Chapter Eleven:
"He'll see you now."
Kyoya Ootori rose from his seat, brushing off his suit as he followed behind the slender woman. She was dressed in dark charcoal colors that enhanced the beauty of her alabaster skin and blonde hair. It was evident that his business associate had a type when it came to the women he chose to associate himself with.
With a winsome smile she opened the door to the office and stepped aside to allow Kyoya to pass through. He returned her kindness with a curt nod and settled his eyes upon the older man behind the ornate desk. His light brown hair showed speckles of his age, while his deep brown eyes were inviting and welcoming. Still, something about the man and the way he had summoned Kyoya left the youth feeling out of place.
"Ah! Kyoya, welcome." The elder gentleman smiled, waving his hand at the empty chair placed in front of the large desk. "Please, come in. Take a seat."
Kyoya nodded politely, folding himself into the soft chair respectfully. "I will admit I was surprised to receive your call."
The man's smile never waivered. "I had a meeting a few nights ago… With Akiyama."
"Any news on the scandal?" Kyoya asked, raising a brow.
"This meeting was purely leisure. But I did do a little more research on our intern." The man smirked. "I see she accepted Akiyama's job offer."
"It was a very compelling offer." Kyoya shrugged.
"I do believe our joint venture is coming to a close, don't you?"
Kyoya nodded. "It would seem our efforts are at an end. Not that I'm sure they will have a beneficial outcome. Your son can be very… stubborn."
The man smiled warmly. "He is, after all, a Suoh."
Kyoya allowed the edges of his lips to tilt slightly, trying to hide his amusement from the Suoh patriarch. "He won't be happy when he learns how much of his personal life you've chosen to interfere with."
"Neither will she. But in the end, I think they'll thank us. Don't you?" Yuzuru asked, leaning his elbows upon the desk and pressing his fingers together in front of him.
Kyoya merely shrugged. "I think they may surprise us both."
Xxx That Night xxX
"Alexa? Are you home?"
No one answered her call, a sure sign that her friend had left to do some late evening shopping or maybe even some sightseeing. The quiet was comforting and Haruhi was grateful to have at least a little bit of time on her own. Three days prior, her college roommate had arrived upon her doorstep and, while having a guest had been a handful, it was nice to have another girl around. Stepping out of the rain and into the warm comfort of her home, Haruhi glanced at her dripping reflection in the hallway mirror.
A little water never hurt anyone. Besides, people are always telling me that I'm dripping with good looks.
An aggravated sigh blew over her lips as the small girl forced the memory from the recesses of her mind. Kicking off her penny loafers and ringing out her damp hair, Haruhi sluggishly guided herself towards the kitchen. The day had been long and all she wanted now was a warm cup of tea.
Once the tea had been made, she placed a large file folder down upon the counter and began flipping through its pages. Sipping gingerly at the hot liquid, she familiarized herself with the Monpetite case; she had been lucky thus far and no one had really relied on her for any significant information. Her luck, however, could only last so long.
A low grumble ran through her, sending shivers down her spine as she looked towards the living room window. The storm was worsening and still there was no sign of Alexa. Haruhi would weather his one alone.
Attempting to drown out the distant groaning of the storm, she continued to flip through the pages of the file folder. Most of the files were filled with a mixture of her notes and the ones that Reiji had taken during their sessions with the Host Club. It was the last couple of pages that interested her the most.
The first sported a picture of Honey and was filled with information on his business practices. It had a long list of all that he had lost in the scandal.
The next two pages were similar, with individual pictures of Hikaru and Kaoru that Haruhi noted, with displeasure, were mixed up. Kaoru's picture was tacked to Hikaru's biography and vice versa. She would make a point of fixing that when she returned to work the next day.
The last page was his and tacked to the top right corner was his picture. He looked taller, more muscular, and his hair fell in long shags over his eyes. Detaching it from the folder, she brought it closer to her face to examine it more thoroughly. He looked well put together and professional. Still, she couldn't help but notice how unhappy his eyes looked.
A sharp crack of lightening followed by a loud rumble of thunder echoed through her home.
Without thinking, Haruhi dropped her cup of tea into the sink and was off towards the living room. She subconsciously kept his picture clutched tightly to her chest as she pulled a blanket from the back of the couch. Dropping to her knees in front of the coffee table, her heart raced as she counted the seconds. One onehundred. Two onehundred. Three onehundred. She waited for the next bolt of lightening to illuminate the sky. Gently she draped the blanket over her head before she climbed beneath the table.
