A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for the support of this story. Sorry for the delay, we had every intention of publishing yesterday, but due to technical difficulties with mcangel1976, we were unable to. We want to thank everyone that is serving in the Armed Forces for their country for their dedication and service. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY EVERYONE!
Chapter 6 – A Duel for Life
He fought the darkness, the nothingness that surrounded him, engulfed him. Where was he? He wasn't sure, but he did know that he needed to fight for Haruhi. He had to get to her, to rescue her, to bring her back home where she belonged.
Satoshi's eyes started to move and flutter with his determination to open them and escape the abyss. Losing was not an option, he had to overcome everything that was holding him captive and walk back into the light; and he did. His eyes popped open and he found himself in a brightly lit room where everything looked white and sterile. Glancing around the room, he noticed that he was not alone; people were surrounding him: his parents, his brother, his cousins, and the other hosts. One person was missing though… Haruhi.
"Satoshi!" His mother cried out when she noticed her son was awake grateful that he had not been taken from them and his injuries were not as serious as they first appeared. He was awake now and that was a blessing in her eyes.
"Mmmom?" Satoshi croaked out, his voice rough from disuse and his mother threw herself on top of him in an awkward embrace. Lifting his arm he grimaced with the pain that shot through his shoulder and arm. That is when everything came rushing back to him: Haruhi being taken, the fight, being stabbed and cut, everything. "Wh-where is Haruhi?" He questioned them hoping that they had found her and she was safe. The panic was on the rise when he saw everyone drop their heads unable to look at them in the eye. Frantically moving his eyes to his big brother, he knew Mori would tell him what he wanted to know, "Taka?"
Mori met his brother's eyes and could see the pain and fear swirling around in their depths, and in that moment he wished he could take all of his brother's terror and anxiety away from him and shoulder it himself. Placing a hand on his brother's leg, he told Satoshi what was asked of him in that one word, "They haven't found her yet. Kyoya got a text from her the night she went missing and tried to use her phone to find her, but the signal went dead before he was able to get a pin point location. We know the area she is in, but that is about it. We are still looking for her."
Akira Morinozuka pulled his wife off of his youngest son. When he had received a phone call that said his son was in the hospital with knife wounds, he knew a horror that he had never experienced before. It was something he wished on no parent because in that moment he did not know if his son would live or die. Rushing to the hospital with his wife and eldest son, Kyoya had called and told Mori that Satoshi was in surgery, but no major damage had been done. He had lost blood and was receiving a transfusion, but he would be alright. Then the other shoe had dropped. Haruhi was missing. What had happened to her? Were they together when Satoshi was attacked? There were more questions than answers. That was until the letter arrived and then a new nightmare began.
Looking down at his son, Akira tried to reassure Satoshi and to calm him down, "They will find her. We just have to be patient."
Satoshi's eyes grew wide with fright and he immediately tried to get out of the bed he was lying in. He needed to rescue the woman he loved. He didn't get beyond sitting up before his brother and father were pushing him down again and telling him to lie still. Tears stung his eyes as he shook his head and yelled, "He has her! Katsuro has Haruhi and he is going to hurt her!"
"You won't do her any good in your condition right now Satoshi," Kyoya stated pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he stood at the end of the hospital bed, "Trust me when I say I have every available resource looking for her and we will find her. I will not give up until she is safe." Haruhi had become one of his closest friends and he was worried that the longer it took to find her, the worse her condition would be. He already felt like he had failed her because he had not been able to locate her yet, but he would not give up until she was home safe. That was the promise he made to Ranka, and it was the promise he made to himself.
Fighting the tears of pain and worry, the young man lay back against the pillows behind him. Where could she be? Was she hurt? He was sure she was scared, but knowing Haruhi, she would probably try not to show it. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Satoshi brought his arm up and covered his eyes unable to fight the tears that flowed down his cheeks any longer. He had failed her and let a monster take her; now he was unable to do anything that would help her.
"Tell him the rest of it," Chika demanded from his position on the opposite side of the bed from Mori and his parents.
