Chapter Seven:
He stared down at the small girl before him with wide eyes, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. At first he tried to tell himself that he was wrong, that this long haired girl with the loud mouth couldn't be the same mousy girl who had pretended to be a boy all through High School.
And then she spoke his name, like an unanswered prayer that he had been waiting years for. Part of him felt relieved, a long forgotten heartbreak finally being mended… But the dominant part of him, the hot headed and easily angered part, burned red with forgotten rage.
How long had she been back in Japan? Why hadn't she reached out to him or his brother or any of the others upon her return? If goodbyes being too hard had been the real reason she had left without saying anything to them, returning should have been their mending point. If she had ever cared for him at all she would have come to see them the moment she landed in their home country.
Before he knew what he was doing he had reached out and grasped her upper arm. His grip was firm, but even in his anger he was gentle with her. The boy she was with however disagreed.
"Get your hands off her," Reiji practically snarled, roughly grabbing at Hikaru's hand and pulling it from Haruhi's small frame.
Hikaru glanced down the length of the other boy, taking note of his wrinkled clothes and Hikaru's bag over his shoulder. He could see the way the boys hand rested gently on Haruhi's lower back as he placed himself protectively closer to her, ready to yank her away from Hikaru should he reach out to grab her again.
Hikaru opened his mouth to retaliate, but Haruhi's movements were faster. She placed a gentle hand upon Reiji's arm and gave him a weak smile. "I'll meet you inside, okay?"
Reiji blanched, looking at her with incredulous eyes. "Are you serious?"
Haruhi nodded, her gaze turning towards where Hikaru stood glanring at her. "Hikaru is an old friend."
Reiji's eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between the strange pair. "I'll just be inside the door. If you need me…" He hesitated for another moment, still glaring angry daggers at Hikaru who now stood with a snarky smirk upon his lips and his arms crossed over his chest.
Once Reiji had disappeared into the building, though Haruhi could see him watching them through the window, she blew air through her messy bangs. "What are you doing here, Hikaru?"
The boy raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Me? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I work here." She stated plainly, gesturing towards the building.
Say hi to the pretty intern for me.
Hikaru blanched. Honey knew. He knew and he hadn't told anyone or prepared them for her. "You're the intern." A statement, not a question.
Haruhi merely nodded.
"Master Hikaru! I see you've already met Miss Fujioka. She's the best and brightest we have to offer here." Akiyama gloated, a smile upon his features as he gently clasped Haruhi on the back with a strong hand. "The board is already upstairs in the conference room. Shall we join them?"
Hikaru's gaze softened as he worked to control his anger, turning his attention from Haruhi to where her boss was standing. "Yes. I'm rather busy today and would like to take your progress back to my brother."
Kaoru. Haruhi visibly flinched at the mention of the other Hitachiin twin. Loosing everyone had been one of the hardest parts of her life, having them slowly trickle back was becoming increasingly harder.
Akiyama kept his hand upon her back as he chatted with Hikaru about golf and other work related topics, guiding her towards the conference room where the meeting would be taking place. Part of her wanted to duck out, to escape before she was forced to sit through their meeting. Part of her wanted to stay.
Every so often she would catch Hikaru's gaze, her eyes begging with him to understand the position she was in. When their eyes met, his gaze would suddenly harden and he would look away.
The damage she had done was irreparable.
Xxx later xxX
Four hours later and Haruhi could feel herself nodding off; a quick but gentle elbow to her ribs jolted her upright as Reiji saved her from the embarrassment of falling asleep. A light and grateful smile fluttered over her lips as she silently thanked him, returning to her feverish scrawling.
None of her notes made any sense and she would have to beg Reiji to let her copy some of his later. For now, she was distracted imagining the life that Hikaru and Kaoru had created for themselves.
In her head they had both married a pair of wealthy and snarky twins that rivaled their juvenile personalities. They lived in a big house all together and had forcibly taken over their mothers design company. They were happy and successful and still up to all of their old tricks.