She clung to his picture desperately, her entire body trembling as the thunder grew louder. The storm was growing closer. She felt like a child hiding from the boogey man. She was now a grown woman and still she cowered from an act of nature. One onehundred. Two onehundred. Another crash and another bang.
You don't have to be afraid. I'll always be here for you, Haruhi. I promise that you'll never be alone again.
His words with every strike of lightning.
"You lied…" She whispered between terrified sobs.
Xxx When The Storm Had Passed xxX
She wasn't sure when she had finally drifted into a restless sleep, curled beneath her coffee table with Tamaki's picture stuck to her cheek. She could tell that Alexa still had not come home. If she had, Haruhi would have been woken from her sleep and forced out of hiding. If there was one thing Alexa had gotten skilled at during their time together it was making Haruhi brave. It was hard to be scared of anything with someone like Alexa around.
She crawled from beneath the table, rubbing the weary sleep from her eyes as she stretched out her sore back. She could still hear the rain falling upon the window but at least the thunder had subsided.
She made her way slowly into her bedroom, stopping in front of her closet to take a shoebox out of her closet. It was old and some of the edges were beginning to shred away so she was careful when she handled it. Gently she set it down upon her dresser, popping open the lid and placing it down gently beside the raggedy box.
Inside, scattered delicately, was Haruhi. Not the physical girl who now stared down into the contents of the box, but the girl who had been lost four years ago. Her memories and the happier times that she had buried in the back of her mind smiled up at her from their resting place.
Pictures from her four years at Ouran filled the box, threatening to spill over and out onto the floor. There were group pictures and individual shots. Some were of her and the twins, some were of her and Honey but most were of the blonde Adonis. He smiled, pouted, and laughed up at her from hundreds of different angles. She placed the picture she had taken from the file on top before placing the lid back on the box.
She had to seal her heart away. He deserved better than her.
A series of sharp knocks upon her door echoed through her apartment, a look of confusion crossing her features as she tried to register the sound.
She had lost herself in the memories of the past, of his smiling face and the days when he had still loved her. Who could possibly be bothering her now?
Slowly she made her way into the entranceway, pulling open the heavy door. "If you're selling something I'm not buying."
"I'm not here to sell you anything."
Her eyes widened, recognition filtering through her as she took in the tall and lanky form of the man before her.
"But I would like to come inside." he smirked.
Author's / Notes: So now we know that the Mysterious Picture-Looker was actually Tamaki's father! I was surprised that a couple of you actually guessed that this was who it was. The rest of you were not far off; we now know he's working with Kyoya!
DeadBat-7Fold: I'm actually really enjoying writing your character. You'll be more predominant in the next few chapters as well.
KanameZeroYuki: typically they would have been eavesdropping but I think they got so wrapped up in their excitement that Haruhi still might have feelings for Tamaki that they were too distracted to eavesdrop lol
Bmg20: Thank you for your luck! I have a feeling I'm going to need it! :D
Jazzy-Booey: You know how their plans work… They usually backfire on them ;)
Writing Pixie: That scene is a lot bigger than it seems and will come full circle again in the future. For now, great job in guessing who it really was!
Ihasredchair: I'm trying not to push myself too hard (and thanks for the luck). I thought it was very sad that he had all this planned out for her and that she broke his heart. Its sad to think how different their lives could have been if she had only let him go with her.
Kaori-Anna: This is true. Kyoya always seems to know everything before everyone else and clearly from what we saw of his interaction with Yuzuru, he's known about Haruhi for a long time
Blossoming Rose18: I'm so glad you love it! :D
BlackButlerislife: Why do you want to hurt her?! We haven't even really met her yet!
Alice Kitten: I was very tired when I typed up those responses last night lol. I didn't quite finish my train of thought. I meant if you have desktop internet access lol The websites I used to use wont work on a mobile device. So if you don't have a laptop they wont work. That's what I meant lol sorry! but the website is wwwdotmangareaderdotnet obviously just change .For some reason links aren't getting posted properly so I had to write it out like that.
Superunicornrainbowgirl: Ah! Like I said in my PM to you I'm so sorry I misunderstood your review. I thought you meant the chapter was sad! I didn't realize you were specifically referencing to the potential engagement.
LadyGray1174: If you found a way to throw chocolate chip muffins through the computer to me… I would post the rest of this story in its entirety right now. LOL