The Heir: Chapter 29

"Just put her on your back and carry her there!" Nekozawa screamed at Harry. Harry tried to toss Haruhi on his back as carefully and as quickly as he could. Nekozawa deflected a spell from the two of them, and shot one at the Death Eater. They were on the rooftop of the Academy, there was a crater from where Haruhi had crash landed. There were two Death Eaters that had followed them to the school, but Harry did not know which two they were. Harry had three jobs, take care of Haruhi, put up protective spells, and somehow also try to help Nekozawa with the battle that nightfall was not helping them with. "What part of they're following us do you not understand?!"

"I just don't want to hurt her you son of a bitch!" He narrowly missed being shot in the arm, and quickly turned and pointed at the closest one, "Expelliarmus!"

"HURRY UP! INSIDE, NOW!" Nekozawa opened the door into the school and ushered Harry in, gaping in shock at the damage that Harry had done. He closed the door, and there was a flash of light as soon as it was inside of the frame.

"Came prepared, did you?" Harry asked thankfully "Did you know that we would be followed?"

Nekozawa looked at Harry. "We've always been followed, Potter-san." He whispered. "Speak quietly. I've heard movement the last few weeks I've been here. There might be some students trying to play pranks on the classrooms or something, but I don't want to risk anything. Oh, for the love of- take off those goddamn shoes, they squeak too much!" Harry did as he was told, and adjusted Haruhi so that it would be easier to carry her.

"I'm sorry Haruhi. I ran out of the Skele-grow. Can you bear the pain for a bit longer?" He asked her. She didn't respond, she only clutched him tightly as if her life depended on it. He tried not to think horrible thoughts like how she was in this situation because of him and she did the very same. So he carried her, and for the first time in her life, for the tiniest sliver of a moment, she contemplated suicide. The thought fled from her mind the moment the three of them heard heavy, menacing footsteps coming toward them. Nekozawa flinched, wondered when all of this would end, and drew his wand. The footsteps became closer and closer, and the sound of ragged breathing was accompanied them. Then, the bone chilling sound of deep laughter. Haruhi sighed the sigh of a mother who had tolerated too many of her child's tantrums in one day. She concentrated for a moment, then her eye glew red.

"He couldn't have broken out of that cage by himself, he can't be that powerful." Nekozawa moaned. He and Harry began to run, and while the footsteps were still at the same pace, they could tell that it was coming closer, and closer, and-

Mustering up all that was left of her strength, Haruhi jumped up and attacked the beast. There was a blood curdling scream, and Harry shined the light of his wand onto the scene. There lay Kaoru, looking disheveled and inhumane, with his arm twisted behind him in a very gruesome way, and Haruhi on top of him. "How many, Kaoru?" She asked, holding him still.

"Let me go." He writhed on the ground, struggling to get out of his position. His face flashed between glimmers of a dark hunger, and agony. He was covered in dirty, crusted blood. "You should leave, Haruhi, this might get messy."

"Why are you screwing everything up? Why are you hurting everybody?! Why can't you just stop?! Just stop screwing up everybody's lives?!"

"Just go away," He moaned. "Just a little bit is all I wanted."

"How many, Kaoru?!" She took out a knife from her back pocket. "This won't kill you but you can still feel pain. Lots, and lots, and lots of pain." She held it to his throat, making an incision from the pressure of it.

"Haruhi-"

"What? What's the problem Harry? I only asked a simple question. Completely innocent. I just want to know how goddamn many?!" She twisted his arm even further, and he screamed.

"I didn't kill them, I swear! Please just leave me alone!" Haruhi dug the knife deeper into his neck. "Two! Only two I promise!"

"Only? ONLY? There is no such thing as only two in this situation. I offered to help, I knew how hard it would be, and you couldn't listen because of your pride, I offered to help and now look at what you've done, Kaoru! Look at what you've done!"

" I didn't even.. kill them.. Ha-ru-ruhi I only... took a... lit...lit...little. Just please, please go." He sputtered out between gasps of air. Haruhi took many well deserved deep breaths, and then set his arm in the correct position, causing another scream. Harry went to comfort Haruhi, Kaoru stayed face down, wheezing.

