A/n: REVISED. I apologize for any grammatical errors and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 9
Haruhi slowly looked up, fear like a living thing running through her veins when she met the darkly amused gaze in the mirror. She whipped around, her hands gripping the sink behind her so tightly her fingers ached. She didn't understand why Akira Komatsuzawa, the president of the Newspaper club was standing in the girl's restroom with a video camera, but she was sure it wasn't good.
"I think you and I should have a talk."
Her heart was pounding and her palms began to sweat, but she still clenched her jaw in anger, "No, I don't think we do."
Akira shook his head with a look of false sympathy on his face, "Look Fujioka, I don't want this to be any harder than it has to be. I just want to ask you a few questions is all."
Haruhi pulled her hands away from the sink and clenched them into fists beside her, "I don't know what game you're playing, but I promise you, when the boys find out what you're up to you are going to regret this."
The bespectacled boy sneered, "They are nothing but bullies and I'm not afraid of them. All they know how to do is hide behind their families. I at least am trying to rise above my father's name and you are going to help me do that."
Her sudden hollow laugh surprised the both of them, "You think you're better than them? Wow, you're even more delusional than I thought. You will live your entire life and you will never be half the man that any of them are. You call them bullies, when the truth is they protect what they care about no matter what they have to do. You are the bully."
Akira's face flushed an angry ugly red and he took a threatening step forward and smiled when he saw her flinch. "I'm not a bad person Haruhi, but the public deserves to know what happened to you. Your precious harem of body guards tried to sweep it under the rug, but people want answers. Tell me Haruhi, did you set all this up for attention? Is it true that you went willingly with Hisoka Kimura? Is it true that you murdered Kimura and the very influential families you are involved with managed to cover it up? These are questions we deserve the answer to. I have been following you, but you are never alone. I cannot tell you how inconvenient and frustrating that is…so here I am taking the only chance I am likely to ever get. Believe me Haruhi, you aren't leaving here until you speak to me."
"Get the hell away from me. I promise you I will scream…what will you do then? What will you do when people see you in the woman's restroom harassing me?"
Akira snorted, "You are a commoner Fujioka, don't let your little friends or your presence in this school fool you into thinking you are anything more than that. You are as important as the chewed-up piece of gum on the bottom of our shoes. I will spin a story so quick and so believable you will never be able to show your face in this place again. So, I suggest you choose wisely. Talk little Fujioka and I will never bug you again."
Haruhi watched with wide eyes as he stepped progressively closer until he was inches from her, his hot breath in her face making her stomach roll in disgust. For a moment, for a single terrifying handful of seconds she wasn't in the girl's restroom at Ouran Academy. She was in a little house in the middle of nowhere, cornered by a tall man with a kind face and evil eyes who took joy in her pain. When her vision cleared and Akira stood in front of her instead of Kimura, it mattered very little to her. He wanted to hurt her and she wouldn't let him. She was small and physically she was not very strong, but when she lifted up her tiny arms to push him away, he flew into the stalls behind him.
She didn't hesitate to run, slamming into the door that she realized instantly Akira had locked. She could feel tears running down her face as her hands shook trying to unlock the large door. Just as she twisted the lock she felt strong bony arms wrap around her waist and roughly pull her back. She lifted her legs and slammed them against the door with all her strength making Akira lose his balance and taking her with him. She opened her mouth to let out a scream for help, but Akira slammed his sweaty palm over her mouth.
She struggled and despite knowing the pain it would cause her she lifted her head as much as she could and slammed it back against Akira's face. He shouted in pain and released her to hold his nose when the restroom door slammed open. Haruhi sobbed out in relief at the sight of Hikaru who stood there with wide eyes. Her hair was a mess, her clothes in disarray and tears streaked down her face, but driven by instinct she dove for the video camera. Akira tried to grab hold of her leg, but before he could touch her Hikaru was on him.
Haruhi held the camera to her chest and scrambled to the corner of the room and watched with wide wet eyes as Hikaru slammed his fist in Akira's face, smashing his glasses into two pieces. Akira tried to push the wild Hikaru off him, but was held down by Hikaru's knees that were placed firmly on his shoulders. He had nowhere to go and cried out in pain as another blow landed on his jaw.
It seemed like an eternity passed when the door opened again and Kaoru stood there, first looking at his brother and Akira and then to her, putting the pieces together. He called her name and tossed his phone to her, telling her to call one of the others before rushing to pull Hikaru off Akira before he killed him.
Haruhi's hand trembled as she struggled to dial Hani's number, when he answered he sounded confused, "Kaoru…you do realize I am in class right now don't you?"
Hearing Hani's voice, knowing that he was less than a minute away from her filled her with a sense of safety and relief.
"Hani…"
His tone switched from confused to worried and tense, "Haruhi, what's wrong? Where are you?"
"The girl's restroom near Class-1A."
"I'll be right there."
