Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC; Studio Bones and Bisco Hatori own it
Disclaimer: I do not own OHSHC; Studio Bones and Bisco Hatori own it. I do not lay claim to the original idea of the Ouran Elementals; many thanks to Star-of-Seraph for her permission to use them. However, I do own this whole storyline and everything non-canonical.
Musical Accompaniment: Tempus Vernum by Enya. This is best played during the first scene all the way through to Haruhi returning to the shoreline.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Huamulan for suffering under my demanding wishes and unexpected chapters. Many thanks!
Chapter 21
As Haruhi stared up at the vicious gray clouds, pregnant with danger and disaster, she could only think of one thing.
This is a very bad idea.
"Actually, this was your idea," Kyouya said, and she was so surprised to hear him speak aloud that she actually jumped. "Excuse me for eavesdropping."
Haruhi shook her head, hiding a blush as she turned back to the edge of the cliff. "It's my fault. It must sound like I'm screaming."
"No, but you're not in a stable state of mind, so you're not shielding as well as you usually do," he said, though he seemed to speak to the ocean rather than Haruhi. There was a certain kindness in his choice to not direct the bluntness at her.
The sound of muted thunder, like the beginning of an avalanche, made her flinch. She turned and nearly ran back inland to where twelve other people stood in clusters of two or three, all dressed in brightly-colored raincoats over their winter jackets. Haruhi, in blue, made herself a space between Tamaki and Mori – her two tallest kindred.
'Are you sure about this?' the blonde asked, putting his arm across her shoulders.
'Yes,' Haruhi said, though it wasn't entirely true. 'I want – no, I need to do this. I can't keep saying that I want to get better and then run away.'
'But you were doing so much already,' Kaoru added, his eyes staring out at the tumultuous waters as if he could will the weather to behave. 'You're already a lot better than before. I mean, you're out here.'
'But it's not enough,' she said, grabbing Mori's hand when she heard another rumble of thunder. Worse; she couldn't close her mind quickly enough to keep from projecting her fear onto her kindred. In response, they all sent out thoughts of comfort and quiet and warm arms. It was enough to give her some balance as her mind spun circles around itself.
After the Iwasaki incident, Haruhi made the conscious choice to start overcoming her fear of thunderstorms. It was extremely slow progress, not just because it hinged on the presence of storms as the catalyst, but because it was such an ingrained fear that "getting over" her terror wasn't as simple as she wished it'd be. She'd been trying for months to get herself more and more used to storms – watching rainfalls, listening to New Age CDs with thunder as part of a track, and even being with her kindred as it rained – and she honestly felt she was getting better. The thought of being in a thunderstorm didn't cripple her anymore, nor did she worry about the weather with such obsessive concern.
But the truth of the matter was that thunder and lightning still terrified her, and she was tired of being afraid. It was winter – January was a poor time to make this decision – but Haruhi didn't want to wait for next spring to face her fear. She had asked Takumi and Kayo when the next weather system was bringing in a storm.
"There's always something being stirred up over the ocean," Kayo said, her eyes vacant as she looked beyond the front room of the Sanano house. "There's a microsystem about fifty miles south … there's some wind changes a little farther east… nothing particularly close to Japan. Why do you want to know?"
And Haruhi had taken a deep breath and said, "Because I want to try controlling a storm."
Two days later, Takumi called and told her that the High Circle was allowing them – Circle Sanano – to turn a sudden winter storm away from Japan. He neglected to mention to the High Circle that it would be Circle Fujioka doing the work.
So that afternoon, once classes were over and the Host Club had changed from their costumes to more casual wear, the Ootori limousine ferried them from Ouran's grounds to the city of Sanmu in the Chiba prefecture. The forty-five minute drive was spent in nervous deliberation on Haruhi's part and rambunctious noisemaking on her kindred's as a way to distract her from what was coming up.
And yes, she was scared. And yes, she wanted to go home and bury herself beneath the table and blankets and her kindred's caring mindvoices.
But I can't stop here, not after coming this far.
So she took a deep breath and left the comfort of Tamaki's arm. "We should start whenever Circle Sanano is ready."
A whisper of displeasure – at her impending suffering, at her willingness to bear it, at their inability to stop it – went through her kindred, but they all went to their elder counterparts.
"So everyone knows what they're supposed to do, right?" Bien asked. She was the only person not wearing anything more protective than a sweater and jeans against the cold. A light red sheen hovered a few inches above her skin, and the rolling fog hissed when it came into contact with her elemancy.
Hikaru hadn't reached her level of finesse – keeping himself warm and dry without burning off his clothes – and he carried a waterproof blanket under his arm. "Yeah. I've never done something like this before, though."
"Don't worry, Hikaru-kun," she grinned, reaching up and ruffling his wet hair. When she pulled her hand away, it was dry. "We're doing this together."
He looked a little embarrassed, like a kid who's had his face wiped in public by his mother, but he followed Bien to the cliff and spread out the blanket about twenty feet from the edge. The two of them sat cross-legged on it, facing each other with their knees touching. Around them stood the Earth, Light, and Dark Elementals. Since the bulk of the work was going to be done by the weather-related Elementals, it was only because of their sense of solidarity that the others were present. Tamaki was upset and Kyouya was pissed about their lack of usefulness, but they were kind enough to keep from projecting it too loudly.
Haruhi joined Huni, Kaoru, and the remaining Sanano Elementals at the edge. She could feel the waves moving beneath her, crashing against the rocks and spraying upwards, and the taste of ocean water mixing with fresh rain. It made her anxiety fade for just a few moments as she let herself be calmed by the water from within and without.