"That wasn't how.. that wasn't how they died.." Haruhi glared at him, the stress of 100 years of war etched onto her face. "These people wearing black capes and these masks. They had.. wands.. I guess... they tortured them, then this green light shot out from their wands.. and then they tortured me-"

"Just shut up already, for god's sakes." Harry said.

"For so long, they tortured me for so long."

"Why?" Haruhi asked

"They're Death Eaters, they're sadists." Harry said

"Why did they torture you, Kaoru?"

" 'Where's the girl? You know which one we're talking about.' They said."

Harry stopped and looked at Haruhi. " 'Go away, just leave, leave me alone.' " Kaoru was only trying to protect Haruhi, but his presentation was lacking.

"If they were here, they're gone now. I warded them off. A sorcerer's magic is stronger than a wizards." Nekozawa said. Kaoru looked up at him.

"So, the cursed dolls you give out actually work?" Kaoru laughed.

"Of course not, I'd never hand out magic like that. Harry, we should put up a few more protective spells. I want to be positive that she's safe."

"Yeah, of course. We won't be going very far away, just call if you need me."

"I'll handle light." Haruhi said. He kissed her forehead, then gave Kaoru a disappointed look. He and Nekozawa disappeared into the darkness. "Come here." She said, her voice much more apologetic and soft. He slowly picked himself up and crawled toward her voice. He found her foot and from there found a spot next to her to sit in. Haruhi snapped, a flame coming out from her thumb.

"Is that a vampire thing-Wha.. you're... what the fuck happened to you?!"

"Please, just let me rest. Just for once, nobody's going to bother me, and later maybe I'll bash my head in and forget this, terrible, terrible day ever happened. Until then, just sit there, and don't pity me."

"You should have sliced my head off."

"Don't say that."

"I didn't know that you were so strong. I thought my arm would've snapped clean off. As painful and shocking as it was, I was pretty damn impressed."

"What did you tell your family before you disappeared?"

"My parents are in New York City."

"What did you tell Hikaru? He isn't taking your little vacation well."

"Yeah, all of this was pretty hard for him to swallow. His brother being a vampire. I didn't tell him about you though."

"Oh."

"They were bad people, you know. One of them had a lot of dogs and abused them, the other was a junkie who beat his son to death and didn't get charged. But nobody deserves to go the way they did. They screamed so much."

"How do you know that they were bad people?"

"I bribed a police officer. The hunger got so unbearable, I could only tolerate it if it was horrible people. I tried drinking my own, but it makes me go crazy and even more dangerous."

"I slapped Harry one time when I was on the raw meat blood. Things... people... like us.. all of us try really hard to not hurt anyone..but it's just too hard. It's harder than people think."

"So I take it you're not doing that anymore?"

"I steal from the Blood donation center."

"Oh."

"Oh? It's better than stealing it from people's throats."

"The way I see it, you aren't much better than me."

"Shove off."

"People in the hospital need that blood. Little kids that were in car accidents need that blood. People with rare blood types need that blood. Good, innocent people."

"Oh."

"No matter how good we try to be, we are what we are. We can't survive without hurting anybody. It's in our nature."

"Is that "how you see it"? That because we're monsters-"

"Just trying to survive in this world doesn't make us monsters. You have a very warped perception of yourself."

"And you overestimate your sense of morale."

"Who says I have any?" Haruhi did not respond to him. "In middle school, Hikaru and I tore up a love letter from a girl in our class and laughed at her for not being able to tell us apart. Then, we enter high school and I almost... I almost... I almost raped you... And then, I feast on two people to satisfy my own needs and justified it by thinking to myself over and over, I'm doing the world a favor. Any morale I had left, died a long time ago.."

"You said you didn't kill them though. You said that you didn't take that much from them."

"And I didn't."

"So that must count for something."

"I watched them scream out in agony. And they just looked so scared. They didn't know where the pain was coming from, , all they did was scream. The last words that... one of them... one of them said was "You did this to us." Then a flash of green light, and they were dead. Imagine being a kid, you wonder how much more marvelous the world would be if there was magic everywhere, how much more purpose we'd have. And then you have an end like that."

"That's how you were introduced to magic."

"Same as you, I presume?"

"I was more or less... brought up by it. Like Nekozawa-sempai, I guess."

"You've been a vampire all of your life?"