"Chika-Chan!" Honey chastised his brother on saying anything that could bring more grief and panic to their cousin.
Glaring at his older sibling, Chika growled, "He has the right to know everything. If you coddle him and keep it from him, it will do more harm than good!" He believed his best friend needed to know the whole story because if Satoshi found out they were keeping something from him, it would be worse than telling him up front. If it was him lying in the hospital bed, he would want to know all of the details no matter how bad it was.
Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru spoke up and told Chika to stop talking. They did not agree with the younger man and didn't think Satoshi needed to be told more than what he had been.
"Shut up you three. You are just mad because you lost the girl! He has every right to know what is going on with his girlfriend!" Chika sneered. The trio had been told about Satoshi and Haruhi hours after his cousin had been brought to the hospital and two of them had very aggressive reactions to the news. Tamaki and Hikaru had not wanted to accept the fact that Satoshi and Haruhi were together now. Kyoya had been the one to convince them both, but that did not mean they liked the news.
"Tell me what?!" Satoshi questioned loudly tired of the bedlam that was reining in his room at the moment.
Everyone looked at each other before they turned their attention back to the patient. Kyoya became the spokesperson since he was the one holding the evidence. He had sent it to his people to see if they could pull any clues off of it, but other than telling him who the perpetrator was, they couldn't give him anything. Clearing his throat, he extracted the letter and picture from his black notebook and handed them to Satoshi, "These were delivered the morning after you were admitted to the hospital. Katsuro has challenged you to a fight to the death, and Haruhi is his leverage. It is to take place in three days' time. He is taking advantage of the fact that are injured and probably won't be healed enough to fight to the best of your abilities."
Satoshi scanned the letter and felt the fire of anger burning through him. The picture showed Haruhi with a bruise and a cut on her cheek; a lock of hair was taped to the bottom of the letter and Satoshi knew as he ran his finger across the short brown strands that it belonged to his girlfriend. His fury was escalating. He read the letter once again:
Morinozuka,
As you lie in your hospital bed, be aware that I still have your little slut. She would make an excellent play thing, don't you think? I have already used her as a punching bag and that hit is nothing like what will happen to her if you don't meet me so that we can finish our fight. You stripped me of my honor and win, so I think it is only fair that l strip you of your life's blood. I challenge you to a duel to see who really the stronger man is. It will be to the death so you may want to bid farewell to your family. Come to the empty field behind Ouran alone on Thursday night at 6:00 pm or the girl will die and the only place you will be reunited will be in the afterlife. The school will be empty by then since there is early dismissal that day for your people.
Katsuro
He knew without anyone running any kind of tests that the blood on the letter was Haruhi's. Lifting his gaze, he stared unblinking at Kyoya, "When can I get out?"
"You can't think to actually fight him?" His mother probed aghast.
Without removing his eyes from the vice president of the Host Club, Satoshi answered her, "I can and I will. If I don't show up, Haruhi will probably be hurt worse, maybe die. I can't let that happen. Kyoya-senpai, when can I get out of here?"
Akira knew that his wife was about to say something else, but he laid a hand on her arm and stopped her. He didn't like it any more than she did, but this was Satoshi's decision and he could see now that his son was not going to back down from this challenge, "It is his choice." He held her as she started to cry, and then nodded to Kyoya to answer his youngest son.
"You have been unconscious for two days. I am not a doctor, but you should be able to get out tomorrow," Kyoya replied.
"Satoshi, you know that he is going to try to cheat, don't you?" Honey asked.
Nodding, he replied, "Yes, that is how I ended up like this in the first place."
"What do you mean?" Tamaki inquired deciding to rejoin the conversation.
"I was fighting him and winning when he had two of his men attack me with weapons. When I was trying to fight both of them, he came around behind me and stabbed me," Satoshi explained.
Kyoya was the first to react, "You will need to take some backup in case something like that happens again."
Even before Kyoya could finish his sentence, the injured teen was shaking his head in disagreement, "The letter said if I don't come alone, she is going to die."