"Do you think you can handle the distance?" Kayo asked Huni, who voiced his affirmative. "And you?"
"I think so. Probably," Kaoru said.
"We'll be with you kids, but we're not going to act unless you either say something or suddenly drop dead," Takumi said. "If you're having a problem, tell us. There's no room for pride if you're falling 15,000 feet into the Pacific."
"With a raging storm on your back," Amaya added, strolling towards them with a wicked smile on her face. "God, I wish I could go with you guys. Playing with a storm, letting it control you… the adrenaline rush is like nothing you'll ever feel. You could get high off it."
Am I the only person who won't? Haruhi thought. She could sense the excitement beneath Kaoru and Huni's carefully focused veneer. Though they were worried for her, they were looking forward to doing this; Haruhi didn't begrudge them their enthusiasm.
"Ready?"
Everyone turned their heads to look at her, and Haruhi took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. "I think so."
"Then let's do this!" And Raitoya jumped backwards off the cliff, executing a single back-flip before rising into the sky. Lightning shone around his skin, humming like white noise from a hundred computers.
Kaoru muttered, "Goddamn show-off," and leapt off the cliff like he was charging to war. His own elemancy, a deeper shade of gold than Raitoya's, crackled like thunder as he chased down the older Elemental.
A violent wind spun around both Kayo and Takumi, and the two of them lifted off the ground without a word. Haruhi sensed Huni coming up behind her and, with an unspoken whisper for permission, brought his arms beneath her legs and shoulders to cradle her against his chest. Then they were flying, and she didn't look back at the eight left behind. She had eyes only for the clouds hovering low, speaking in basso profundo that only her and her kindred could understand.
Haruhi had no concept of how far they'd flown; time was too amorphous with the weight of the barely-restrained storm against her shoulders. It was all she could do to count breaths and watch the ocean crash and break below her dangling feet. She felt the voice of the thunderstorm in the very depth of her soul, and she closed her eyes and prayed for salvation.
Up ahead, barely twenty feet away but half-hidden by the fog, Raitoya and Kaoru made a sharp ninety-degree turn that sent them directly into the clouds. Kayo and Takumi followed them without a second thought.
Haruhi watched them disappear, eaten by the monstrous clouds, and felt her panic start to rise again.
No! No, it's all right. They're all fine, I know it. I can feel Kaoru, and the Sananos are too good to get into trouble.
It felt like the world was spinning though Huni had stopped flying. She pressed a hand to her forehead, willing the fear into the very corners of her mind. She couldn't make it go away, but she would control it.
So she reached into her elemancy, feeling her tattoo come to life as it drank in the storm's potential, and felt a tiny bubble of excitement take the place of fear.
'I'm ready,' she whispered, and Huni climbed into the clouds.
As they ascended, rising like souls of the newly departed, Haruhi realized that her breathing wasn't becoming impaired. When they entered the lowest cloud, with water now beading on her hair and the back of her neck, she also noticed that the temperature hadn't made any dramatic drops.
'Hikaru and Bien are keeping it stable for us below the cloud cover, and I'm making sure we have enough oxygen. We're not that close to the death zone, but there's no point in taking chances,' Huni said. It was easier to speak mind-to-mind; their voices would be lost in the clouds.
'And Kaoru?'
'He's with the Sanano trio. They're watching out for him.'
As they rose higher and higher, Haruhi saw a sliver of gold and sapphire through the thick clouds. Now the temperature had fallen to freezing – the water in her hair turned to ice, and she quietly thanked her father for the new scarf and earmuffs – and when they finally broke the highest cloud layer, Haruhi was shivering in the sunlight.
They were floating in the endless sky, close enough to bend and drink from the violent clouds that chilled her skin and soaked her hair. Huni's arms were still holding her with protective strength and Wind elemancy, and Haruhi kept her arms wrapped carefully around his neck. Next to them was Kaoru, with one hand was resting on Haruhi's shoulder as his fingers brushed her cheek.
And across from them were Takumi, Kayo, and Raitoya – the personification of the elements. Their tattoos were brilliant colors of the storm, and there was a look of such detached focus in their eyes that Haruhi was certain they weren't actually seeing the world in front of them. They, on the other hand, looked relatively unaffected by the cold, though Takumi's lips were turning blue and Kayo's ears were bright red.
From below came the muted sound of thunder's laugh, and suddenly she had no interest in anything but getting as far from the sky as she could. Floating so close to the storm was pushing so far past her limits that she was falling into the familiar (God, I hate this) panic attacks.
'I'm sorry, Haru-chan, but we can't go down yet.'
'I know, I know. It's just hard and I keep thinking that I'm going to die and that the lightning's going to catch me and-'
'It won't hurt you; not while I'm here,' Kaoru promised.
'And we're not going to leave you,' Mitsukuni said, resting his forehead against hers and breathing solidarity. 'Promise.'
She believed them both. They told her the same thing when they'd rescued her so long ago.
"Are you ready?" Takumi asked, and he was human again when his eyes shone with unspoken concern. Despite the noise that echoed from everywhere, she could hear his voice with diamond clarity.
No I'm not ready I'll never be ready I can't do this I don't want to do this -
but the memories of that night –
I won't let anything control me like that again.
And Haruhi clutched onto that determination with all her being. "Yes," she said, firm and honest and ready to battle.
Without Amaya, it was Kayo that took the leadership position. "Then here's what we'll do. Right now, the storm is being held in its cumulus stage. The cloud wants to rise, and the higher it goes, the greater the chance of free-floating air condensing into rain and ice. But Bien – and your Hikaru – are keeping the ocean thermals from rising and forcing the cloud upwards. They're also going to be the ones who, when you're ready, initiate the mature stage of the thunderstorm. They are not, however, going to be a part of the microsystem itself, so do not rely on them to offer control."
