" Hikaru practically demanded.
"Our cook," she answered.
"He's not going to kill her for his coffee is he? The coffee's really good! She shouldn't die!" Honey cried.
Haruhi waved her hand dismissively. "He said he wants to talk to her. So he's going to talk to her." She said. A mischievous grin lit up her face. "Maybe you should go see for yourselves that she'll be fine."
The five exchanged looks and shot to their feet, excused themselves and practically ran out the dining hall.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Tammy?" Haruhi turned to her father who had watched them silently. "They might die."
"They'll be fine," Haruhi replied easily. A thoughtful look crossed her face and she looked around the hall that was now empty save for the occupants of her table. "Where are Yuri and Adrian?"
"They had to run an errand for me. Your grandmother will be flying in in a few days and I want her to be as comfortable here as she is back home." His smile faded, "Since your grandfather's not there anymore, she'll find the house too big. It could be suffocating, especially with no family around."
Haruhi stood up and bent over to hug her father. She planted a soft kiss to his temple and straightened. She ruffled Kyoru's hair before silently leaving the hall. Darren watched her go, noticing as he did every other time that she walked like her mother. He started and looked down when he felt a small hand close around his own. Kyoru looked up at him, his features resembling the woman whose picture he kept on his bedside table and eyes the soft brown of the one he had loved and lost. The child smiled softly and tugged on his hand slightly to make him bend lower so he could plant a kiss, the kind only a child could give, the kind that made you feel that maybe moving on was worth it, on his cheek before turning his attention back to his food.
xxxxx
When Haruhi reached the kitchen, she was startled to find Hikaru and Kaoru kneeling on the floor next to Tamaki who seemed unconscious. She hurried to their side and kneeled down. She looked up at the glazed expression of the twins and then realized that the others were nowhere in sight. Deciding that she'd question them about that later, she snapped her fingers in front of the twins' faces, causing them to look at her with shell-shocked eyes. They looked like they had just seen someone die but she was sure that Tamaki had just fainted.
"What happened?" She asked, her voiced seemed to break through whatever was fogging their minds. Forming coherent sentences, however, was out of their league, as she discovered when both started to talk at the same time, their words glued together. She clamped a hand over Hikaru's mouth to silence him and listened to Kaoru blabber.
"She had this really long stick and she was waving it in the air and saying some stuff then Kyoya suddenly sat down on the floor! HE SAT ON THE FLOOR KYOYA SAT ON THE FLOOR! Then, then, then, she gave him this brown thing that was round and he took it and then he started to eat it then put down the stick and then brought more of the brown stuff that Kyoya was eating and then gave it to him and then he took it and kept eating HE WOULDN'T STOP EATING HE JUST WOULDN'T STOP! And, and, and, and, he was coughing and he went to the back then he came back and he sat back down HE SAT BACK DOWN HARUHI HE SAT BACK DOWN and he kept eating he just wouldn't stop eating! Then he said something and they both laughed KYOYA LAUGHED AGAIN and then she ruffled his hair HIS HAIR. KYOYA'S HAIR. SHE TOUCHED HIS HAIR AND LIVED and then... and then... and then..." Kaoru trailed off, staring into space, the expression of horror that had invaded his features while he recounted the story permanently glued to his face.
Haruhi could see what had happened after, she didn't need Kaoru to continue. She glanced into the kitchen and saw only the cook in there. She left the three Hosts where they were, the kneeling pair still in shock and joined the cook who sat at a table staring blankly at the wood.
"Maria?" She approached the other woman tentatively. The cook looked up and blinked once. When she recognized Haruhi, she smiled a wobbly smile. Haruhi pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, "Maria, what happened?"
"These two boys, one really small and another really big, they suddenly came barging in here and the small one was calling me a witch and was demanding to know what I did with Kyoya-sama, and he was going on about killing me if I killed him when Kyoya was just sitting on the floor there, right as day, and he was just looking at them, as shocked as I was and then the big one suddenly picked him up and dashed out of here and Kyoya-sama was so shocked that he didn't even protest! They just took him and ran!" She buried her face in her hands, "I think I took too much whisky this morning."
xxxxx
With much effort, Haruhi managed to wake Tamaki up and bring the twins back to their senses. When they were thinking again, she had to stop them from rushing into the kitchen and killing Maria. She convinced them that it would be better if they looked for the others before Kyoya murdered the other two for their misguided justice and for kidnapping him. They searched the whole house, finally finding them in Kyoya's room.
Kyoya was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, a pillowcase over his head. Haruhi didn't know whether to cry or laugh when Mori let them into the room. She spun to the five that stood just behind the door, eyeing Kyoya's form suspiciously.
"You. Are. All. Crazy." She stressed on each word. "Why are you treating Kyoya like some terrorist? It's Kyoya for God's sake, do you realize how stupid it is to tie him up to a chair?"
"That is NOT Kyoya!" Tamaki shot back defiantly. "Kyoya does not sit on the floor, he does not laugh, and he sure as hell doesn't let anyone touch his head!"
