Hey All! I got some good news and some bad news... The good news is: Chapter 10 is here! Yay! Bad news: I have no idea when I will be able to update next... I will try my absolute best not to make you all wait 3 more months, but I can make no promises...

Thanks for everyone who had answered the question about the supernatural. I kinda forgot to say that in the previous chapter... So most of you have said to keep it as realistic as possible, so I will try.

Enjoy!

One question ran fleetingly through Kei's mind: 'Where did Scar disappear to? He had already checked his other patient earlier, so where is he really?'

Chapter 10: Plans and Mixed Feelings

Scar sat idly in Yuichi Ohtori-sensei's office while waiting for him to complete his rounds. 'Poor guy, he is probably exhausted after yesterday's excitement.' Scar thought while staring unseeing at a poster of the human body against the wall.

After only a few short minutes Yuichi came in to speak with Scar. He had known that Scar would probably want to see him in regards to Haruhi as well as Emmy-chan. Sitting down, Yuichi waited for Scar to start talking since it was generally easier to just let the seventeen year old speak first than to have to repeat everything twice. He was not disappointed.

"Hey Doc, I have a question. That brother of yours, Kyoya, is he, well…how do I put this?... Is he like….sane…no that's not the right word…um, is he…does he…. What I mean to say is: Does he really care about his friends or is he one of those 'me-myself-and-I are all that matter' type of people?"

Yuichi was stunned. Of all things, he did NOT expect THIS question. Blinking once, twice, ok now that the question had been properly processed, now he can start to think of a suitable answer. Yuichi took a long look at Scar to see what the kid was thinking for asking such a question only to see that Scar was not even really paying attention to him at all.

Yuichi was well aware of the trouble and torture that Scar himself had had to endure for a long time before he managed to pull himself out and decided to do for abused kids what nobody had done for him. In remembrance to the nearly-dead child dumped on the hospital's doorstep some years back, Yuichi suddenly understood the seemingly strange question.

Scar was merely trying to protect Haruhi from the path Scar had been forced to walk – littered with people who pretended to care only to use him and then stab him in the back later on.

Scar was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize that Yuichi was staring at him. In and of itself, it was strange for Scar to be so unaware of his surroundings. Considering his past, Scar was always almost super aware and never caught off-guard by anything. His life had been on the line far too many times to allow him to let down his guard in such a manner.

The doctor stared at Scar until the teen looked up. Yuichi saw what he only seen a bare handful of times before: vulnerability. Scar very rarely let his true feelings show in eyes (especially something like fear or insecurity). The fact that he allowed the doctor to see it meant that he was REALLY worried about whatever he had been thinking about.

Scar knew that Yuichi could be trusted; the doctor had proven that multiple times already, so he felt safe enough to share his fears with him and started talking:

"Doc, what happens after the week? I mean, those guys won't give up just because the time-limit ran out. There are really only 2 ways and neither way is acceptable. 1. Give them what they want, or 2. Kill the mastermind…

"What am I supposed to do Doc? Haruhi cannot be hidden forever and even if she gets married now, they will just kill her husband and she will be right back at square 1 with the added guilt of being the reason for someone's death."

Scar bit his thumbnail in a nervous habit that he had displayed often when Yuichi had first met him years ago. Yuichi was very glad that he was not the one in that situation, but because of that, he had not the vaguest clue what to tell the distressed teenager in front of him. Lucky for him, Scar didn't really expect an answer from him.

"Well, no use worrying about that now I guess." Scar continued. "When do you think that the girls will be released? We need to make preparations at home." Scar huffed "Especially since I sincerely doubt that Haruhi's 'friends' will let her out of their sights."

Yuichi stared in amusement at Scar's irritated face at the thought of being stuck with the rich kids at his house. When Scar looked up in question Yuichi said that the girls might be able to leave the following day if all goes right.

"Hey Doc? Will it be safe to take your brother along? Is he safe enough for the kids? Or do I have to lock him in the basement to protect my kids from him?" Scar had dark shadows in his eyes as he waited for the shocked doctor to gather his wits enough to actually give him an answer.

Yuichi was shocked at the way the question was asked, not really at the question itself. He gave a sad smile as he gave his answer.

