Nanalee joined her friends gathered around the twins' sickbeds in the hospital. After staring at the boys for several minutes, she began to ask something when someone shushed her. She saw why. One of the twins, Kaoru, she thought, began to stir.
"Where am I?" He asked, his eyes hidden by a mask over his eyes.
"Don't try to sit up." Kyoya advised.
Ignoring him, Kaoru tried to sit up, letting out a groan of pain. Lying back down, he asked, "Is Hikaru okay?"
"He's fine Kaoru." Haruhi said, soothingly, "He just hasn't woken up yet."
"Am I blind?" He asked.
There was an awkward pause. Nanalee held her breath. Kyoya hadn't mentioned Kaoru losing his sight, but still.
"No. Not blind. You're left eye has been significantly damaged, but it will heal, and with time, your sight in that eye will be 75% of what it used to be. Your left arm is broken and you lost a lot of blood." Kyoya answered.
"Hikaru?"
"He'll be fine. Both his wrists are broken as is his left leg, but he'll be fine."
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes."
"Nanalee?"
"Yes, she's here."
"She's in the most danger."
"What?" The members of the host club said together.
"Or rather, their after her. The person from the Black Magic club wants her, not dead, but in pain. He wants her to grieve at what's her fault and to be in physical pain...They didn't explain what that last bit means, but it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what."
"I'm not surprised."
The others turned to face her. "I am the only new person in your group. Something that happens so soon after I start hanging out with you guys...well it's not that hard to connect the two things. I'm sorry I've brought all of you into danger. Did you learn anything else Kaoru?"
"No...sorry. Um, can you guys wake me up when Hikaru wakes up?"
"Of course."
They stood in silence. Nanalee excused herself to restroom. Once safely in a stall, she let a few tears escape her. She hadn't wanted to bring her friends into danger. She hadn't wanted to bring herself into danger either. She had just wanted to help Anne-Sophie.
She closed her eyes and leaned back, clearing her mind.
"Um...Nanalee are you alright?" It was Rene at the door of the women's restroom.
Clearing her voice of emotion, she answered, "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Hikaru's woken up."
"Oh. Just give me a minute." Since she was in the restroom, she went ahead and relieved herself. The flight had been long after all.
Back in the hallway, Rene asked, "How was your visit in France?"
"Nice. Truly a vacation. I have a videos to show you guys." Nanalee was aware that there were cameras throughout the hospital. "You'll have to come over to the Ootori's this week to see them."
"I'm sure I'll enjoy it."
Both twins were up when they got back to the room. Hikaru too, knew nothing else. After exchanging pleasantries with everyone and making Tamaki upset, they went back to sleep, and the group dispersed.
The next morning, Nanalee slept in. And the maids let her. The few times in the past where her alarm clock hadn't woken her up, they would do, barely giving her enough time to get ready for school/ They told her that it was the time Kyoya ordered them to wake him up at. She didn't envy them in that task.
But today, it was already nine. Rather upset, she grabbed hold of the service phone, similar to those at hotels, and dialed for maid service. "Um...How may I help you Nanalee-sama?"
"Why wasn't I woken up this morning?"
"Ootori-sama decided that neither you or Kyoya-sama needed to attend school today."
"Why?"
"Ootori-sama didn't inform us."
"Alright. Thanks." She hung up, then preceded to throw on a sweat-shirt and jeans. She didn't bother to do anything with her hair; until they went something, she would leave the tangly mess of half curls to themselves.
She grabbed her lock picks, knowing that Kyoya locked his door every night and left her room, intending to break into his.
Once inside, she opened his heavy curtains wide, letting blinding light pierce his face. He groaned and turned onto his side, keeping his face away from the sun. "If that's how its going to be then..." She ran back over to her room and grabbed an empty vase, filling it with water from the sink in her bathroom.
Soon she was standing over a soaking wet Kyoya, who was glaring at her. He was indeed scary when he was woken up. "Instead of doing you're whole Low Pressure Lord thing, shouldn't you be wondering why the maids didn't wake you up today, a school day."
"What day is it?"
"Monday. And its half past nine." She jumped down from the bed. "Your father has decreed that we don't need to go to school today. I'll give you some time to get dressed, then we're going to find out why."
"Can't you find out without me?"
"Do you want me too? I thought that you would want to know as well." She smirked, "And, if I go exploring I might find out more of your secrets."
"Fine." Nanalee went back to her room to fight with her hair until he was ready.
She stopped as they passed Yoshio's office. Both he and Yuzuru were in it, chatting over skype with...Nanalee rubbed her eyes. Her grandmother was on the computer screen.
Yuzuru spotted her and Kyoya as she gaped at her grandmother. "Nanalee, Kyoya, good morning. Nanalee, I wanted to talk to you about your scholarship."
"Why? Is there a chance it will be withdrawn?" She stepped into the office, leaving Kyoya at the doorway.
Yoshio addressed his son, "Kyoya you may leave."
Kyoya bowed, but didn't leave. Instead he said, "Father, do you truly think that I haven't guessed the true reason our guest is attending Ouran?"
Yuzuru sighed, "He is bright, and he figured it out, just as I told you. You may come in Kyoya."
He came in behind Nanalee and closed the door.