She dropped the phone as she watched Kaoru struggle with his brother, trying desperately to calm him down. "Hikaru you have to stop! You're scaring Haruhi!"
Haruhi was scared, but certainly not of Hikaru. She wasn't even scared of Akira anymore, who was laid sprawled out on the tiled floor covered in blood and groaning in pain. Haruhi was scared of the trouble Hikaru could find himself in. She wasn't sure how these rich families did it, but in her world the authorities would be called. Hikaru's fists were covered in blood that wasn't his own and the only one who was hurt was Akira.
Suddenly the door shot open and the restroom was filled with the rest of the host club. Hani reached down and picked her up, tilting her face left and right gently with his hands to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Are you okay Haruhi?"
She nodded while he looked her up and down, "I'm fine…except for the back of my head. I slammed it into his face and it hurts, but I think it will be okay."
He first checked her head and when he found no bump or cut he briefly pulled her into his arms and hugged her before whispering to Kyoya to lock the door. He turned to his cousin who was trying to help Kaoru with Hikaru and while he understood Hikaru's rage, they needed to be as discreet as possible with the already out of hand situation.
"Hikaru, you need to calm down. I understand, I want nothing more than to…you wouldn't be able to stomach what I want to do to that piece of trash right now. I get it, but you need to think about Haruhi and how the hell we are going to fix this mess."
Hikaru was nearly panting with anger, but finally at hearing the 'don't fuck with me right now' tone in Hani's voice, he went limp. He looked up at Haruhi whose arms were wrapped tightly around Hani's waist and whispered, "I'm sorry Haruhi."
She quickly rushed to his side, "Don't apologize for coming to my rescue. I'm not scared of you Hikaru, but for you. What will happen when Akira's family finds out what happened? What if the authorities get involved?"
Tamaki, who she had never heard sound so angry, crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You don't need to worry about any of that Haruhi…we'll handle it."
The confidence in his voice didn't ease her anxiety, "How? Akira looks like…I can't even tell with all the blood."
He smiled indulgently, "It would only take the influence of just two of our families to erase this, but all of us…Akira will probably get expelled from the Academy, especially because my father is very fond of you."
Usually Haruhi would mutter something about 'rich bastards', but at that moment she was grateful. She didn't care how slimy the situation might seem, she wanted them safe. Haruhi looked down at Akira who had passed out and was tempted to kick him. She looked up when Hani tugged on the sleeve of her blazer, "Haruhi, we need to know what happened?"
She frowned, not wanting to repeat some of the things that Akira had said and accused her of. She knew they weren't true, she had her friends, father and Kaede to thank for the small bit of mental strength she had managed to build up. If not for them his accusations probably would have broken her, but still she didn't want to echo his ridiculous claims. So, instead she held out the video camera and whispered, "He recorded it."
She could have heard a pin drop with the silence that followed and then Kyoya, who was leaning back against the door with arms crossed in front of his chest, looked up and growled out, "He what?"
She frowned, "He recorded it…he was trying to 'interview' me."
Hani pulled her towards him when Kyoya pushed away from the door and did what she had felt like doing herself. He kicked Akira—hard. Despite being passed out Akira grunted in pain and when Kyoya went to kick him again Mori grabbed hold of his arm with a warning, "That's enough Kyoya. We have enough to deal with and we don't need to add cracked ribs to the list."
Kyoya sneered but stepped away, staring down at Akira with pure hatred in his eyes. Hani, always the most in control other than Mori began giving orders. "This restroom isn't out of order, someone is bound to need to use it. We need to get this figured out now. Tamaki call your dad, we are really going to need him. Everyone else do the same, call your families and fill them in."
Tamaki nodded, "My dad is here today, I can get him down here in less than a minute."
He took out his phone and the others followed, including Hani. Haruhi turned and looked in the mirror, flinching at her reflection. Her face was blotchy from crying and her eyes were bloodshot…but she found herself smiling. She had frozen, in that moment she had let Kimura take control of her again…but it was only a second. If Akira had decided to corner her last month she wouldn't have been able to fight back as she had. It may be a very small kernel of a promise of something more, but it was there and worth acknowledging.
"What's the smile for?"
Haruhi turned to Hikaru and shrugged, "I won a personal battle today is all, one I was scared would always hold me back."
He raised his brow and smiled back at her, "Good…you deserve to always win."
She shook her head at his endearing hope for her, "Come here Hikaru, you need to wash your hands."
Having forgot the condition of his knuckles he looked down and his smile drooped to a frown, but he moved to her side anyway. "I've never lost control like that…I know my control isn't all that great as it is, but never have I been so out of it before."
Haruhi drew his hands under the warm water, "You saw me crying and hurt Hikaru, and you reacted. It wasn't about control…not everything can be controlled especially for someone who feels as deeply as you do. So, when you look down at your cracked knuckles don't think of the pain they caused, think of how grateful I am that you were here to save me."