"Kyoya is too much like Father, but he has a good heart underneath the cold exterior he puts up. It is very hard to get to know him for real since he never shows his true self. I have had sixteen years of observation-time, but you have only known him for a few hours. Don't judge him too harshly ok?"

"You know sensei, every single time you mention your old man, it makes me hate him even more. I'm just glad you found who you really are instead of trying to be what he wants you to be. You're a good man sensei, never forget that."

With those last words, Scar turned and walked out towards the exit. He had calls to make and people to warn of the 8 new people coming home with him. With a deep sigh, Scar made a wish: 'Please don't let them hurt the kids. If they do, I won't be able to control that anymore. Please let me make the right choices to protect the kids…'

'Oh Scar… You are much more like Kyoya than you realize, that is most likely why you don't want to trust him…' Yuichi thought in the back of his mind.

Haruhi's room:

It was time for the hosts to leave, but none of them wanted to leave Haruhi alone. They were all weary of Scar - and in turn - also his men. Kei and Daichi noticed this but didn't say or do anything about it, that was why Scar was the Boss and they were just the underlings.

The nurse came back only to find all of them still in the room. Angrily she tried to shoo them out, but with no success. She was getting really upset with them when Ohtori-sensei came in and raised an eyebrow at the six other teenagers in the room. He knew they were all very overprotective of their only female friend, but he had to check on both girls and he couldn't do that with all the men in the room.

Kyoya was the first to notice the look his eldest brother sent their way and decided to relent. He grabbed Tamaki's collar as he passed the blond on his way out. Mori and Hani saw that and, grabbing one twin each, left after.

Yuichi chuckled at their antics before he turned to the girls. He was infinitely patient with Emmy-chan and Haruhi could not help but admire the stark difference between Kyoya-senpai and his brother. Yuichi gave Haruhi a quick checkup since the nurse had already cleaned Haurhi's wounds and declared them both fit to leave the next day as soon as he saw them the next morning again.

"If everything is still good tomorrow, you may both go home, but Haruhi, you will have to go with Scar. No matter why, you still did this to yourself, so I won't feel right leaving you by yourself.

"Scar has a lot of experience with dealing with any types of situations that might arise: panic-attacks, blackouts, suicide-attempts, wound-care etc. That is why I am going to release you into his care. There seems to be situations which Scar is aware of that you might not be, so he has also taken precautions for your safety.

"Emmy-chan, Scar will be your legal guardian from now on, so you will also be living with him and his family. Do you understand what all of that means?"

At Emmy-chan's nod, Yuichi smiled and said he would see them the next morning to sign their release-papers.

"You are lucky that the school-break starts tomorrow, so you won't have to worry about school-work while you recover." Yuichi aimed that statement at Haruhi who only gave a half-hearted nod.

When Yuichi left the room, the hosts were all still right outside the door. Not surprising really, but it was when Kaoru asked if they may go back in, that Yuichi noticed the forming of a black eye on each of the twins. He blinked in surprise, but said nothing of it, instead stating that Haruhi would be released the next morning so they could not go back into her room.

"She needs her rest if she is going to be well enough to leave tomorrow. And by looks of you, some of you need rest as much as Fujioka-chan does." The last statement was sent towards Kyoya and Mori who did not miss the look the doctor sent them.

Amidst the loud arguments from the twins and Tamaki, Scar came back. He didn't waste any time to inform Yuichi that everything would be ready for the girls at his home when they are released. That, of course, sent Tamaki over the edge. He started yelling about the impropriety of the very idea. He had no idea that Scar had an entire house full of other kids ranging from 3years old to 18 years. Both boys and girls are included in those numbers.

The twins immediately turned on the doctor to demand how he could possibly send their secret princess into a lion's den. Yuichi and Scar merely waited for them to run out of steam. Kyoya spoke up the second the other three stopped long enough to take a breath.

"Haruhi can go with one of us; there is no reason for her to go with him." He clearly did not like Scar at all and it showed both in his eyes and the way he spoke about Scar.

Scar was unfazed by the outbursts. He calmly stared at Kyoya until he finally let Scar speak.

"If you actually paid any attention last night, you would remember that I do know what she is up against. You – on the other hand – do NOT. I have the resources and the plans and the space to take care of the situation quickly and quietly. You only have your private police force, which I might add, is perfectly useless in this situation.