"We were discussing the new dilemma." Yoshio explained.
"You mean the attempts on our lives?" Nanalee asked. "By the way its great to see you again grandmother, but isn't it 3 in the morning there." She hadn't reset her watch to Tokyo's time yet.
"It is, but this is important."
Yuzuru nodded. "She's right. So far Kyoya's done a good job at providing extra security for the club members, but he can't do everything, as proved yesterday. We need to speak to the other parents about increasing security around their children, but I'm cautious in doing so. Its dangerous to bring more people into the secret than necessary."
"We're dealing with people's lives here, Yuzuru, not your feud with your mother." Nanalee said.
"I know, but still..."
"Yuzuru, is it possible your mother is in someway responsible for this?" Yoshio asked.
"I doubt it. I don't think that's quite her style. Maybe if they were all normal, middle class citizens, but..." Yuzuru said.
"You guys don't know very much do you?" Nanalee asked. The two men looked at her. "I'll explain. We have found out from various sources that the main perpetrator of these attacks is most probably in the Black Magic Club at Ouran."
"I'll shut it down then and investigate every member!" Yuzuru said.
Nanalee and Kyoya started to speak at the same time. "Err. You can explain." He said, once they had both fallen quiet.
"You can't do that. They're rich people. That would make things more complicated. And then Shizue would want to find out why. The more attention brought to me, the more likely your ploy is discovered. Especially when she finds out that whoever it is is after me."
"What!" Cerise said. "You didn't tell me that when you visited!"
"That's because she didn't know until last night. The twins told us that their captors had let that slip."
"You're Kyoya?" Cerise asked.
"Yes, Madame. You're her grandmother."
"Yes."
"So Nanalee, what do want to do?" Yoshio asked.
"I don't think what I want to do is an option. I could stay here and distance myself from people as much as possible, but I don't think that would work...or rather, I don't think the others would let me distance myself from them. I could also move back to France. But I'm not sure that would fix the problem. Kaoru did say that "he" wanted me to grieve at what's my fault. The assassination attempts might continue. Then there's always the possibility that we might figure out who was responsible before anyone else gets hurt. All I want is for none of my friends to get hurt or killed."
They stared at her. She spoke again, quickly, "Or myself. I'm not one of those people who sacrifice everything for others and who don't care for themselves."
Yuzuru said slowly, "Except you did sacrifice things for others. First when you left France to come here."
"That was because it would be an adventure, and I'd get to visit another country."
"Then you sacrificed yourself for my son, actually putting yourself in the line of fire."
"I was running on adrenaline and wasn't thinking."
"It doesn't matter." Yoshio's voice broke through. "What matters is what we're going to do now."
"I'll speak to the other parents and increase security at the school and around my son. Can your police force provide security for Haruhi and for these two?" Yuzuru motioned at Kyoya and Nanalee.
"Yes."
"Then we'll provide extra security while searching for the culprit for a week or two. Then, or after another attack, we'll review our options again."
"Okay." Cerise said, hesitantly. "Nanalee, I want you call me every day."
"Yes grandmother."
"Night." Cerise turned off her side of Skype.
"Now I understand why we didn't go to school day. My curiosity is sated." Nanalee stood.
"That's why you two came downstairs?" Yoshio asked.
"That's why I came downstairs. I don't know about him." She gestured at Kyoya.
"I did wish to know why." He said.
"I'm going to go make tea now. I have a caffeine addiction." Nanalee left the room.
Nanalee looked up from her sketch. It was Friday and they were visiting the twins in the hospital along with the rest of the group. But when Kaoru and Hikaru fell asleep, they had all left, leaving her and Kyoya at the hospital.
"Come on, we're going." Kyoya had returned.
" And since when do you decide when we're going." She responded, changing pencils.
"Would you like to stay here at their bedside longer than?"
"Not really. I got what I needed." She flourished the sketch in his face before putting it in her bag carefully.
"I don't recall Gabriel being in any kind of accident in your latest installment."
"That's because I've written several 'installments' in advance. What did the doctor say?" She stood up.
"The twins can leave the hospital tomorrow. They'll return to school Monday. When is your first volume coming out?"
"Halloween. When are you reopening the Host Club?"
"Its on hiatus for now, until this mess is sorted out."
"That will be nice," Nanalee said, sighing.
"Yes it will."
"Then I can go do things normal people do with my friend Haruhi." They got inside the limo waiting outside the hospital. "Without security guards with us, and better, without rich boys."
"So say the girl caused it all," He said quietly.
She took a sharp intake of air, "That...That was really mean, Kyoya."
He looked at her for a minute. "I suppose it was. I won't say it again."
Knowing this was the closest he'd get to an apology, she said, "Then I too will apologize for what I said about rich boys. Not the security guards though. Do you know how awkward they make shopping in lingerie department?"
He didn't answer. They settled into a silence. Nanalee looked out through the window. "I hope Haruhi's made it home alright?"
"Why?"
"Because there's about to be a big storm."
As soon as Nanalee stepped out of the limo, a strong wind from the storm blew her hat off. She shivered, though the say wasn't really cold. She looked up at the stormy sky and screamed, just as an alarm pierced the air.
She fell.