"No.. no, it's difficult to explain. I'm... not just a vampire."

"What?"

"Yeah, there's just a whole.. a whole bunch of stuff that I am. It's... It's like a party. The kind where people die and I'm covered in someone else's blood picking bits of pieces of them out of my teeth."

"Like a... chameleon?"

"Yeah.. yeah, like a chameleon! Except instead of different skin colors it's more of-"

"Do you steal their powers or something?"

"What? No! No, I.. I was just born like that. I've been this way since birth. Well, I was born human, I guess, but over time.. one by one.. you know... something triggered in me and I turned into new monsters. And now, I can kind of.. you know, "access" the powers by just clicking something together in my mind."

"Oh wow."

"You know, um, there's something I have to say.. it involves you.." Kaoru looked up at her. "See, usually stuff like this starts in your teens, right? That's how it is in my family, you get initiated when you're a teen, destiny and all that stuff. And I did change in my teens, and my family was surprised because they thought it was too early for me, I was two years early, but they got over that."

"So how does this involve me?"

"My family thought that it was hardest on me because they were under the impression that my "initiation" into the magic world was my first encounter with my... my.. my other self, you know? But I didn't want them to know, I didn't want them to ever know, but.. but you need to know. Um.. when I was.. around 5 or 6 I...something...I.."

"That was when it started." Kaoru finished for her. Haruhi tried pulling her knees to her chest, but began to cough.

"You see it's.. it's not your fault, Kaoru. None of it is. Absolutely none. I did this to you."

"How can you say that after I-?!"

"That was my fault too, Kaoru. I'm so sorry, it was my fault, it really was. I brought it on my-"

"Just shut up! Just shut up, it was my fault please don't say things like that! It was my fault so please don't blame yourself for any of it, ever!"

"I turned into... I... I turned into-"

"It doesn't matter, Haruhi! It doesn't matter! What the hell does it matter what you turned into?! I don't care!"

"Kaoru."

"I'm sorry Haruhi, I'm so sorry, but please don't patronize me like-"

"I turned into a succubus."

"What? How? You were only five! How did that happen?"

"I don't know! I don't know, okay?! But that's the only reason why I get into trouble like this all the time. There was still human in me, so I didn't give in to the... I was never really... How do I put this, I pushed it back, way back. So far back I never thought about it, never acted on it. So that I wouldn't hurt anybody."

"One love confession a month," Kaoru stated "The Natural Type of the Host Club, the one that everybody has some unexplainable attraction of some degree."

Haruhi chuckled just a bit, with tears still dripping down her chin, onto her shirt. "You make it sound like a flawless life. No violence, no fear, no nightmares in middle of the night or sleeping with weapons hidden all over your room."

"No flinching whenever I glance at you during class."

"I was usually so good at blocking my powers, I was really good at it. Before Harry transferred, I only slipped up once, and my cousin had to save me. It was horrible, horrible enough that I made sure I never messed up again. The Host Club seemed pretty harmless, and I still had to pay back my debt, so I stayed there. But when Harry came here.. I don't know what it was, it got so cold for a second, it was like a lock broke or something. I couldn't push it back that far anymore, and everything just.. just... fell apart. It gets really hard to control it now. It was easier before, but somehow, Harry being here makes it-"

"What are you trying to say?"

"At my apartment, that wasn't you."

"Is that what you would say to those guys from a couple of months ago?" Haruhi chose not to respond to that. After a few moments, Haruhi put her thumb down and the two of them were in total darkness.

"Stronger than fucking steel, you are."

"But not indestructible, you mean."

Kaoru considered putting his arm around her shoulders, but decided that may not have been a good idea. He settled for patting her on the shoulder gently. "No one is." He said.

"How long did it take you... you know. Get angry."

"Hikaru and I had this huge fight the next day. A real fight. It was pretty terrifying for him to have had to see blood spurting out of my mouth and fangs pop out."

"Ugh, why would you phrase it like that?" Haruhi groaned, referencing her equally as horrible encounter with fangs. "That must have been horrible for the both of you. I'm sorry I didn't warn you about the pain. After Harry found us... I just ran after him, and didn't think about you at all."

"It's fine, Haruhi. Recently I've... gotten used to it." He said with a dry chuckle.