"I can get into places your little cluster of cops couldn't even get close to. I know people that you don't even know exist. I have access to buildings and blueprints that is said to have been destroyed. The only thing you will be able to do, is to make them run. If they run, they go underground; if they go underground, not even I will be able to find them. Now do you understand why she has to come with me?"

Everyone openly stared at Scar as he finished his little speech. Even Yuichi had not thought that the situation was THAT dire. He knew of Scar and his 'resources' but had no idea that not even his family's police force would be able to be of any help. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that Scar and his crew handled something that the local police were either unaware of or could do nothing about due to a lack of evidence, so he let it go.

Hikaru was the first to break the stunned silence. He had no idea what Scar was talking about with what Haruhi was up against, but there was no way he was abandoning his best friend.

"Then I'm coming too! There is no way I am going to leave Haruhi to go with this, this, GUY here!"

Tamaki and Kaoru immediately agreed as did Hani. Mori and Kyoya were less outspoken, but both nodded at the fact that they are not letting Haruhi go with Scar alone.

Inwardly Scar grimaced. He knew it would come to this from the moment he had heard that it was Haruhi in the hospital. The only thing he could do was to hope and pray that bringing these crazy rich kids to the house would not be something he would regret later. The kids were his life, and if anything happened to them because of his decision to bring these guys home… Well, he would never be able to live with himself.

Kei knew that Scar would have already planned for that to happen, so he spent the duration of the argument studying all the new houseguests. He already placed Haninozuka and Morinozuka as the safest guys for the kids. The tall blond and the twins were classified as 'most dangerous' because of their attitudes and personalities. Kei had difficulty with placing the Ohtori in one of the categories.

'That guy… He is so much like the Boss. He doesn't show his real emotions or reactions… That could be bad; we'll have to keep a close eye on him when he is around any of the kids.'

Kei sighed inwardly as he made the observations. All of the kids had dark, painful pasts, and he was deeply afraid that these people in front of him might hurt them, even unintentionally since they obviously had no idea how to handle themselves in any situation other than that of their own social class.

Turning his gaze to Scar, he couldn't help but wonder how his Boss-and-friend was handling this. The kids were the only reason that Scar was even still with them. If something were to happen to one of them, Kei was terrified that Scar would lose his inner battle. If that ever happened, the world would never be safe. Kei shuddered at the thought.

'How in the world does Scar handle this kind of pressure all the time? I only found out about this now and I'm already scared, how can she stand it?'

With that in mind, Kei's respect for Scar grew even bigger. Little did he realize that Daichi and his current partner were having the same kinds of thoughts. Daichi hadn't left the hospital at all. He had slept a few hours the night before with Scar taking over the watch for that time. The other guards had switched every 3-4 hours.

Just as another argument was about to break out, Scar raised his voice.

"If you are not here by six tomorrow morning, you will be left behind. That is all, now go home."

Scar turned to Yuichi to speak with him about the care needed for Haruhi and Emmy-chan. The hosts did not want to leave, but Kei, Daichi and the other guard escorted them out none too gently.

Kei decided to speak up before everyone scattered for the night.

"Guys, the Boss knows what he is doing. He will take good care of your friend; there is really no need for you guys to be so riled up. If you really insist on coming home with us, you will need your rest in order to be up early tomorrow.

"Morinozuka-san and Haninozuka-san, if you do come along, you may bring your siblings along if they do not have supervision at home."

Mori nodded in affirmative as did Hani. Their parents were out of town (in Mori's case) or will be leaving in the next few hours (Hani's parents).

"In that case, you boys should go and pack. Pack for a week." It was the first words heard by the other guard. He was taller and bigger than even Mori. Daichi and Kei nodded at the words and figured the timeline should be fine.

Very reluctantly, the hosts turned around and walked to their own waiting limos. Tamaki and Kyoya rode together since they came directly after host club hours.

Tamaki was quiet the whole ride over. He briefly talked to Kyoya and decided that it would be best that he stayed over at Kyoya's house for the night. That way, it saved the time it would have taken to drive over to pick him up. 2 hours later and 3 suitcases heavier, they finally reached the Ohtori-mansion.

XXX

Hikaru and Kaoru sat in silence for a few minutes before Hikaru couldn't hold it any longer.

