Canary

FanFiction

Disclaimer: In no way do I own or claim to own OHSHC. I am not selling this FanFiction and it is purely for personal use only.


Chapter 7 – Kuro no Naka ni Aruku

"…LP..SOMEBODY! HELP!" Ears were ringing, men came rushing down the hallways, all for the sonorous boom the echoed to the edges of the house. It echoed over the chants and fan shouts at the noisy television, over the business call Hayato was having not moments ago, over Ritsu trying to understand complex matrixes for homework.

As they drew close, the hallway was filled with smoke and bits of glass from pictures on the wall were stepped on; with no shoes on in a Japanese-style estate, everyone had to be careful as they quickly pushed it aside. A mass of figures were on the ground and seemed to be moving but it was yet unclear how many and who. The smoke only slightly dispersing, long hair became visible as well as a distinction of three, only one seemingly moving now. "…uya-san! Matsuo-san! Shikkari shiro!"

Now close enough, Matsuo was sprawled out from of the wall with Yuu between his legs and trapped under the weight of Tetsuya's body. There was blood on Yuu's hands from the back of Matuo's head and Tetsuya's shirt. Yuu kept calling out to them until Ryouta took her shoulders into his grip to calm her. Her eyes were wide with confusion and horror. "Ojou-sama, are you hurt?

She still could not even hear her own voice over ringing in her ears, much less Ryouta. She didn't know what to focus on; the memory, the smoke filling her lungs, the blood on her hands, her legs going to sleep with Tetsuya on them, the mass of people rushing to her and by her and around them, everything was happening too fast and her breathing getting strained in an anxiety attack was making it worse.

Ishioto, the So-Honbucho, told them to get her out of there and call an ambulance if they haven't already. He also called for some to come with him to apprehend the culprit. Ritsu watched as Yuu was pulled out from under Tetsuya and carried off down the hallway looking completely terrified. Then there was the sight of two of his vessels laid out on the floor in varied puddles of cerise fluid. Sirens could be heard off in the distance. Ritsu still trying to process this scene could only stand there and feel lost.

A hand took hold of Ritsu's arm and pulled him through the halls and deeper into the estate. When they made him sit down, he saw it was Ishioto trying to keep him from harm if another grenade was thrown in the confusion. Hayato was in there as well but on his way somewhere. He told Ritsu something but it wasn't heard over his own empty thoughts. The sirens got louder and louder until the blare was a steady volume, indicating that they were just outside. Men in white uniforms rushed pass the doorway and a few minutes later were retreating the other way with stretchers manned by the injured. Other white-suited men still were probing the halls for any other victims. One saw him and came up to check him for injuries but he too fell on deaf ears. All that could be heard after such a long pause in his mind was, 'what just happened?'

The blare of sirens had been gone for hours, and the perimeter of the syndicate had been restored and reinforced. Ritsu finally saw his room after the blast. Black stained the walls and a violent ring marked the source of it towards the center of the floor. Practice sheets for his Kanji strokes were either partially burnt or mostly burnt, the men were frantic to put them out before the flames consumed the walls too. The turtle tank was shattered but one safe Kamehito who retreated into his shell was crawling out from under it. Ritsu pulled a large piece of glass off Kamehito's shell, cutting himself on the bitty shards against it. Sucking his two cut fingers and taking the little reptile away from the tank while ignoring further injuries from the shards on Kamehito, he was washed clean of tiny glass in the sink. Coming back to the room, some of the men had come in with buckets and brooms. "What are you doing?"

"Oh! Uh…" the three were flustered and bowed raunchily as Shitaro explained, "Wakaa, we did not mean to intrude. We thought you were at the hospital and that we'd clean up while you were gone. We shall perform Yobitsume this instant!"

"You don't have to cut off any fingers. I just wanted to know why you were in here. You don't have to leave either." Shitaro continued to bow and Saaji took up speaking, "Thank you, Wakaa. For allowing this to happen, moushiwake arimasen deshita. We'll clean up quickly."

"Don't worry about it. Who attacked us? Uh…never mind, that was stupid. Where's Wakamiya-san?"

"Ojou-sama is at the hospital with Matsuo and Tetsuya, Wakaa." Ritsu's eyes widened, "What?!"

