The Host Mafia
Chapter 10
Haruhi woke up with a slight headache, and groaned as she recalled the previous day. It seemed as if fate was once again trying to push her to the breaking point, and this time she wasn't so sure that she would be able to make it. Giving a sigh, she attempted to sit up, only to realize that something was pinning her down. Or better yet, someone. Her body tensed, and she was about to scream until she realized that the arm holding her down was that of Kaoru's. Swallowing back her scream, she glanced around in an attempt to try and find a way out of her situation. She really didn't want to wake him, because he had sat with her, apparently, all through the night and comforted her. Biting her bottom lip, she tried to ease out from under his arm, but stilled when he mumbled and tightened his hold on her. Drawing her into his chest and nuzzled his face into her hair, causing her to blush. She twisted the fabric of his shirt in her fists, and tried to fight back the slight terror that entered her body because she was this close to a man that was in bed with her. As much as she knew that he would never harm her, her body was still used to the fact that every time a male was in bed with her she experienced pain.
"I don't care if they're sleeping! Kaoru shouldn't have fallen asleep in Haruhi's bed!" Tamaki shouted, causing her to tense as she realized that it had come righ from the other side of the door. Swallowing, she glanced at the man holding her in desperation, hoping that he would at least relinquish his hold on her slightly so they wouldn't get caught in this position.
"Look Boss. It's nothing like that and you know it. She was upset and with Kaoru being...well...Kaoru, he wasn't about to leave her alone to dwell on the situation by herself. So what if they fell asleep in the bed together? You know as well as I do that he would never take advantage of her." Hikaru sounded, and she figured that he was probably blocking Tamaki from entering the room. Which was causing the blond to become so angered.
"That's not the point! What do you think will happen when she wakes up and realizes that a man is sleeping in her bed! Think about everything she's been through. She's probably going to be frightened terrible, and she'll regress back into silence!" Tamaki yelled, and she blinked as Kaoru twitched, groaned slightly, before mumbling and snuggling ever closer. She heard a sigh from the other side of the door, and figured that it was Hikaru.
"Look Boss, I understand what you're saying. But, I think that she is finally past that stage, and is ready to accept that even if one of us were in bed with her, none of us would take advantage of her. Her body might respond in fear briefly, and that will be natural, but so long as she isn't mentally afraid of us, I see nothing to worry about." Hikaru stated, causing her to blink and realize that he had a point. It was natural that her body responded in fear, yet her mind hadn't blanked on her like it usually did for protection. It had allowed her to see who was beside her, and made her realize that she was safe even though her body refused to believe it.
"Still. I don't think we should risk it." Tamaki hissed, finally causing Kaoru to grumble awake, even though he kept his eyes closed.
"What's Milord complaining about this time, Hikaru?" He asked in a whisper, and she gave a small smile as she realized that he thought he was in his room.
"Um...I'm not Hikaru." She stated, nearly laughing as his eyes snapped open in surprise and he quickly glanced around, as if to make sure that it wasn't his room. Then back down to her, and eased away like he was afraid that if he moved to fast he would frighten her. Once they were apart he sat up, and gave a sheepish grin with apologetic eyes.
"Sorry about that." He whispered, she smiled as she sat up and shrugged it off.
"I realized that you wouldn't hurt me, so it's fine. If anything, thank you for comforting me." She whispered, watching as he smiled again and clasped her hand gently.
"Any time." He stated, then faced the door when a growl sounded on the other side. "So. Why is Tamaki all in a twist?" He asked, and she huffed.
"It seems he found out that you fell asleep in my bed with me and figured it would make me have a relapse. And your brother is trying to make sure that he doesn't bother us." She stated, watching as he nodded, stretched, then headed for the door. She blinked when he looked back over his shoulder and winked at her as he grabbed the handle. She leaned closer when he stepped to the side slightly, and then jerked the door open. Going wide-eyed as Hikaru and Tamaki fell to her floor, and realized that they must have been leaning against the door. She giggled at their stunned looks, and quickly covered her mouth when they shot her annoyed looks.