"None of you have ever done elemancy of this scale before. Your attention will be on the storm, so much so that you might lose focus of what's an immediate concern," she said, looking at both Haruhi and Mitsukuni. "So if you like, I can hold Haruhi, either with winds or in my arms."
Haruhi would have preferred to stay with her kindred, but she liked the idea of being dropped even less. Mitsukuni pursed his lips, and his reluctance was evident in words and thoughts. "I think I can take care of her… but don't want my pride to get in the way of Haruhi's well-being. So…."
"I will help if you need me," Kayo said without hesitation.
"The first person to release will be me to you," Raitoya said to Kaoru. "You need to keep the lightning under control until the storm is ready to be released. After that, you'll need to make sure that it doesn't strike any of us. We can't float above the clouds – it's too close to the edge of Earth's atmosphere – so it's your job to release the lightning around us."
The redhead nodded sharply, and the unspoken fact that he was the one protecting Haruhi from her worst fears gave him a focus that she'd rarely seen.
"I will hand the clouds and rain to Haruhi next. Water and Wind are extremely interwoven with weather elemancy, but it's the rise of clouds into the colder atmosphere that creates rain. So before it rises, your job will be to hold it in stasis. Keep the clouds light – force them to remain as water vapor – and don't let rain form until everything is ready. After that, once the thunderstorm is mature, you can simply release it at your controlled will."
"Will you let us know when to act?" Haruhi asked.
"Yes, but the weather itself will help guide you, too. And like we said before, if you're having problems, then tell us."
"The last stage will be the release my control of the winds to Mitsukuni. Once that's done, then we'll signal to our Fires to do their work. We're going to continue a free-float right here; as the clouds rise to their maximum height, we'll be caught between the up and downdrafts," Kayo explained. "However, you have the most important job – to drive the storm away from Japan. Haruhi and Kaoru will help by manipulating their respective elements, but the sole purpose for having Elementals watch the shorelines is to protect the land. The best way to do that is to let the energy that's built up be released in a natural but controlled manner."
"Send it back across the ocean," Mitsukuni said.
"You can't simply send it backwards – that would take more elemancy than you need to waste – but the higher north you go, the colder it gets and the weaker the updraft. Thus, I want you to send it north. By the time the tempest gets anywhere close to Hokkaido, it should have dissipated."
"And if it doesn't?"
"If there's still some energy left over, it should be only a minor snow storm. If it's not, the Hokkaido Circles will take care of it. We've given them some warning. Does everyone know what to do?"
"Yes," all three Fujioka Elementals said, one mind united in one purpose. Kayo waved a lazy hand to Raitoya.
"Then let's do this," he said with a dangerous smile.
Haruhi couldn't sense anything happening between the two Lightnings, but Kaoru's hand suddenly tightened on her shoulder as he inhaled sharply. He pulled away when he began sparking without control, and Haruhi hissed as a small shock burned her ear. But Kaoru was so far gone, so enmeshed within the lightning all around him, that he didn't have the mind to apologize. He arched his back as if he was being electrocuted, and she knew it was all he could do to keep it from lashing out at the floating bodies around him.
"Haruhi," Takumi said, and it was the only warning she was given before his tattoo began to die away. She reached out with elemancy, feeling the edges of the clouds, and embraced them in her ethereal arms.
And she understood why Kaoru looked so overwhelmed because the clouds wanted to explode from her grasp and it felt like she was being devoured this is worse than the incident with the waterfall because it wasn't just a matter of not being able to hold so much elemancy but controlling something that can never be controlled.
Once again, the voices in her head disappeared as she struggled to hold everything together. This wasn't like any elemancy she'd ever done before; preventing the clouds from raining down was like carrying a giant blob of half-solidified mochi that constantly slipped and fell through her fingers – and grew bigger with every breath. There was no keeping up with it because all she could do was juggle the not-water from arm to arm before it could overflow and splatter to the ground.
She didn't really notice when Mitsukuni's arms let her go and Kayo's took his place. She also didn't notice when the clouds roared around her like a blinding smokescreen, shooting up so quickly that her raincoat was plastered against her back and her hair whipped around her head. The world was nothing more than gray miasma, thick enough to drink and drown within, and Haruhi knew she was trapped.
Like a brush of silk to skin, she felt the presence of another Water Elemental – that's Takumi I know his touch, his elemancy – and there was something warm and encouraging about him that told her she wasn't trapped. Because now the clouds were reaching their apex and droplets were turning to ice and falling through the lower levels and turning back to raindrops and now this, this is what she could handle because it was her element in its purest form.
Haruhi realized that she was not only in control, but completely and utterly free.
So when she felt the first touches of rain on her coat, she tossed her head back and laughed. There was no room for fear because there was nothing to be afraid of. She felt the connection between the rain above and the ocean beneath, and she twisted out of Kayo's arms to stand in the middle. It was only because of her winds that Haruhi didn't tumble down into the wild waters, but the latter wouldn't have noticed as she let out a cry of untamable victory and threw her arms out to welcome the tempest.
Because nothing felt as right as rain drawing lines along her chilled skin and falling between her spread fingers.
A touch of electricity – not like a lightning bolt, but a gentle tingling that raised the hair on the back of her neck – reminded her of what she needed to do. Both Kaoru and Mitsukuni were floating around her, and their tattoos were so brilliant and heaven-bright that she couldn't look directly at their faces. Through them she could feel the elastic resistance of the winds, taste the cumin sharpness of static, and simply be the ecstatic power of a tempest.