She had so lost herself in the fantasy of their imagined lives that she hadn't noticed the rest of the room stand for their goodbyes. Hastily she jumped to her feet, bowing low in Hikaru's direction in show of respect. But the boy did not move. He stood and gazed down upon Haruhi for a long moment, mentally berating himself for all of the time that had been lost.
The exchange between them did not go unnoticed by the rest of the men in the crowded room.
"Can I speak with you in private, Miss Fujioka?" The anger still burned in his eyes and as she rose back to her full height she could feel the fear rippling through her. How angry was he? "Perhaps you could grant her the rest of the day to assist my constituents and I with her legal expertise?"
His words were so formal, so business, that Haruhi's illusion of the happy-go-lucky and scatterbrained boys shattered around her.
"I think Miss Fujioka is already assigned to another case for today." Reiji spoke, his voice sharp and his aggravated glare directed at the former Host.
"What are you talking about, Reiji? I think we can spare Miss Fujioka for the day. She can write her reports in the morning." Akiyama sent a pointed look in Reiji's direction. If their highest paying client wanted to take the intern from the office for the day, then he could. His look dared Reiji to argue.
"I…" Haruhi wanted to protest, she wanted to refuse… but she couldn't find a valid reason. "Let me put away my files and I'll meet you in the lobby…" She whispered dejectedly, gathering her things and heading out of the conference room towards her cubicle.
Reiji was not far behind. "You don't have to do this, Haruhi." He spoke comfortingly. "If you don't feel safe going with him…"
Haruhi held up her hand, silencing Reiji's protest. "I'll be fine. I already told you, Hikaru is an old friend. He was startled to see me before, is all."
"Is he an old boyfriend?" Reiji asked, crossing his arms over his chest and watching her with cautious eyes as she steadied herself to go find Hikaru.
"Not this one," she smiled, reassuringly. But I'm sure you'll meet the old boyfriend soon. "I'll see you later," she breathed, brushing past him as she headed towards the library.
She felt his presence before she saw him, as he snaked across the lobby and wound a protective hand around her waist. Being this close to any member of the Host Club always left her breathless and reeling, and in her anxious state she allowed Hikaru to guide her through the crowd of people and towards his town car parked right out front.
Stealing glances up at him, Haruhi could only imagine the way he was going to react to her. She could see the line of stress etched into his forehead. She knew it was taking a lot for him not to have it out with her in the lobby in front of everyone. Hikaru had really matured but underneath his polished exterior he was still the same easily irritated boy who had saved her from a thunderstorm all those years ago.
He held the door open for her and she climbed inside his car, sitting across from him in the backseat as he waved his hand and motioned for the driver to take them to… where? Where was he taking her? Normally the idea of being whisked away in the back of a car by a man would have frightened her, but deep inside she knew no matter how angry Hikaru was, he would never hurt her.
"Where's Kaoru?" Haruhi asked, biting down on her bottom lip gently. This was a safe conversation, she assumed; safe enough to prolong his wrath a bit longer.
"He'll be meeting us soon."
"You told him I was back?" She asked nervously.
"No." He glared at her through narrowed eyes. "He's doing business with Tamaki today."
"Ah." She knew what Hikaru was doing; he was protecting his time with Haruhi by keeping her presence from their King. The story that Tamaki had told about her departure left him looking heartbroken. No doubt they all believed he still loved her.
The car pulled to a stop outside of a park that Haruhi didn't recognize and Hikaru climbed out. Slowly she followed after him as he stormed down a path. They seemed to have been walking forever before he rounded on her. The tips of his ears were red, no doubt an effect of holding his anger in.
"Where the hell did you go?" He practically yelled.
She closed her eyes and took a calming breath. "Boston."
"Why the fuck didn't you say goodbye?"
She flinched slightly at the volume and tone of his voice. This was the reaction she had been expecting from all of them. Honey and Takashi had been so kind and understanding of her plight that they had weakened her expectations. She had been treated so kindly by the elder two that her expectations had changed. She didn't think she would get such harsh treatment from the boy now fuming before her. "I…" She wanted to tell him the truth, that Tamaki had told her to stay away and she had. That breaking his heart had been a lie and that she had done it for all of their benefits…. But Tamaki was their King, he was her King, and just as he hadn't defamed her name she wouldn't tarnish his. "It was too hard… I thought if I said goodbye to everyone I would have changed my mind about going."