"Kaoru! How dare you fall asleep in Haruhi's bed!" Tamaki growled as he picked himself up off the floor, and stood nose to nose with the older twin. She blinked and quickly slid off the bed, hoping to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.
"Tamaki, it's fine, really. I know none of you will harm me, or take advantage of me. Besides, Kaoru stayed up most of the night trying to calm me down after Suzushima upset me yesterday. It's really all my fault that this happened, I'm sorry." She whispered, watching as near panic expressions crossed all three of their faces. Then jumped slightly as they began to all talk at once.
"No, no! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that!"
"Last night wasn't your fault! You had a really rough day, you deserved a good cry!"
"I should have tried harder to keep Milord in the dark! It's my fault he found out!"
She blinked at each one, then smiled and wrapped all three in a hug, thankful to have them by her side. When they eached returned the hug, she pulled back a moment later.
"Still. I am causing all this trouble for you. First you had to rescue me from my relatives, then put up with me when I couldn't speak, and now because of me a hit is put out on you." She stated, watching as Tamaki straightened.
"We don't about that for sure, yet. It could just be one of our enemies trying to gain a reputation by messing with us." He stated, only to have that theory blown out of the water when Kyoya appeared behind him.
"I'm afraid not. It seems like the reason for the hit, is because we saved Haruhi before a, supposed, important person had his turn with her. The hit isn't so much as to kill us, but to leave Haruhi defenseless." He stated, causing them to turn to him in shock. She blinked as the sudden feeling as if she had been hit, and pressed her palm to her temple as her head became light.
"So, I am causing trouble for all of you." She whispered, blinking when hands grabbed her shoulder and glanced up into Kyoya's smiling face.
"Like I said before. You are not being a burden. If you were, wouldn't we be telling you that you need to leave? Haruhi, you are apart of this... family of misfits, and we will be backing you up every step of the way. So stop saying you are a burden." He stated, and she gave him a small, thankful smile. Then sighed and glanced around at the others, and figured that things were going to become a little strict around the place. Her thoughts were confirmed when Kyoya straightened and fixed his glasses while giving her an apologetic look.
"Which brings me to the next thing. Haruhi, you will be assigned a body guard, a friend of Mori's. He has been told of everything that has happened, and is willing to make sure that you stay safe. So, you might want to freshen up so as to meet him, and get ready to go to the fair." He ended with a smile, and she smiled in return. Nodding, she returned to her room, shut her door, and then started to prepare for her day. Once she was ready, she headed for the dining hall, and smiled at everyone who glanced her way as she entered. Then focused on Mori when he, and a man that looked slightly intimidating, and approached her. She smiled at the man, watched as he blushed, and frowned when he glanced away quickly.
"Haruhi, this is a kendo buddy of mine, Kasanada. Kasanada, this is Haruhi, the young woman we were telling you about." Mori introduced, and she offered her hand to him. Watching as surprise crossed his features before he wrapped his larger hand around hers and gave a small smile that looked almost like a grimace.
"Sorry to be a bother to you, Mr. Kasanada." She stated, watching as he blushed and then glanced down.
"It's no bother at all. I am more than happy to help you out. Any friend of Mori's is a friend of mine." He stated, she smiled and moved with them to the table. Not surprised to see the food already out, and turned to Tamaki when he leaned of Kaoru to speak to her.
"Hey, Haruhi! What do you want to do at the fair first?" He asked, and she blushed slightly.
"I'm not sure. I've never been before, and was thinking that I could look around at first, and see if anything catches my eyes." She stated, watching as Tamaki went wide eyed and suddenly got a child-like gleam in his eye.
"You're going to love it! They have rides, games, amazing food, and you can even get someone to draw your picture." He stated, as she started putting food on her plate, smiling as he talked. She then glanced at Hikaru when he leaned toward her from her other side.