Yuu was sitting in her hospital bed hugging her knees. There was no way sensible for her to be calm. This was the one place especially she wanted least to be, aside from home. Images, words, they echoed in her head. Not just the explosion, 'This is the world you forced yourself into. Don't you dare look away.' Ritsu's father made her watch Ishioto hack his finger. He gave it willingly since security was his job. Just thinking about it made her vomit again. Ishioto was coming in from the ER and helped her, "Ojou-sama! Hang in there! SOMEONE! GET IN HERE!"

He held her hair back as best he could with one hand as she heaved over the trash can. Nothing was coming out except the glass of water she had. One of the nurses came in and helped with pinning back her hair, "Just let it out. Try to straighten your back so it'll come out easier."

She knew who was next to her and she couldn't bring herself to look at him, only spew more into wastebasket. She did manage an apology, "Ishioto-sa…" vomit, "I'm sorry. So…" more vomit. Ishioto realized maybe he shouldn't be touching her, but he had to say something to calm her, "It's just my pinky. I don't really use it."

"A-an' Matsuo an-d Tets…" more vomit. This time the nurse spoke up, "The other two are fine. Yoshid…Matsuo-san can go home in the morning. And Tetsuya-san can leave in a few days."

This guy must have been new because hearing about Tetsuya made her feel worse. She had nothing more to vomit and the whole upsurge made her weak from clenching her muscles so tightly through the worst of it. She tried to brace herself on the mouth of the waste bin but it's metal edges dug into her arms. She wasn't sure if the acid she smelled was from below or her throat given how sore it was. Hair stuck to her cheek as her tears tried to dry, new ones falling only made them stick more.

The nurse took her arms into his hands and lifted her, both helping her back to her bed, passing Matsuo who was knocked out in the bed two down from her. Ishioto understood why Hayato made her look and knew she had to face this, "Ojou-sama, look at it."

She hugged her knees under the cover as the nurse tried to stop him, "Please, she just stopped."

"You stay out of this! Ojou-sama, Look!"

"Please, sir."

"LOOK AT IT!"

She looked hesitantly. She saw his three remaining fingers and thumb poking out from the bandages and a bulge over where his right pinky used to be. The memories flashed again and she remembered him stifling his own grunts of pain as he did it. It wasn't even a clean cut, there was a nub left. It should be smaller now that they stitched it up. "This is not your fault! I let this happen! This is how our world is!"

"Sir, she needs to rest. And you'll disrupt you stitches." He eventually led Ishioto out with some help from another nurse. Yuu hugged her knees until another nurse came in to put an IV in her arm. Afterwards, she was left to herself. "He's right."

Yuu sat up hopeful as she saw the whites of Matuo's eyes, "Our world's not pretty. But you stepped into it." Tears filled the wells of her eyes as he continued. "It's up to you if you run from it or press forward. Because nothing's going to change."

She took a hint and wiped her cheeks with the arm that didn't hurt from a tube moving around in it, wiped her eyes of new tears too since they didn't want to cooperate. Matsuo smiled, "Get some sleep, Ojou-sama. And Tetsuya will be fine. He'll get some stitches and be home soon 'nough to show off his scars. 'Bout time too."

A bird bathing in the pond in the back yard a few doors down woke Yuu up long enough to realize sunlight was trying to pierce the washi paper of the sh ōgi doors. Matsuo's shadow could be seen through the door. He insisted on guarding Yuu's room personally. In fact, his shadow was so visible, his head could be seen nodding. Yuu was about to offer her pillow when her rustling sheets startled him awake. It didn't matter much since he was out the next minute. So she went to get herself that glass of water herself.

Down the hall, in the same room the men were yelling at the television that night, she didn't find any glasses so she grabbed the only drink in there. She wished it was tea or juice, would have gone somewhere else if she knew where but she didn't want to disturb anyone else this early or make herself suspicious now that everyone was on guard. If they mistook her for another assailant in those dark hallways…she shuddered as she sipped the beer. It didn't help her dry throat at all. Just then, Matsuo came in somewhat panicked, then calmed down, then he was worried again, "Ojou-sama, are you okay with that?"

"Not really, but there wasn't anything else." He approached to take it and replace it with whatever he intended to replace it with, "It's fine. I wouldn't want to waste it now."