"JUST WHO DOES THAT GUY THINK HE IS! Thinking he can just waltz in there and order us all around! And what is with the whole 'I-know-something-you-don't' attitude? Haruhi is OUR friend not his, so how can she be in trouble without us knowing about it? It's got to be some kind of lie!"

Kaoru stayed quiet through the entire rant, too lost in thought to really pay attention to his twin at the time. Hikaru was too busy ranting and spitting out obscenities to notice the lack of attention.

Kaoru's mind was focused on the pictures that Scar had shown him earlier. He was wondering if there was going to be others like the little boy at Scar's house and –if so- how they were supposed to act around children that had been hurt in such a cruel manner. In light of that, their own problems suddenly seemed so small and unimportant.

Getting to their shared bedroom, both twins packed two suitcases each.

XXX

Mori was lost in his own thoughts. How was he going to convince Satoshi to go with him instead of just staying at home? Unlike normal, Mori found it hard to focus on one thought. It could just be from a lack of sleep as well. What should he pack? How much should he take? Would he need any extra supplies? Etc…

Hani looked at his tall cousin. It had been obvious to him, that Takashi knew something when he had not protested that Haru-chan should go with a complete stranger. Maybe it had something to do with last night and Takashi's lack of sleep? Hani wondered what he should tell his parents about where he and Chika were going to stay. They said to pack for a week, so he didn't need much stuff; one bag should do it.

Reaching Mori's house first, it was decided that he and Satoshi would stay at Mitsukuni's house for the night. That way, they could leave directly for the hospital.

Both seniors were wondering just why they had to be there so EARLY. Shaking their heads at the mystery, Mori quickly went to find Satoshi, and pack.

When the brothers came back, both had managed to pack only one bag each with the addition of their shinai. (a/n: Thanks to kanameZeroYuki for correcting me on this ^.^)

XXX

At the hospital:

"Boss, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"What about the kids? Those morons obviously have no idea how to handle violence-victims, what if someone gets hurt?"

Scar stood before his three most trusted men. He knew that honesty would be the only thing that could set their minds at ease now. Knowing that, he took the chance.

"No, it's not a good idea. I know that, but I can't let Haruhi go with one of them. Also, I have to go home, so I cannot just take them all to the other safe house, otherwise I would have. There is no way they will ever let Haruhi come with us alone either, especially not since that little scene with the twins. We will just have to be even more alert and on guard than usual. I realize that I am asking a lot from you guys this time, but I have already been gone too long, the kids will wonder what happened if I don't go to see them soon.

"The kids will be in danger, there is no way around the truth of that. They need to be protected, but so does Haruhi. Will you help me?"

The men looked at Scar and saw raw emotion in his eyes, something that he only let anybody see if it was important (and sometimes not even then). In light of that, they all simply nodded their agreement. Scar sighed in relief. His thanks was heartfelt towards his friends.

"Alright then! Let's get going. We need to get everything in order at home and let the kids know. Dai, let the other guards know to change hospitals to where Ryuji-san is- tonight if possible; me, Kei and Rex will keep watch tonight. Make sure that the guys you place with Ryuji-san know the drill and will not slack on the job.

"Rex, take the first watch. Kei, how's the funeral plans coming along? It needs to be finalized before we leave tomorrow. I will call home and let everyone know what is going on. Oh yeah, Rex, will you call the cars for tomorrow?"

All gave the affirmative for orders received. They all knew that Scar had the hardest job of them all. Convincing Sunny and Bunny to let strangers who are not victims into the house had never been an easy task. Not to mention that it will be 9 this time – all at once. No one envied Scar that particular job.

Scar made some more quick arrangements to go and pick up clothes for Haruhi. He could call Sunny or Bunny during the ride over to Haruhi's place.

'Tomorrow is NOT going to be an easy day… Please don't let anyone get hurt….' That was the thought that went through Scar and all his men's minds. After all, the safety of the kids was, and always will be, their top priority.

Thanks to Kerilou95 for proofreading this chapter too! I really couldn't do it without you! And also, Thanks a million to all the people who have reviewed, faved or followed this story! I won't name you all one by one, I'm afraid I might miss someone, but just: THANKS A LOT!

Drop a review if you want ;-)

Kitty out!

Edited: 7-17-2016