"Milord will probably be dragging you all over the fair without thinking about a break. If you want one, just tell one of us and we'll distract him long enough for you to take a breather." He stated, and she blinked as he got a mischievous look in his eye.
"In others word, you're going to make him depressed slightly so he crouches down somewhere until I'm ready to continue." She stated, knowing she hit the mark when he grinned and continued eating. Shaking her head, she started to eat, and blinked when Hunny waved at her from across the table.
"The fair has a lot of sweets, too. I'll make sure that you try a lot of them." He stated, causing her to smile and nod. The turned to Kyoya when he sighed and straightened his glasses.
"Just make sure that you remember to keep water or some form of drink with you. It is going to be very humid today, and I don't need any of you getting over heated." He stated, and she smiled as the others nodded their heads. They soon fell into discussion on what they were going to do at the fair, and listened as they all talked about different things. She really wanted to try out some of the rides, and play some of the games since she could gain some prizes. Smiling, she finished her meal, thanked the maid when she removed the dishes, and then excused herself to go to the library. She was only in there for a few minutes until she heard the door open, glanced up to see the Kasanada had walked in and was studying the room.
"Hey, Mr. Kasanada. Did you need something?" She asked, watching as he blushed and shook his head. Blinking as he shifted his weight, and suddenly seemed unsure as to what he should be doing. Shrugging her shoulders, she returned her attention back to her book. Only to blink again when the chair beside her was suddenly pulled out and Kasanada sat down beside her.
"M-Ms. Haruhi..."
"Haruhi. Please." She interrupted, watching as a faint blush tinted his cheeks and he nodded, then cleared his voice before continuing.
"Haruhi. I-I figured that you might have some rules that you'll wish me to follow, seeing as to h-how I'm going to be you body guard." He stated, and she tilted her head to the side as she thought a moment. Then shook her head.
"No. Nothing that I can think of." She stated, biting her bottom lip as he looked at her in surprise and disbelieving face. Shifting slightly, she couldn't help but think that she had said something wrong, even though she had no idea as to what.
"Are..there suppose to be rules?" She asked, watching as he blinked and gave a slight nod.
"U-Usually there are. Stuff like, wanting me to walk so far behind you. Not looking you right in the eye when I speak. Also, the usual "not make yourself seen" rule." He stated, and she blinked. Those rules sounded...horrible. How could anyone think to treat someone like that, even if it was there job.
"No offense, Mr. Kasanda, but those rules sound terrible. They almost make a guard seem more like a nuisance than someone who is protecting someone else." She stated, watching as he blinked, and knew that he wasn't expecting that. Biting her thumbnail, she thought a moment and quickly thought of a solution.
"I'm not sure what the "standard" procedure for a body guard is, but you don't have to follow those rules if you don't want to. As a matter of fact, you make the rules, so long as you tell me that way I don't over step the boundaries." She stated, watching as his eyes went wide and he gave her a shocked look.
"H-Haruhi! W-Why in the world would I create rules for you!?" He asked, and she gave him a small smile.
"Because, I don't want to be a burden for you. This way, if you make the rules, I'll know where we stand. You have more experiance in this type of stuff, and I'm nothing but a newbie. So, you tell me what I have to do, and I'll follow them the best I can." She stated, glancing at him in expectation, only to blink as a laugh came from behind him. They both jumped when Hikaru and Kaoru stepped toward them. Giving them both large smiles,
"Weren't expecting that, were you Kassa Nova." Hikaru stated, and Haruhi winced at the bad word play on the man's name.
"That's Haruhi for you though. Anyway, today will be an excellent day for you to make any rules for Haruhi, because it's time to head to the fair." Kaoru stated, and Haruhi was on her feet immediately.
"Really!?" She asked, smiling and dashing out of the library to get ready when the twins nodded. Ignoring their laughs that echoed after her.