"What are you going to do then?" Hikaru asked snidely.
With a steady gaze and eyes still glassy from tears, Satoshi answered, "I would die for her."
It was at that moment Tamaki and Hikaru knew that although they believed they loved Haruhi, it was nothing compared to how Satoshi Morinozuka felt. To give up one's life for another was the ultimate sacrifice.
Honey, Chika, and Mori exchanged looks with each other. Satoshi didn't know it, but he was not going to be going to that fight alone. They would stay hidden and if Katsuro cheated, they would be there to help keep the fight fair.
Kyoya resolved to find Haruhi before the fight. He would do anything to make sure she did not meet a gruesome end allowing Satoshi to concentrate on his opponent and the fight. He only hoped that he could accomplish his task, "Well if you will excuse me, I will talk to my brother about releasing you as soon as possible."
Everyone had their tasks and objectives, and no one wanted to fail. There was more on the line this time than just a trophy or medal, two lives could be saved or lost with the punch of a fist and the kick of a leg.
Katsuro's Secret Hideout…
A simple bunker in the back of an empty house provided an excellent base and kept them hidden from prying eyes. It had three rooms and was very efficient at making sure they were not found.
Katsuro knew that people were looking for Haruhi. She was the girlfriend of Satoshi Morinozuka and he came from a very prominent and powerful family. It was only reasonable that someone would be looking for her. That is when it had dawned on him; someone might be able to find her using her phone. He fixed that as soon as he could by smashing it with his foot. No one would be able to find her using that any longer.
Their guest had been there since Saturday night and it was now Monday. He couldn't think of anything better than keeping her around for a while longer. Once he dealt with Morinozuka, he would make sure she learned her place once and for all. When he had smashed her phone, she had tried to hit him. It was a feeble attempt at best and she learned that she better not hit him unless she wants to be hit back. Not only did she have a bruise on her cheek now, but she had a split lip.
This morning when he had sent the boys out for food, they had brought back a French maid costume thinking it would be funny to make her dress up as their servant. It had taken some convincing and her upper arm had a very distinct hand print, but it had been worth it. Oh she was still holding out hope that someone would come and rescue her, she just needed to realize that it wasn't going to happen.
Haruhi was sore and hurting, but other than a few groping touches and the hits she had received, they had left her alone for the most part. It had been humiliating to wear her "new clothes" around them, but she didn't have much of a choice. She had to hold out and believe that Satoshi or Kyoya would find her soon. Hopefully it would happen beforeThursday because she knew that Katsuro had every intention of being the one that walked away from his fight with Satoshi.
When she was let out of the bunker periodically, Haruhi tried to leave clues that would tell someone where she was, but thus far no one had found her, and it had been impossible to try to escape. She had tried and failed. At the moment she was at the mercy of her captors, however, she was sure they would soon know the wrath of her friends.
"Just a few more days and your little boyfriend will meet his maker," Katsuro sneered as he walked up to the corner Haruhi was huddled in.
Eyes flashing with anger, Haruhi declared, "It isn't him that his going to be meeting his maker. I hope you have made peace with your filthy life."
Katsuro lost his temper again and kicked her in the thigh before pulling her up by the hair to a standing position, "You need to watch what comes out of that mouth of yours. I would hate for such pretty lips to be cut off." With that he leaned forward and forced a kiss on her. Squeezing her cheeks, he forced her mouth open as he shoved his tongue into Haruhi's mouth.
Haruhi was fighting him with everything she had. She ignored the pain and did anything she could think of to get him to stop kiss her and to release her. Finally her torment was momentarily over as she was thrown back into the corner hitting her head against the wall. Breathing heavily, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I am going to be a gentleman and wait to take more until I know you are truly single," Katsuro laughed and walked into the other room again leaving Haruhi lying in the corner silently crying.
Thursday…..