"That cook took care of us when we were kids! She's like his nanny! Can't you give the guy a break and let him be a kid sometime?" Her voice rose with anger.
The five blinked at her, unused to and slightly scared of Haruhi's anger. "Kyoya's more grown up than adults." Tamaki deadpanned. "He hasn't been normal the whole day! He laughed twice! And he didn't kill Kyoru for waking him up! THAT IS PROOF THAT IT IS NOT KYOYA!"
"Fine! You want proof that this is Kyoya? I'll give you your damn proof." She stalked over to the chair and yanked off the pillowcase. Immediately, the temperature in the room seemed to drop drastically and Kaoru would swear that he could see his breath.
Haruhi undid the cloth that Honey and Mori had tied around Kyoya's mouth and then started work on the intricate knots of the band around Kyoya's hands. The latter's eyes roamed over the Hosts that stood against the door, rooted to the ground, suddenly unsure whether they would leave the room alive.
Kyoya's voice was soft and smooth when he spoke, with no trace of any hostility whatsoever. The very sound of it made their insides melt. "All I did was talk to an old friend in a place that I am very familiar with. Comfortable, in fact. Now, why is it, that in the middle of my very entertaining conversation with my good friend, two people barge into this place that I am comfortable in, an action that I find is very intrusive, by the way, and start throwing insults at this good friend of mine that I have not seen for years? To top it off with a metaphorical cherry, these two people did not stop at scaring my dear friend, no, they had to make it worse by actually kidnapping me. And then they tied me to a chair," Here, his voice took on a friendly tone, "Tell me," he began just as Haruhi undid the last of the knots and the makeshift cuff fell away.
He stood up, rubbing his wrist idly, "why I should not kill all of you."
The question was met with silence. The other Hosts could not tell if he was being serious or if he just wanted to scare them. Kyoya walked over to them, stopping when he was a few feet away. He locked eyes with all of them, making sure that they saw the murderous intent in his eyes. "Do that again," he said, his voice still friendly and completely at odds with the anger in his eyes, "and even Haruhi won't be able to keep you alive." With that, he walked past them and out the door. It was silent again after he left as they stared at each other wide-eyed, partly glad to still be breathing and partly still scared that if they moved an inch, they would find that their body was no longer intact.
"I told you so," they started at the sound of Haruhi's voice. They had forgotten that she was even in the room. She smirked at them as she headed for the door. She stopped just as she passed the threshold of the room and turned to them, "If you do that again," she said, an evil glint in her eyes, "I don't think I'd want to save you."
They stared at her retreating back, suddenly seeing how the two dark-haired Hosts had been best friends.
xxxxx
That night after dinner, they decided to go to a funfair that was in town. Yuri was coerced into joining them. They tried to stay together but as is usual with crowded places, they soon got separated. Tamaki and the twins found themselves in front of the multiple booth of games, delighted at the simple games that commoners enjoyed. Honey and Mori drifted off to the booths that sold food and Mori had a difficult time keeping Honey from buying all the sweets. Kyoya, Haruhi, and Yuri were left to wonder aimlessly around, as neither three were particularly interested in funfairs.
Soon, however, the atmosphere seemed to draw Haruhi in. She convinced Yuri to join her for a few games and rides, even managing to get Kyoya to agree a couple of times.
Hours later, Haruhi and Kyoya found themselves sitting on a bench a few feet away from the funfair watching people walk by. Yuri had left them there and gone off in search of the others so that they could all head home. Haruhi sat with her elbows on her knees, her chin on a fist, staring contemplatively ahead of her. Kyoya was leaning against the bench, his head resting on it, seemingly tired from dragged around by Haruhi.
Suddenly, Haruhi felt something knock her knee. She turned to look at Kyoya who had not moved at all except for his knee. He straightened slowly and almost imperceptibly leaned in closer to her. He stared ahead but his words were directed at her, "We're being watched."
Haruhi mimicked his position, seemingly looking at whatever it was that Kyoya was looking at, "Where?"
Kyoya raised his arms and locked them above his head, stretching slightly to his left and then let them fall back to his sides. Haruhi glanced out of the corner of her eyes in the direction Kyoya had bent and saw a person clad all in black with a cap pulled low over their face leaning against a tree some way away from them. She had seen that person several times throughout the time they had spent there.
"Do you think they're following us?" She asked, turning to Kyoya with a grin, as though to suggest that they do something else at the fair. She could see the person better and they seemed to be completely unaware of the two of them on the bench, staring at the crowd of people walking by.
Kyoya shrugged and slipped an arm along the back of the bench. Haruhi leaned back against it, and he wrapped the arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to his side. To anyone who was watching, they would see a couple who had come to the fair to get away from school to spend time alone with each other. To anyone watching, when Kyoya bent over to whisper in Haruhi's ear, "Maybe you should call Yuri now." And a brilliant smile lit up her face because she hadn't considered it, it would seem like he was suggesting something that they could do together instead of stay at the fair.