There were no words needed as Mitsukuni began to move the storm, and his elemancy reflected his physical talents. He did not force the storm with vicious hits and punches. Rather, he grabbed the whirling winds and spun with them, redirecting their energy to the north like an aikido master deflecting an unwanted attack. His meticulousness made it easy for Haruhi to follow his moves. Though she didn't have his background in martial arts, she understood the physics of flow and pressure. As his winds moved, so did the clouds. She simply encouraged them to follow the path of the squall, shedding bits of water and ice in its wake. The multicell thunderstorm – I know this, I know this because it's telling me how big it is and how it wants to get bigger and bigger – yelled and strained, but it couldn't fight its own nature. Kaoru, with electricity binding the particulate matter together, kept the clouds from separating and gathering more energy from its surroundings. He released lightning into the crashing sea below, dropping hammers of electricity around them with casual, perfect precision.
Once again, the concept of time was lost on all three as they floated in its moving center. They were held within its womb but ready to fall when the storm had finished its labors. Yet it was stubborn, touching the cold northern winds and accepting them into itself.
Then we'll have to wear you out, Haruhi thought, and she poured more of herself into the rain and snow. Mitsukuni understood what she was thinking, and he joined her efforts by forcing the downdraft to overpower the updraft. The cold winds cut through the rising warmth, hitting the ocean and shattering like diamond rain in all directions. Without the warmer updraft to lift water vapor into the air, the thunderstorm began to drain itself.
That's it, keep raining and snowing and falling, she gently spoke to the nimbus. You've had your temper tantrum, now it's time to go to sleep.
And, though it fought and pouted the entire time, the storm quickly faded into a shadow of rain hovering above their heads. When she could see clearly again, she could see the Sanano-three. They were soaked and smiling and obviously enjoying the chance to play in the clouds.
To her surprise, Haruhi realized that she was still smiling, too. Then the sun broke through the very edges of the storm clouds, coloring the still-seething ocean in prismatic shades of blue, and her tattoo died away.
We did it.
"We did it," she whispered, and all the strength in her body fled with those three words. She didn't pass out, but doubled over so that it looked as if she were jackknifed over an invisible hook. She realized that she had just spent countless minutes in a thunderstorm, and Haruhi thought she might be sick from the adrenaline rush and the delayed feeling of terror.
But I did it I did it thank God I didn't choke up and die I did it.
"Good job, little Haruhi," Takumi said softly, turning her in the air so that he could carry her. He carefully pulled the rain from her skin, and his closeness warmed her like a subtle fire. "That was beautifully done. Just relax; we'll take care of you now."
When she looked around, she saw Kaoru slumped on Raitoya's back and Huni's arm slung across Kayo's shoulders. Both were exhausted. They were conscious too, but their mindvoices were faint as rice paper. The Sanano trio silently nodded, sharing a secret thought, and they headed back to the shoreline; back to land and her kindred's anxious arms.
Though in the private part of her mind, Haruhi thought that she wouldn't have minded staying in Takumi's for just a moment longer.
--
'Maybe you should stay home today,' Tamaki half-suggested, half-pleaded. 'I mean, aren't you still tired after all that elemancy?'
'That was four days ago. I'm fine now. And besides, I was invited somewhere and it'd be rude to cancel ten minutes before he's supposed to show,' Haruhi said, buttoning up a white cashmere sweater.
'So it is a date,' Hikaru said, pouncing on the implication.
Haruhi sighed and checked the clock. Only 8:15 AM, and she had some time to kill. Her kindred – sans Kyouya, who was still sleeping or purposely ignoring her – had been at this for the last twenty minutes. Huni and Mori spoke little, but she could still sense their desire to be with her. 'It is not a date. Takumi-san said it's a reward for how well I handled the storm.'
'Then me and Huni should go with,' Kaoru reasoned.
'No way. He only invited me, and he shouldn't have to put up with you guys on such short notice.'
'Ouch. Thanks, Haruhi. Didn't realize that you thought of us like that.'
She grabbed a comb and began taming the still-damp flyaways. 'You know that's not what I mean. It's just… can't I have a day to myself? I see you guys all the time, six out of seven days a week, and sometimes it's nice to have quiet time.'
'We really like spending time with you,' Huni said, as if he could make her understand by saying it enough.
'But not all the time. We need some space – all of us,' she replied, putting a few bobby pins in her hair to keep her bangs from falling into her eyes. When she was satisfied with the outcome, she cleaned up the bathroom and dropped a handful of things into her purse.
'But-'
And the doorbell rang, cutting off Tamaki's comment. Haruhi carefully closed her mind, though she could sense the boys pushing on the edges, wanting acknowledgment and the 'ok' to join her today. She simply ignored them and opened the door.
Takumi was leaning against the doorframe, looking well-groomed in khakis and a matching suit coat with a brown collared shirt underneath. His hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, and from two feet away Haruhi could catch a slight whiff of aftershave.
She looked down at herself with silent dismay. Takumi had told her to dress well but prioritize comfort, so she chose a pink dress that brushed her knees, white leggings, and the sweater on top for extra warmth. Comparing the two, he looked so much more put together that Haruhi felt a little underdressed.
But Takumi smiled and said, "Hey, you look great. Don't see you in a skirt too often, so this is a nice treat."
"Thanks," she said, and a little flutter of joy rested in her stomach. She stepped to the side and invited him in; he accepted her offer. "I've just got to grab a few things, then I'll be ready."
"Take your time. We're going to be early as it is."
"So where are we going?" she asked from the bathroom, putting her keys and wallet into her purse. "Is this going to be an all-day event?"
"Yup, but I'm still not telling where we're going. It's a surprise."