This seemed to take him aback slightly, his anger seeming to fade. "You didn't even walk the stage."
"I didn't want to see any of you." This part at least was true. She hadn't wanted anyone to see how hurt she really was.
"You never fucking wrote to us." She could see his anger rising again. "Tamaki I could understand. You dumped him flat. But the rest of us? What the hell did we ever do to you to deserve being treated like that?!"
She took another calming breath. She could not be weak. Desperately she tried to recall the lie Tamaki had told them all.
Tama-chan told us that you had decided not to be part of the Host Club anymore now that school was over. He told us you had repaid your debt and that saying goodbye was just going to be too hard for you.
"It was too hard for me, Hikaru. I just didn't know what to do and running seemed like my best option. I had to do this, I had to leave and I had to go to college and I had to really make something of myself without all of you… because Tamaki would have given me everything. He would have opened every door for me and I never would have known what I could do without your money." Part of what she said was true, she had wanted to prove to the world that she could do things on her own but their money had never been the deterrent for her. Her choices making Tamaki hate her had been the most terrifying thing she could imagine. Losing him was easier because in the end she knew he would end up happy.
"So you left because our parents are rich? You left because we would inherit their money?" His face contorted to mirror the disgust she felt within her heart. "That's your excuse? That's… That's fucking heartless!"
Again she flinched, her body convulsing as she sprung into action. Quickly she closed the distance between them, folding into him as if it were natural. Her arms wrapped around his waist, her cheek pressed against his strong chest. Her arms were wrapped as tightly around him as she could. "I'm sorry…" She breathed; squeezing her eyes closed as she held onto him and silently prayed he would understand. "You're right. It was heartless. I didn't think of anyone else's feelings… I never wanted to hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"
For a long moment he stood incredulously, eyes wide as he listened to her apology. Slowly the ice upon his heart melted and slowly he wound his arms around her, caving in upon her body as he gripped her tighter and rested his cheek upon the crown of her head. "It's okay," he whispered, honestly believing his words. Forgiveness would be far down the road, but for now his anger was placated.
Their toy was back.
The moments seemed to tick by them, neither willing to release the other. She had needed this, the friendship she had lost all of those years ago. She longed for the understanding that, even after all of the heartache and time that had passed still resided within her greatest friends. They couldn't hate her for long, could they? One day they would need to forgive her and one day she would give herself?
"Who's the girl?"
Startled, Haruhi stumbled a half step back from their embrace, though Hikaru's arms remained wound around her loosely.
Her eyes met with that of the newcomer and her heart stopped in her chest.
"Kaoru?"
Author's / Note: Your support is so overwhelming! I'm glad you all love this story as much as I love writing it. We're going to see Kaoru in the next chapter and then we'll go back to some of the other characters who are less known from the show… Maybe Renge? Or the Zuka Club? I've got many ideas brewing. Thank you so much for your love! On a side note; your reviews are coming in so fast and I'm trying to keep up with my promise to update after every three reviews... unfortunately I've got to get some school work done too so there won't be another update until Monday... Unless I get ten reviews for this chapter. If I get ten reviews I'll update again.
Deadbat-7fold: I'm very glad you liked drunk Haruhi. It was hard for me to decide how to portray her. She's always so well put together that I figured drunk Haruhi would be the opposite, care free and without inhibitions.
Bmg20: I don't know why I feel every chapter needs to end with a cliffhanger… It's going to keep happening though so I'm glad you like it lol
KanameZeroYuki: Hotheaded… somewhat. I think there will be more to it later. Haruhi can't show her weakness so she resolved the situation as best as she could, opening her heart and apologizing for what she had done to them.
Wealhtheow1: There is going to be a lot more of Tamaki as the chapters go by. I have a lot planned for after he and Haruhi run into each other but that's still quite a few chapters away. I think I want him to be the last reunion she has.
As always; Much love!
Kaasuten