Unfortunately for them, however, the person who saw their act was none other than the resident overdramatic King of the host club. Unaware of him, Kyoya wrapped his other arm around Haruhi to hide her phone from the possible stalker. As she looked down to text Yuri, Kyoya rested his chin on her bent head and shifted slightly so that his body wasn't angled so uncomfortably.
As his eyes scanned the area in the hopes of seeing Yuri, they locked with a pair of blue eyes that was staring at them with his mouth agape. Kyoya couldn't stop the smirk that crossed his face when he saw him, not that he really wanted to stop it anyway.
He angled his head slightly to the side so that his lips were just above Haruhi's ear but he was able to keep eye contact with the other. "Don't turn around now, but I think Tamaki thinks we're cuddling." He grinned when he felt Haruhi's shoulders shake slightly and the sound of her laughter brushed past his ear.
Tamaki was obviously distressed. Due to what had happened earlier that day, none of the five hosts dared go near Kyoya but he desperately wanted to save Haruhi from whatever perverted thoughts he knew was going through Kyoya's mind. He knew that Kyoya that Haruhi was in danger from the former because there was a twisting feeling in his gut that he got whenever any of his friends looked Haruhi that way and he had the sudden urge to yank Haruhi away from the other boy. When Haruhi finally raised her head, Tamaki was relieved and was just about to walk over to the pair when she leaned up slightly and planted a peck on Kyoya's cheek. Tamaki froze for a second before swallowing his heart and continuing towards them.
Haruhi turned around and grinned at the approaching blonde, greeting him as though nothing had happened. Kyoya released her and stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up too.
Tamaki cleared his throat, "Yuri said you'd be here. Everyone else is waiting at the parking lot." The pair nodded and they made their way through the fair towards the parking lot in silence. There was cheap music and laughter in the air surrounding them but between the three was a silence and a tenseness that spoke volumes of how uncomfortable they had become.
They soon reached the parking lot and walked towards the group of friends that stood waiting next to the limo. Yuri pushed away from his position where he was leaning against the side of the limo and took a few steps forward to meet them halfway. Suddenly, Haruhi was yanked back hard by an arm that had snaked around her neck. With a strangled cry she stumbled back into a body and she heard a click just before she felt the barrel of a gun against her temple. When the arm had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her, Yuri had whipped out his gun and he now stood tensely aiming it at them.
He dared not shoot for fear of shooting Haruhi whose body blocked most of her attacker's.
"Move back, both of you," Haruhi heard the voice loud against her left ear, opposite where he held the gun. Kyoya and Tamaki slowly inched backwards to the group, Tamaki looking helpless while Kyoya's face was impassive.
"I'm going to leave with her and none of you are going to follow me. Or you know what happens. We clear?" There were slow nods as he slowly backed away from them towards the exit of the parking lot. Haruhi heard him chuckle slightly, "You're too easy. I almost want to give you back to them so I have someone to shoot," he whispered to her.
"Why are you doing this?" She ground out. His forearm was pressed hard against her throat, barely allowing her room to breathe.
"You've got some nasty people that want you dead, little girl. Shouldn't have been born so rich, should you?" He was enjoying his victory, Haruhi could tell from his voice. She prayed that somehow Yuri would be able to get to them before they exited the area.
"If I'm supposed to be dead, why are you kidnapping me instead?"
"Wouldn't be good for me if you were shot in the middle of a parking lot in front of all these people. You're supposed to die more... subtly."
Haruhi felt a shiver run up her spine. She tensed when he pressed the gun harder against her temple. "I told you that you ain't gonna follow me," he called out. Yuri had inched forward and now stood about half a dozen cars away from them. He had his gun lowered but at the ready, waiting for any opening he might have.
Haruhi's kidnapper suddenly stopped moving. As she was facing forward, she didn't see what Yuri and the others saw. A knife blade glinted wickedly in the low light cast from the boundaries of the fair. The flat side of it rested against the attacker's neck. One flick of the wrist and it would be embedded in the attacker's neck. It only dawned on Haruhi what was happening when she heard a low, feminine voice, "She's mine," the newcomer growled. "You know the drill."
The attacker slowly released her neck, raising the freed hand in the air and slowly bent to drop the gun and kick it under a car. Haruhi quickly moved away from the two assassins and turned only when she reached Yuri's side. She recognized the knife-wielding attacker to be the person who had been following her and Kyoya.
Yuri raised his gun just as the end of the knife made contact with the first assassin's head, knocking him unconscious. Even as his body crumpled in front of her, she flipped her knife so that she was holding the blade and flung it at Yuri.
A scream sliced through the air just moments before a body hit the ground with a sickening thud.
xxxxx
What do you think? I love cliff-hanger endings when I'm the one writing them! *insert evil laughter here* I'm considering starting a story blog because I have a lot of one-shots put into different sites. Hmmm, should I? Would you visit? Would love to know your opinions (:
R&R! I'd die without them. dazed!Kaoru is beyond cute *flails* *w*