"But what if I need-"
"Don't worry so much, Haruhi. If you need anything, I'll pick it up for you."
'Or we could meet you there and help, too!' Tamaki said, trying for helpfulness.
'Would you go do something today?' she said, her mindvoice taking on a cooler edge as she put her jacket on. 'Surely there's something that great scions of wealth can do to keep themselves occupied for a few hours.'
'But we wanna be with you!' Hikaru argued, though Kaoru asked, 'So why do you like it when he compliments you, but not when we do it?'
'Because Takumi-san has no ulterior motive,' she said, grabbing her shoes and heading for the door. "I'm ready."
"You look a little… distracted," Takumi noted, tapping his temple. "Your kindred?"
She ushered him out, then locked the door behind them. "No surprise, huh? They're annoyed because I'm not letting them come with."
Takumi chuckled. Then, as they were walking towards his car, he put an arm over her shoulders in a purely casual manner that, to outsiders, probably looked suggestive. "Don't worry boys," he said, as if talking to himself. "I'll take good care of her."
Haruhi had to force images of seas and oceans at her kindred to keep their indignant shouts from overwhelming her mind. All the while Takumi genteelly helped her into the car, and then they were speeding down the road.
"That wasn't very helpful," she said, when the boys were quiet enough to let her think. "They got upset, and I had to bear the brunt of it."
"Sorry," he said, though obviously unrepentant. "But those boys really need to lighten up. They're your kindred, and they're never going to be unimportant to you."
"Wish I could convince them of that," Haruhi muttered, her own words ringing similarly to Takumi's.
"You'll figure yourselves – and each other – out. It just needs time," he said, and his tone was a little softer. "Even after you've been a Circle for five, ten, twenty years, you still have to work to keep it from falling apart. A Circle's still a seven-sided relationship, and you can't take any member for granted."
Haruhi slowly nodded. Then, when Takumi fell silent, she summoned her tattoo and telepathy.
'I really care about you guys, you know.'
The admission wasn't new, but it was so unexpected that six minds went still as sunlight. She continued, 'But we need time to be apart so we don't take this relationship for granted. So we don't lose ourselves and forget what's important.'
Her unspoken question was not left unanswered. 'Have a good time today, Haruhi,' Huni said first, and Mori's simple, 'Take care' spoke volumes.
'Yeah. Have fun,' Hikaru said.
'Let us know when you're free,' Kaoru added.
Tamaki didn't speak; he radiated good-natured affection that left contentment in her chest as they all backed out of the connection.
Haruhi looked to the side, and saw Takumi smiling, his own tattoo shining as he shared something with his kindred. Moments later, it died down and gave her a quick sideways glance.
"I think we're gonna have a great day," he said, and Haruhi couldn't disagree. "Did you eat breakfast?"
"Yes."
"Good. You'll need the energy. We'll be getting lunch out, by the way. Any preferences?"
"As long as it's not somewhere expensive. I don't have much money."
Takumi laughed. "If I do, I'll be my treat. Don't your kindred ever take you out?"
"Not really. Mostly because I don't let them. I'd much more prefer to stay at home."
"Then I hope you like where we're going. Look out the window."
Haruhi had been staring forward the whole time, not really seeing the landscape, but when she turned her head, she saw Tokyo Bay rising to her left. It seemed like a great number of people were driving down to it and asked, "Where are we going?"
There was no hiding the mirth in Takumi's voice as he said, "The Annual Conference of the National Water Elementals Association."
"What?!" she gasped, sitting forward so quickly that the seatbelt clicked. "Are you kidding?"
"Nope," he said with great relish.
"Butbutbut how? I mean, I thought it was restricted access!" Haruhi sputtered, unable to stop staring at Takumi's grinning expression.
"See, that's the awesome thing about being in a sanctioned Circle. We get reduced-price passes to these things," he explained. "But it's not really any fun going by myself – none of my kindred want to go, any more than I'd like going to the Dark or Lightning conference – so I thought, 'hey, I'll bet Haruhi's never attended one before! She might like this!'."
"Yes! I mean, no, I've never been to one! This is amazing, I just can't believe it! Are we really going to the Water Elementals' conference?"
Takumi let out a laugh, full of good-natured amusement. "I've never heard you so animated before. You make it sound like this trip is the most exciting thing you've done in your life."
"It is exciting!"
"Then if your boys don't take you out more, then maybe I will."
Before Haruhi could comment on that thought, she noticed that they were heading towards one of the fancier hotels in the city. Now that they were closer to Tokyo Bay, she could see the waves crashing violently against the rocky shoreline.
The leap of intuition stole her breath. "The storm."
"What?"
"The storm that you had us stop. It was pulled here because all these Water Elementals are gathering in one place and drawing all the water in the atmosphere to them, right?"
He grinned. "You're pretty sharp. And yeah, that's the reason. The fact that you and yours were able to push it away is pretty indicative of your powers."
Haruhi felt a flush of pleasure burn her cheeks at his praise, but then frowned as they drove to one of the nicer hotels in Tokyo. It was a large, royal building about a block away from the Bay, and even from the distance she could still see the spray of white foam jumping up from the waters. "Uhm… where are we going?"
"The Conference."
"But why are we stopping here?"
"It's gotta be held somewhere," he said, pulling up to the front doors. A valet came to the car and politely opened the door for Haruhi. She looked to Takumi for assurance, but he was in the middle of a conversation, so she smiled at the valet and stepped out on her own. When she came around, Takumi held out his hand to her. It took her a fraction of a second to realize that he was waiting for her to respond, and it was with uncharacteristic shyness that she put her hand in his as he led her into the hotel.