He looked at her for a bit before looking down at his hands and smiling, "You saved Kaoru and me more than you will ever know Haruhi…and we will always be here to save you for giving us what we thought we would never find."
She had no idea what he was talking about, but didn't have time to question him. A sharp knock on the restroom door made her gasp as she looked wildly around the room at the boys and then Akira. Tamaki held out his hand in a calming motion and ended his call, "It's just my father."
Kyoya unlocked the door and ushered Yuzuru Suoh in. Yuzuru looked first at Haruhi, his eyes taking inventory, making sure she was okay before landing on Akira. He cursed softly and took out his phone before calling several different people and whispering furiously into the phone. When he finished he turned back to her and smiled gently, "Ms. Fujioka…Haruhi…I need to know what happened. Everything."
Hani stepped in front of her and handed Yuzuru the camera, "He recorded it."
Yuzuru frowned angrily, "Just like his father, worse in fact."
He pushed the play button and Haruhi looked down as Akira's voice filled the restroom and when he began to ask those inane questions she felt Hani's arms wrap around her. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "He is full of shit, you know that right. No one actually believes all that, he wanted to exploit you for his own selfish ambition."
Haruhi couldn't help but lean into his touch as she joked, "Actually I think his pants are full of it, Hikaru scared all the shit right out of him."
Hani barked out a laugh, "From the smell I think you're right."
When the recording was finished Yuzuru was tense and angrier than before, "Don't you worry about a thing Haruhi. I have everything under control. I cannot apologize enough for what he did and what he said, but believe me it will not happen again. He will not be welcome in my school any longer."
"And Hikaru? He won't be in any trouble, will he?"
Kyoya smiled darkly down at Akira as he answered Haruhi's question, "Akira's father is involved in some…shall we say nefarious dealings that he would do anything to keep under wraps. My father will happily expose him if he decides that he wants to take this a step further."
Haruhi didn't need to know what Akira's father was involved in as long as Hikaru was safe. "Okay…what do we do with Akira?"
Just as she asked the question an announcement came through the speakers throughout the school. "Good afternoon. We will be having a test lock down in a few minutes, I ask that all students and faculty members return to your classrooms if you are not already there. This may be a test, but it should be taken seriously. Thank you."
Tamaki shook his head, "You really are too good at this."
Yuzuru smiled, "It's called experience son. You all get to your classes and I will take care of Mr. Komatsuzawa."
Hani quickly helped Haruhi look presentable again, but before they all rushed to their classes Haruhi stopped and ran back to Yuzuru. She quickly hugged the tall, kind man around the waist and whispered, "Thank you sir."
He froze at first but sighed with a smile on his face, giving her a quick squeeze back. "Of course, now back to class with you."
She sped off with Hikaru and Kaoru, the door of the class room shutting behind her just as the bell went off.
The teacher frowned and questioned the three of them and Hikaru smiled, "We were stopped by the headmaster in the hall, he wanted to speak to us."
The teacher had stopped listening at headmaster, accepting our prolonged restroom breaks and decided to give the class free time while under lock down.
~oOo~
Kaede frowned as Haruhi showed her a copy of the video taping of what happened in the restroom. She was worried that because of that spoiled little asshole Haruhi had regressed when she had been doing so well. There was only one way to find out.
"That is horrible…that little miscreant deserves more than expulsion."
Haruhi nodded, "I think so too, but I don't want to risk him turning around and pressing charges against Hikaru."
"Tell me Haruhi, what do you think about his accusations?"
Her response was immediate. "Like Hani said, he was full of shit. I know nobody thinks those things about me…Kaede I know that sometimes people like to place blame on the victim. I haven't experienced that kind of negativity because like you told me to do, I surround myself only with the positive. I know what happened to me was not my fault…I did not ask for it and I certainly did not like it."
Kaede smiled, "I am so very proud of you Haruhi."
Haruhi bit her lip shyly, "Thanks…I am too. I realized that day that I was getting better. I still have nightmares almost every night and sometimes I swear I see him…and I am easily frightened. I don't like to be touched by strangers, even if it is a brush of shoulders and I get paranoid sometimes. I try not to, but every day I think about him. Sometimes, not as much as I used to…I feel…gross, and I can't seem to wash him away."
She had a relieved look on her face but she continued on, "I know it will take more than a few months for me to be able to accidentally bump into someone and not feel like I am having an anxiety attack. Before I didn't believe that I would ever get better—now though I know that it will take time, but eventually I will heal. I will get better."
Kaede beamed, "Yes Haruhi, you will."
A/n: I know the bad guy was a surprise, but I was watching Ouran and every time I see Akira I get irritated. Then I thought of how if he were an animal he would be a jackal and then voila! He became part of my story. Oh, and I know if a real fight broke out in a high school, even in a restroom during class it probably would be all over school by the end of the day. Just another reason why I love fiction so much, I can bend the rules from time to time if I want. Reviews are treasured!
Thank you.
~Inari