It was the day of the fight and Satoshi was nervous. Kyoya's men had yet to find Haruhi and he was still trying to heal from his wounds. It didn't matter, he had to fight and he had to win. His brother and cousins had been helping him train, but he had only gotten his stitches out that morning and only because he forced the issue. It was a lot easier to move without stitches than it was to have them in.
Satoshi had stayed home from school that day so that he could meditate and prepare for battle. His mother was still against him fighting Katsuro, and his father supported him because Akira knew that he would not back down from the challenge, not when Haruhi's life was in danger. It had come down to a battle of necessity.
Honey, Chika, and Mori had also stayed home from school and the Host Club was closed for the day. The customers thought it was because the hosts had some team building event to attend, and it was in a way. Tonight would decide the fate of two of their friends. They all hoped Kyoya came through at the last minute.
Kyoya's men had been scouring the large neighborhood Haruhi's phone signal had originally come from. It was altogether possible that they had moved her since that text message was sent, but the Shadow King didn't think so. Katsuro was vindictive and prideful, and if he let Haruhi have access to her phone, he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. No, he was convinced their adversary had kept Haruhi in the general vicinity. Now they just had to find where exactly that was and time was running out.
The plan was simple… two of his "friends" would stay with Haruhi while he and his other three partners went to Ouran and took care of Satoshi on his own turf. Katsuro believed it was poetic justice that Satoshi would lose his girl and his life in the place he trained so hard on a daily basis. Morinozuka would not be walking away from this fight like he did on Saturday.
At 5:00 pm, Katsuro and his men left the bunker in order to get to their destination early. The three thugs he was bringing with him would need to get hidden before Satoshi showed up and then the young man wouldn't know what hit him. The fight would start off fair, but in the end… well all's fair in love and war.
Kyoya was sitting in the backseat of his car as it made its way into the neighborhood yet again when he happen to glance up and watch four figures emerge from a backyard and run down the block to a waiting car. They had inspected the house previously and it had been abandoned so what were people doing behind it? There could be a shortcut, but something told Kyoya to check it out, "Stop the car!"
Getting out of the car, Kyoya called a couple of his men to follow him along with his normal bodyguards. Moving towards the house slowly and carefully, Kyoya scanned the area for any clues that would tell him why those people were walking away from here. He had wanted to follow them so that he could see their faces, but his gut told him to investigate first. Something on the ground caught his eye as it flashed in the remaining sunlight that hovered in the sky and he approached it. Picking it up, it was a little crown phone charm, or to be exact the phone charm that Tamaki had given to Haruhi on her last birthday. Moving his eyes to and fro, Kyoya looked for any other clues that would give him any indication of where Haruhi was. Several feet ahead near the entrance to the backyard, a bobby pin with a flower that he knew he had seen Haruhi wear before. He was close. Moving through the gate, he quietly told his men to scan and look for anything that could be used as a hideout.
Within minutes one of the men walked up to him and spoke in hushed tones, "Kyoya-sama there is an entrance to a bunker hidden behind the bushes over there."
Kyoya nodded and called everyone to him. They had to move quietly and quickly if they wanted to be sure Haruhi was safely extracted. With a plan in place, he watched as the officers approached and acted. It turns out that the men that were left behind to guard Haruhi believed that when the door to the bunker opened, their friends were back because they had forgotten something.
When the bunker was secure, Kyoya entered the sub-par living conditions and found Haruhi shaking in a corner. She looked a little beaten, but she was alive. He had never felt so relieved in his life. He walked up to her slowly and tried to reassure her, "Haruhi?"
Haruhi recognized that voice. Lifting her head slowly, she caught sight of her friend, "Kyoya?" Was she dreaming? She had dreamt of someone coming for her several times before so she couldn't be sure.
Squatting down in front of the girl, Kyoya smirked, "Of course, who else could it be."
Raising her hand, Haruhi touched Kyoya's arm, poked him in the chest, and then touched his face. He was real and she started to cry, "You're real!"
"I'm real," Kyoya whispered wondering what hell she had been put through, "How about we get you out of here?"