She actually stopped in mid-step when they entered the lobby, her breath quietly caught in her throat.
Haruhi was becoming more and more used to opulence, thanks to the amount of time she spent with the Host Club. Ouran itself was filled with innumerable shows of wealth, to say nothing of the students' attitudes towards money and status. So when she walked into the lobby, with its spellglobe chandeliers and Persian rugs and infinite shows of splendor, she didn't even blink in surprise.
It was the sight of so many Water Elementals in one place that made tears momentarily cloud her vision.
Like coming home.
There were Elementals everywhere; men, women, young, old, casual, professional. Not all of them were using their talents, but in such a small area with so many people, it was impossible not to sense the power radiating off of them. Everyone was so absolutely comfortable with their elemancy that blue light emanated from the walls like living water, breathing and laughing and coloring the world with oceanic power. Haruhi just stood in one place, turning around as she looked at the eclectic collection of Elementals. Sitting on the couches was a group of college-age students in jeans, furiously arguing with their newspapers in hand and their tattoos aglow. Two older gentlemen were walking and tossing a small water-ball back and forth, their expressions solemn despite the playful action.
And then Haruhi saw Raikatsuji – the en-Circled woman who had tested Haruhi almost six months ago – chatting with another two Elementals. When she looked their way, her tattoo gave a little spark of surprise.
Haruhi's heart backflipped – oh no she's going to recognize me – and she reflexively pulled away to run; Takumi, however, took her hand and tucked it in the curve of his elbow, as if acting as her escort.
"Relax. You're with me," he whispered, then he grinned and said to Raikatsuji, "Nice to see you again, Chieko-san."
"You too, Zakioku-san," she said without returning the smile. Despite her casual wear, she still looked stern and severe. "And who is this?"
"My student, Fujioka Haruhi."
And how is that going to help me? she thought furiously.
But Raikatsuji didn't even blink at the name. Rather, she nodded in satisfaction and said, "Well, it's about time. I never saw you doing much pro-bono tutoring around the city, so this is a welcome change."
"Glad you approve," Takumi said, still sounding amused. "Are there any presentations or lectures that you think would be appropriate for a young Elemental to attend?"
"Katsura's doing a lecture on the application of Water elemancy in concurrence with the city water treatment, if you're environmentally minded," she said immediately, now looking at Haruhi. "Of course, the "in" thing to be studying this year is bifused elemancy so you'll want to see that whole set of presentations. I'll be giving a talk on the usage of Water as a supplement to biomedical Earth treatments, and that'll be in the session with organics. And, you'll have to check out the exhibit hall, since the companies bring some of their newest products that you can try them out and see what's coming up. The poster presentations are worth glancing over, even if you can't understand it, and there's supposed to be some dueling taking place on the bay later in the afternoon if you're still around. Is that enough?"
"Yes, thank you," Haruhi murmured, bowing her head and trying to hide how overwhelmed she felt.
"We appreciate your suggestions," Takumi said, "but we should probably be going. I need to get Haruhi a badge."
"I won't hold you up, then," Raikatsuji nodded, but before turning fully away, she stopped and said, "Oh, and you'll want to be there for the closing symposium. It's going to be about the recent epidemic of Elemental deaths."
Takumi's hand tightened on Haruhi's, pinning her in place. "We'll be sure to see that too," he said neutrally. "Thank you, Chieko-san."
Without a backwards glance she floated past the duo, calling out a name that Haruhi didn't recognize. Both her and Takumi stood together in silence as she absorbed Raikatsuji's words.
Over the past few months, Japan had seen a dramatic increase in the number of Elemental deaths. Most of them were teens and twenty-somethings, found in forging Circles that had gone wrong, but one or two were groups of adults. The news was constantly full of stories about Elementals dying, and Haruhi found it very disturbing. It kept reminding her of how closely she and her kindred must have come to their deaths.
"What do you think, Takumi-san?" she said, looking up at him. His brow was furrowed, almost angry, and it took a moment for her voice to pull him from his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Haruhi. What did you say?"
"About all these people dying. They're learning the Circle-forging technique from someone, right?"
"Well, I know that the High Circle's told us that they're the only people who can now speak of the secret. If someone comes to us for information, we have to forward them to the High Circle."
"Are there that many people?"
He shook his head. "There are idiots galore, but we're not sending them to the High Circle. A couple groups, yes, but most of the people coming to us are either people looking for a thrill or kids in gangs."
"That's sad."
"I wish I could feel bad about them ending up that way, but…," he shrugged, "maybe it's better that they're dead and not causing harm to innocents."
Haruhi blinked at him. She knew that for all his kindness, Takumi could be terribly ruthless when someone he cared for was in danger; she remembered their first meeting with grave clarity. It surprised her each time that side of him surfaced because he was usually gentle and affectionate with her.
But then she remembered how she felt when she found Iwasaki and his friends dead, and knew that she didn't have the right to cast stones.
Rather than stand around and look lost, Haruhi forced a topic change. "Uhm, you and Raikatsuji-san mentioned badges. Do I -"
"Oh, right! We gotta get moving!" and he looked thankful for the distraction as he led her down the halls. They moved in silence for a little while, with Haruhi trying to think of something else to talk about, and she actually brought Raikatsuji's previous comments to mind.
"So, what's bifused elemancy?"
"It's the mixture of two different types of elemancy, like Water and reverse Fire to make ice. Sometimes you can see trifused elemancy – Water, Wind, and Lightning for weather-related elemancy – but usually you'll come across bifused. It's hot these days because researchers are trying to make spellglobes that can hold more than one kind of elemancy. I think they've succeeded, too."