"Don't worry about that. Besides, this kind is not suited to Ojou-sama." She let him take it and lead her to the kitchen for some warm tea. It was quiet, but for some reason that unsettled her, "So Tetsuya-san is checking out today?"

"Mhm, is that why you can't sleep?" Being up this early, it made sense that he'd ask that, "I slept. I was just thirsty."

An embarrassing grumble came from her stomach, "You didn't eat much last night either." She felt defeated and ashamed, "But you haven't cried again so that's a start, I guess."

The bandages on her hand and shoulder weren't necessary anymore but she started to wear gloves because her finger still showed noticeable signs of damage. Ritsu's was starting to wake up earlier. Perhaps he was just as anxious as everyone else. He now slept two rooms down from Yuu, Hayato sleeping between them so he can hear everything, perhaps his way of being protective.

School was shorter than usual, or it at least felt that way. She took to wearing her hair in a clip to prevent attracting further attention, in case Ouran wasn't safe either. At lunch, she went to the library to access a computers for some research. School was hardly her focus today because after school, she'd have to do something potentially dangerous.

Before she left, she went to tell Ritsu where she was going but his club-mates told her he went to buy a shovel he broke. They assured him it wasn't necessary but he felt guilty. "Oh, could you tell him I went to run an errand?"

"Sure." Yuki nodded. Yuu noticed a yellow-leaf plant where Ritsu usually worked that seemed very foreign but appeared familiar. It held firm in the ground as the strong winds blew. She decided to ask him about it later and dashed off to the front gate, vying against taking the car as Saaji was one of the people she was surprising with the tickets.

She had arranged for them to be dropped off at a shop nearby for her to pick up but using her personal account to get them definitely tipped off Ienari's cronies in the area. So she donned her hoody, her jeans still torn since she met Ritsu, and her old sneakers. She looked like any common boy of lower-middle class, hopefully that would keep her safe. Her hood threatened to blow off in the zephyrs but she clenched tight to it.

Only a small ways from Ouran campus, she came to a sports shop where she paid the owner for holding the envelope with Wakamiya Yuu typed onto it. She double checked the number: eleven for Ishioto, Isamu, Katashi, Saaji, Matsuo, Tetsuya, Gendo, Yuuji, Katsu, Ryouta, Shitaro, and three for her, Ritsu, and Hayato so there would be little fuss over guarding them. They were even box seats, to which the shop owner admitted his jealousy.

On her way back, she was especially careful. Then a strong gust snatched the envelope from her as she was putting it in her pocket. It seemed cognitive as it kept waiting for her to come within reach before whisking away beyond her reach. At last she caught it and packed it in her bag when she saw a man in a suit. He wore Ienari's seal and was staring right at her while talking into his radio. Just then, Yuu realized she wasn't wearing her hood. He took one step and she ran.

She didn't dare look back in case it slowed her even in the slightest, but she heard his footsteps over her own. Then another sound scared her; she suddenly wasn't able to tell how many running footsteps she heard. The instant she looked back to check they had her. She cried out for them to let go but they held tight. She thrashed so much she never figured out how many there were, only that one of them was told to get the car. She couldn't go back. Not now. Not yet. Not before she figured something out. She was too close. Not yet.

Her arm broke from their grasp – getting in a sound punch with the momentum – but not the other. Once they had her again, she called out once more for help but it was muffled by a cloth. 'NO!' a pungent, sweet smell filling her nose so she stopped breathing for as long as she could. She fought but she could feel her body going limp. Her sight was growing hazy, zigzagging in places, colors blurring with her movements: red, a grey, then more red. There were clanging sounds growing fainter. She was sure the number of hands holding her decreased but then she felt her feet come off the ground. More red, some clangs, then a dimness, but the dark didn't come. She was awake, maybe she didn't have enough time to inhale bromoform.

She felt the urge to cough but two hands came over her mouth, she felt her strength coming back so she pulled at them. They let her go after a while but she pushed against whichever one had her to run. The ground felt like it was still there which was strange since by now they would be in the car. Her legs were mostly numb so she fell but two arms wrapped around her to pull her up. She kicked and scratched until her hearing started working again, "Wakamiya-san! It's me!"