"I can't walk," she said looking down at her lap. In one of his more zealous fits of rage, Katsuro had step on her shin and she believed her leg might be broken. On her other leg, her thigh was still bruised from the kick he had delivered a few days prior.
Kyoya had already seen the state of her one leg and knew that it would be difficult for her to get around her on her own, "I guess it is a good thing that I can carry you, and don't worry it won't cost you a thing."
Haruhi started to laugh. She couldn't help it, hearing Kyoya's voice and his jokes were music to her ears.
"Can you wrap your arms around my neck?" Kyoya inquired hoping that the leg was the worst of her injuries. When he received her nod and she had her arms around him, he lifted her bridal style and carried her through the bunker and to the entrance. There was no way he would be able to carry her up the stairs in his arms so he carefully put her down, "I am going to have to carry you on my back up the stairs." Shifting her around with the help of one of his bodyguards, he was able to get her out of the bunker and to freedom.
"What about Satoshi? He is walking into an ambush. Katsuro is taking three others to make sure he wins," Haruhi whimpered.
Kyoya knew something like that would happen, but they were prepared for that since Satoshi would have three additional men on his side also, "Mori-senpai, Honey-senpai, and Chika will be there with him."
"Satoshi agreed to that?"
"Not exactly, but we knew that Katsuro would try something like this. Satoshi did also, but he was worried about your safety. I have already had one of my men inform them all that you are safe. Come on now, I am going to take you to the hospital."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to go to Ouran."
"Haruhi, I think your leg is broken and you have multiple lacerations and contusions, I think it is better if you let them handle Katsuro and I take you to the hospital."
"NO! I want to go to Ouran!"
"What would you do if I forced you to the hospital?"
"Runaway," Haruhi stated bluntly.
Kyoya knew that he didn't have much of a choice. Haruhi would do whatever it took to get to the school in order to be with Satoshi. He could force the issue and have her sedated and strapped down, but she had already been through enough. Placing her in the back of his car, he ordered his driver, "To Ouran."
Satoshi knew he was walking into a trap, but he couldn't risk not showing up. He would give it his all in order to rescue the girl of his dreams, the one that captured his heart. Walking onto the field of battle, he glanced around trying to spot where Katsuro's backup was hidden, but could not spot them. He knew they were there though. The only one he saw in his line of vision was his challenger, "Where is Haruhi?"
"Hidden until the end of the fight," Katsuro sneered.
Approaching the battle ground cautiously, Satoshi's eyes never stopped scanning for possible dangers. He was as ready as he could be to face his enemy.
"Looking for something?" Katsuro knew that Morinozuka would not find anything because his men were hidden well.
Narrowing his eyes, Satoshi spoke through clenched teeth, "Nothing at all."
Laughing mirthlessly, Katsuro threw the first punch before Satoshi was expecting it, but he didn't make contact. He threw a second punch, and again he missed. Yelling, he rushed and was able to pull the other teen off balance.
Satoshi had quick reflexes and was able to dodge the punches Katsuro was throwing. He may not have been expecting the first blow to come that quickly, but he also knew that he was prepared for anything when it came to his opponent. When the other man rushed him and threw him off balance, he was able to push him off and spring to his feet before Katsuro could catch him while he was on the ground. He was lucky that the blow from Saturday did not break his leg and he could fight without that restriction.
Regaining his balance, Katsuro glared at his enemy. This man would not come out alive. Running towards the other teen, he leaped into the air for a high kick, but he was blocked and thrown to the ground with a kick landing in his midsection before he knew what was going on.
Satoshi knew he had to get in the first few hits if he was going to wear his opponent down, so when Katsuro fell to the ground from the blocked kick, Satoshi kicked him in the gut. As his opponent regained his feet, Satoshi did a roundhouse kick and hit him in the chest knocking him back a couple of paces.
Katsuro was seeing red. How dare Morinozuka attack him and be able to hit him! Screaming his rage, he ran up to his rival and started to throw haphazard punches. Some of them landed, but most of them were blocked. He had to find a way to throw his foe off of his feet.