"But I thought spellglobes were made to hold only one kind-" and Haruhi stopped in mid-sentence. "Oh."
"Yeah, oh. Anyway, let's go get you a badge and then we can run rampantly through here."
The moment that Haruhi had pinned the badge to her sweater – matching the one that her companion wore – and took a few minutes to scan the program book, Takumi began pulling her around almost as eagerly as one of her kindred, though he was courteous enough to move slowly so her eyes could memorize the sights.
For once, she let her tattoo shine without care, letting her elemancy gently flick the people going by like a dragonfly's wings brushing leaves and flowers. While she usually tried to keep her elemancy in check while in public, for fear of making non-Elementals uncomfortable, there was no reason not to let her magic carefully mingle and harmonize with the Waters around her.
It quietly thrilled her to feel their elemancy returning the favor; some with muslin touches and others with bear-like paws of power. Even Takumi's elemancy, which was always so tightly shielded from the outside, swirled with hers in a braided ribbon that wrapped around their hands. Many attendees offered smiles, approving of a youthful presence, and some bowed their heads in a wordless greeting. There were many who recognized Takumi – an en-Circled Elemental was a famous Elemental – and he kindly introduced Haruhi to those he deemed worthy of her attention.
The first thing they did was sit in on a few symposiums, which were inspirational in ways beyond their initial meanings. Though Haruhi had no knowledge on the regulatory sequence of the elemancy-related gene – and less about whether or not it was an intron or part of the non-coding RNA region or even non-existent in a non-Elemental I'll have to look all that up later – the immensity of how much knowledge existed made her breath quicken in excitement. She had no interest in becoming an Elemental researcher, but it was still humbling and exhilarating to see how much had been discovered over the years. Some of the lectures were a little more lay-person oriented; the environmental one that Raikatsuji suggested was mostly understandable, and Haruhi particularly enjoyed the series on different teaching techniques for elemancy instructors.
Through them all, she scribbled notes into a binder that had been politely provided by the conference and felt a renewed passion for elemancy.
When they went to the exhibit hall, the buzz of voices and elemancy almost knocked her over. The room was enormous; one glance at the program told her that it filled over 250,000 square feet, or about ten Third Elemancy Rooms. A third of it was taken up by rows of posters; the other two-thirds had the actual exhibits and elemancy representatives. From Haruhi's vantage point, at the door leading straight to the posters, she could see hundreds of colorful backgrounds with bold titles proclaiming such facts as Rheology and Non-Newtonian Fluid Kinetics in Water Elemancy, and Comparative Effects of Earth and Water Elemancy in the Conduction of Fluids in Plant Vasculature.
I think I'm in a little over my head, she thought not for the first time that day. But she moved up and down the aisles with slow, even steps. She read titles and listened to a few speakers as they described their research, but didn't dawdle unless a subject caught her attention. Takumi disappeared somewhere during her travels, assumably to talk with a colleague, but she was unconcerned. He'd show up again.
After she finished looking at the posters, Haruhi immediately gravitated to the exhibits. Large booths were set up by different companies – ranging from bio-elemental corporations to small educational businesses – and each had little promotional gifts to hand out. Pens, post-it notes, and even USB flash drives magically found their way into her purse as she listened to the marketing descriptions, showing polite interest without intention of spending money. It was only when she reached the elemancy-related products that Haruhi found herself wishing she were wealthy.
As Takumi said, there were bimodal spellglobes being sold at ridiculously high prices. An Earth-Water spellglobe buried in a little pot of soil suddenly caused a healthy bloom of flowers to appear. The tiny prototype of a Wind-Water spellglobe was literally able to create rainstorms over controlled areas of the hall. The children's toys were almost as amazing, and Haruhi couldn't help but smile when she saw the rubber spellglobe glowing Water-blue bounce between two small children. They were hitting it with little elemancy shields on their hands, and when the ball got too far away, one of the adults simply summoned it back with a touch of elemancy. It was the first time she'd ever seen a spellglobe made of anything other than glass or quartz.
But with a sigh of defeat, knowing that even if she had such a thing she'd never toy around with it, Haruhi went to check out the textbooks. She'd actually found a small book on the basic physical properties of Water elemancy when Takumi returned.
"Trying to get rid of me?" he joked, and then read over her shoulder. "That's a good book."
"Should I buy it?"
"It's a little advanced, but by the time you reach college, you'll get it."
"Then I'll buy it then," she said firmly, putting it back and moving towards the next exhibit.
"Whoa, kid. In a hurry much?"
"A little, yes. I want to see everything. Why?"
"Lunchtime rolled over us. We should get something to eat."
Haruhi looked at her watch and only then realized how hungry she was. "But there's so much more to look at!"
"But there are two Waters that need to be fed!" Takumi said, his voice a mocking mimic of Haruhi's tone. "I can't believe how wired you are. Are you sure you don't have Light or Fire in your background?"
She grumbled and threw longing glances behind her, but Takumi would have none of it. He led her down the hallways and up one floor until they were in an upscale restaurant, sitting at a table overlooking Tokyo Bay. Haruhi was too busy reading her program guide and reviewing her notes to bother looking at the menu, leaving Takumi to place their orders, and then she was animatedly discussing her thoughts and musings. He was good about offering rejoinders, challenging her perspective without making her feel foolish or idiotic.
"I wish I could tell you more about everything, but I'm not very scientific," Takumi admitted after they finished a small debate on the biological versus spiritual source of elemancy. "You've got great ideas, but I feel like I'm not helping at all since I can't really answer your questions."
"No, you've been wonderful," Haruhi said, joyfully munching on the appetizer – something French that Tamaki would have recognized. "My mother was a Water, but she died when I was very young. I never got a chance to talk with another Elemental like this before, so I really appreciate your taking the time to do this."