She tried to focus her eyes but all she saw was red. Still, she knew that voice. She was falling back down but the red man picked her up and carried her somewhere she felt less inclined to resist until the man set her down on a bench. "Wakamiya-san, you okay?"

"Who…"

"It's me, Kasanoda." That's what that red was; his hair. But he was standing right in front of her and she still only saw a blur, except now it was lessened. "I…what happened?"

"I was at the flower shop when I saw you run past. I didn't know it was you at first but I knocked those guys out with a shovel."

And that would explain the clanging. Her vision was near to normal and her brain processing was almost fully functional, almost, "Where…park…"

"Do you feel dizzy?" Ritsu was trying to get as much information as he could. "My head…it's swimming."

He waited a while for her to become more cognizant, "Who were those guys?"

"They work for my fiancé." Yuu froze once she realized what she said. She didn't want to involve him. She hesitated to look at his face. It was between blank and shock. It was quiet for a while until she had the urge to cough. It snapped Ritsu out of whatever trance he was in, "Wakamiya-san, your nose!"

She touched above her lip, she was bleeding; a side effect from the chemical. She reached into her bag for a cloth which was surprisingly wide open. The envelope was gone, "Oh no. No. No. No, no, no, no. The envelope, the tickets!"

Ritsu reached into his uniform's inner pocket, "This? It was how I knew it was you those gu-…that your fiancé's men were chasing."

The last part seemed spoken with spite, "Um…" Ritsu stood, offering his hadkerchief, "Can you walk?"

"I can…" he turned to call his men to bring the car, "We should head back." RItsu didn't talk much after that.


Kuro no Naka ni Aruku – kuro = black, naka ni = into, middle, inside, aruku = to walk: Walk into the Black.

Shikkari Shiro! – roughly, the imperative form of "pull yourself together". If you put a –te at the end instead of a –ro, it would be more of a request.

So-Honbucho – HQ Chief

Yobitsume – Ritual of cutting off one's finger as a form of apology or penance

Moushiwake arimasen deshita – a very formal apology for something serious or when speaking to superiors. Deshita implies that something serious has been done worth apologizing so gravely for.

[A/N] ***Check out a picture I did of Wakamiya Yuu and Kasanoda Ritsu at Xai16 on deviantArt if you haven't already (I got lazy and used a base and substitute Photoshop tools but it came out great for someone who has NO IDEA how to use Photoshop)***

As I've said before, I don't want to make her a Mary-Sue (pretty, perfect personality, popular with the guys). If I did, that was not my intention but I felt it was suitable in the over-the-top OHSHC universe. I do take into consideration, though, that I DEFINITELY didn't want her to be visually like every other OC I've seen but I can't just give her blue hair as it clashes with the OHSHC formula. I wanted the hair to be unusual by Japanese standards but it had to be all natural. The over glorifying of her eye color was just a cheesy and I promise to tone it down. Never intended to make her a walking attraction. I do like how she can still take action when necessary.

I wish I could make her personality more compelling but her circumstance is part of the focus here. Whereas the in my gargoyle fanfic, the OC overcoming her warped personality is the drive of the plot and the canon character, Brooklyn, is overshadowed and becomes a support character, the focus of this story is the potentially deadly circumstances of the two main characters and how they clash all at once. In 'Impress Me' that formula works because the OC has so much inner turmoil that any serious issues on Brooklyn's behalf would over complicate things and probably further scar the OC. In 'Canary', the characters don't have a vast amount of depth so the simplicity of their personalities gives room for external conflict. Balance two equally severe circumstances to a combined climax and you get a decent story. Just a tip to get you all going on your own fanfic.

On a side note, it really doesn't take terribly long to type out my chapters even if I have all the info but as you saw before in my last chapter, I'm a full-time student with a part-time job. To any hesitating in taking Japanese, stop it; it's an easy language (just practice the writing by taking your favorite anime songs and translate them). When I have time, I'll go back and correct a few grammatical errors in my previous chapters so you guys can have a taste of REAL Japanese language. I'll try to get more chapters out over this break (will try to finish it but I make no promises). Well, until my next chapter, thank you ZO MUCH for sticking with me this long. Your love is greatly appreciated.