Defending himself from punches was wearing Satoshi down. He was still not up to par to where he was before he fought Katsuro the last time and his arm and side were causing him severe pain. He was doing his best to push through it though. He needed to win.
It took a second, but Katsuro could see that he was wearing his nemesis down. "I knew he wouldn't be fully recovered," he thought before sending a kick that swept Satoshi's legs out from under him. It was time for his friends to join the fight. "It's time!" He yelled as loud as he could and when he realized no one was coming, he bellowed again. Still no one came.
Satoshi regained his feet, but would not lose his focus on the man in front of him. If he did, he may lose this fight, "It looks like your friends bailed on you. It is you and me." Throwing a punch at his unsuspecting challenger, he made contact with Katsuro's cheek, "That is payback for what you did to Haruhi." Not waiting for Katsuro to hit him back, Satoshi swept his legs out from under him and kicked his gut once again. Rolling his enemy to his back, he put pressure on Katsuro's right wrist with his foot, "Where is Haruhi?"
"I don't have to tell you a fucking thing," Katsuro sneered, "In fact no one will ever see her again." Trying to sit up so that he could fight, he felt a hit to his neck and blacked out.
Knowing that Katsuro would not give him the answers he sought, Satoshi did the only thing he could at the time, and he hit him in the neck and knocked his nemesis out. As soon as his enemy was dealt with, he fell to his knees out of breath crying that he had failed his girlfriend yet again. Running behind him alerted him to the fact that someone else was there and he whipped around to see Chika coming up on him quickly. Confused, he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Dealing with the three lackeys this idiot brought," Chika smirked.
Satoshi looked past Chika and could see his brother and other cousin with three men on the ground between them. They had saved his life, but what about Haruhi? "He wouldn't tell me where she is," he whispered softly his throat tight with the tears and fear that overtook him.
Chika knelt beside his best friend and smiled, "You should have brought your phone. Kyoya-senpai found her before the fight."
Snapping his head up, the young Morinozuka wasn't sure he heard his best friend accurately, "What?"
"He found her. In fact, she is right over there. She refused to let him take her to the hospital even though she needed to go," Chika stated pointing to a group of men and on one Shadow King's back, was Haruhi.
"Haruhi?" Satoshi thought he might be dreaming, but stumbled to his feet and soon ran over to where the vision was. The mirage never left and if anything it came more into focus than it was before.
Kyoya slowly lowered Haruhi to the ground and helped to support her after Satoshi regained his footing. Both of them would need to go to the hospital after this. He could see that the wound on Satoshi's shoulder had opened and was bleeding based on the amount of blood on his shirt and he was sure the one on his side was probably in the same state, but the look on his face at seeing Haruhi and the look on her face at seeing her boyfriend, made bringing her here first instead of the hospital worth it.
Running up to his girlfriend, he wrapped her in his arms, "You're alive."
"I'm alive," she cried ignoring the pain her body was in. She was back in Satoshi's arms and she didn't care how much it hurt, she was happy.
"I hate to break up this moment, but both of you need to be taken to the hospital," Kyoya smirked pushing up his glasses.
Looking up from where his head was buried in Haruhi's neck, Satoshi nodded, "Ok."
"You don't look like you are in any condition to carry her and she can't walk," the Shadow King said after examining the couple with his own eyes.
Sending a questioning glance at Haruhi, he asked, "Why can't you walk?"
"I think he broke her leg," Kyoya answered for Haruhi seeing as she was crying and didn't appear in any condition to answer for herself.
Satoshi wanted to carry Haruhi himself, but Kyoya was right, he couldn't do it, "You carry her. What about Katsuro and his men?"
Leering, Kyoya moved his head ever so slightly to create a glare on his glasses in the dimming light, "Oh, my men will make sure they are taken care of properly. Now let's go." With that, Kyoya swept Haruhi up in his arms as Satoshi was supported by his brother, and Hunny and Chika following. It was time to get the couple patched up.