He gave her a pleased smile, slightly crooked at one side, and his tattoo was the subtle color of spring rain. "You know, Haruhi, that's the first time you've ever told me something about yourself. Something really important."
With a shrug and another bite, she said, "I don't like talking about myself. You should know that by now."
"It was still a pleasant surprise," he said, then thoughtfully asked. "Would you be willing to trade? You know, secret for a secret?"
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Well, you told me a secret about yourself, so I'll tell you one about me. And we'll go back and forth for as long as you like, learning more about each other."
For some reason, Haruhi felt a different sort of anticipation bubbling in her chest. "Okay."
"I had a little sister; her name was Kasumi. She died when we were children."
A sliver of pain touched the place where her mother lived. Before Haruhi could speak and offer long-lost condolences, Takumi touched her lips with a finger.
"Don't. She's still a part of me, as your mother is with you," he said, and the empathy in his eyes made her want to take his hand. "I didn't tell you so I could garner pity. I told you because I trust you with her."
She nodded; he pulled away. The table was quiet as the waiter brought their main courses, setting the dishes on the table with muted porcelain thuds.
But after he was gone, Haruhi tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, ignored the heat in her cheeks, and said, "When I was little, my favorite thing to do was dress up in my mother's clothes and dance around the house. I was convinced I was going to be a ballerina when I grew up."
Takumi had the good manners to cover his mouth and mute the burst of laughter that he couldn't keep hidden. But like a gentleman, he returned her story with one of his own until both of them were smiling and comfortable with one another. They ate well – Takumi had good taste, probably nurtured by Jousuke and Bien – and when they finished, there was just enough time to take in one more symposium before heading off to the keynote session.
The auditorium was jam-packed full of Elementals, even though it was nearly 5 PM. They managed to score a seat in the upper-middle section; close enough to see the presenter but far enough to see the overhead projector. Everyone was talking about the most recent deaths, a group of college students found six days ago, and Haruhi fought down the urge to run from the hall. She wanted to hear what the speakers had to say, but it was more than a little terrifying to think that she could have just as easily joined the statistics.
And beside her, Takumi looked oddly solemn. He shared words with the people he recognized, but he lacked his usual charm.
He must be taking it hard, too, she thought. Though Circle Sanano was not gentle in dealing with would-be Circle forgers, they acted that way to protect the people who couldn't handle such power. To know that Elementals were still dying, most likely caused by unspecific forging information, was not making Circle Sanano happy. Haruhi could admire that.
The keynote speech actually involved three different speakers. One was a law enforcement specialist detailing the trends of death, one was an elementist – a person who studied elemancy – that gave a very blanket talk about the instability of raw elemancy that the Circle-forging procedure dealt with, and the last was someone from the broken Circle Watanabe talking about the responsibility that Elementals had for one another.
"I could go on and on about the virtues of family, but most people deny the importance of the Elemental community as a whole," Hongo-sensei said, his voice even but forceful as he spoke of something very personal. "We cannot pretend to be individual islands in a sea of unwelcome normalcy. We are not separated or untouched by the Elementals around us, regardless of being Water, Wind, or Light. So it is not the job of our en-Circled brethren to watch and coddle Elementals. It is the job of all Elementals to care for one another, to offer guidance when none may be available."
He went on for another ten minutes, stirring the crowd with his sublime truths and decisive compassion, and Haruhi couldn't help but feel his passionate words echoing back to her kindred.
'You know,' Tamaki quietly said, 'We are caring for the Elementals around us. We won't let anyone get left behind.'
She left the conference with a newfound sense of purpose and hope, that maybe her entrapment in the Host Club had been one of the best things that could have happened to her.
--
Haruhi was still riding the high of the Water Elemental Conference when she ran into Kasanoda the next day.
"Ah, Fujioka!" he said, sounding a little bit embarrassed mixed with eagerness. "D'you got a minute to talk with me?"
"Of course. What's on your mind?"
He glanced around, but something about the corridor must not have felt right because he said, "You mind if we go somewhere else?"
Haruhi shrugged. Class was over, and there was no incentive to be early to the Host Club. "Sure. I'll follow you."
He led them through the hallways into one of the libraries. Passing by other students, all starting to pack their bags and head towards classes, Haruhi found herself alone with Kasanoda in the back of the library.
"So what's going on?" she asked, still keeping pleasant. He wasn't going to make another attempt on her romantic feelings, she knew. They still spent time together, but it was rare that he'd go out of his way to look for her. Whatever he wanted, it was important.
He kept glancing around, looking for anyone suspicious, and Haruhi asked a second time, "Kasanoda-kun, what's on your mind?"
"Fujioka, I wanna ask you somethin', but… can you promise not to tell anyone 'bout it?"
A slight frown to show her uncertainty, but she nodded. Kasanoda took a deep breath, and his next words nearly knocked Haruhi to the ground.
"Would you wanna forge a Circle with me?"
Author's Notes (4/30/08): As you might have noticed, I'm a little off-schedule this week. However, I'm pretty sure you guys might forgive me, considering I didn't make you wait the extra five days for an update. Things are going to start moving very quickly, and I'm desperately trying to keep to my supposed timeline. Ah, the best laid plans!
I also thought to mention that I'll be attending Anime Central/ ACen this year (May 16-18th). If there's anyone else attending, let me know and maybe we can get together and talk or hang out. Just don't leave personal info on the review page; it's public access.
Thanks again to everyone who's been reading. I'm delighted to see your reactions, especially to the little cliffhanger I've thrown at the end.