"If you don't mind me asking...What... what does the Torture Curse feel like? Harry said it was indescribably terrible."

"Have you ever burnt yourself?"

"Of course."

"Imagine being stabbed, head to toe, with whatever burnt you."

"That.. that's-"

"That wasn't all they did, though." He said quickly. He snapped his fingers many times, frustrated that it wasn't working for him.

"Sorry, it's not a vampire thing." Haruhi chuckled, then snapped her fingers to produce light. Kaoru rolled up his pants, then his sleeves. Haruhi gasped. "This lady with black hair, she fired her wand thing at me and I couldn't move, she was screaming and laughing at me in English, I guess. The one that knew Japanese kept on saying how it was my fault, I should've told them how to get to you. And the lady... she started carving into me. I don't know what it says, any of it."

"When did they come?"

"Yesterday."

"Do you want me to tell you what this means?"

"I was going to ask you.."

"Are you sure, Kaoru?"

"Sticks and stones."

"This one says.. dirty."

"And this one?"

"Stupid." Kaoru pointed to another one with a blank face. Then another, then another, then another. "Ugly... weakling... prissy boy." Haruhi thought that she was going to cry, and couldn't help but feel a tiny bit responsible. "Are there any more?"

"Yeah. I don't really want to know what it says though."

"I understand. I wouldn't even want to know what it was if I knew they were all horrible."

"I'm keeping it. It's a memento." Kaoru said with a bitterness that made a rush of guilt wash over Haruhi. She put her finger into her mouth, soaking it with saliva. Then, she grabbed Kaoru and ran her finger over the wound she had given him on his throat. He stared at her eye, it was a soft pink. "What are you doing?!"

"You don't have a heartbeat, so you couldn't die from blood loss, but I still want to heal the wounds."

Kaoru hadn't noticed it at first, but as beaten up and abused as Haruhi had look before, her body seemed to be in much better condition. "So are you like Naruto or something?" Haruhi paused.

"What?"

"Naruto?"

"What about Naruto?"

"You know, Naruto. He's got this darkness inside of him that none of his close friends knew about, and his wounds heal by themselves."

"Naruto is an anime."

"You have no creativity."

"Turned into a vampire and tortured by evil wizards, and you still have an artist's spirit." Haruhi said, starting on healing the wounds on his leg. "You're sure you don't want me to heal that last one?"

"I don't want you to see it."

"Why?"

"Why won't you tell me who beat you up?"

"That's different."

"It's the same. It's private."

Haruhi was quiet for several moments. "My brother came back from the dead and, as he was being possessed by some kind of demon of lust, locked Harry's soul into a doll and took Harry's form, then tried to seduce me and punished me when things didn't go the way he had planned. And, before you ask, no. The healing is not a vampire thing either."

"One hell of a night."

"Your turn."

"I know what it says."

"... So it's in Japanese."

"You can say that."

"Seriously? I was beaten up by my zombie older brother, had to watch him be locked into a cage made out of metal and magic because he was trying to rape and kill me and then kill Harry, had to turn into a dragon and carry both sempai and Harry here while trying to outfly those evil wizards riding broomsticks, for god's sakes, then I find out you got tortured and mutilated because of me. Now, I have had a very stressful day, and the least you can do is at least tell me what it says or let me heal the damn-" Kaoru began unbuttoning his shirt, and Haruhi stopped with her guilt trip. He stopped at one of the middle buttons, and pulled on the shirt so that Haruhi could see what he was so ashamed of. "How... how did they... how is it...?" Haruhi reached to touch his chest, but he let out a yelp of pain when her finger grazed over him.

"I've had enough magic for a lifetime." He said.

"We're going. Now."

"No."

"Now. I'm going to make everything right. And I'm going to show you that-"

"Show me that there's good magic in the world? That there's hope for me? Is that what you were going to say?!"

"Yes. Let's go." Haruhi took Kaoru's hand and headed for the direction that Harry and Nekozawa went in.

"Just leave me here!" Haruhi stopped and slapped Kaoru straight across his face.

"Are you going to let the last image Hikaru gets of you be where you're writhing in agony, with blood pouring out of your mouth? Are you going to let them do the same thing to him that they did to you? If you won't let me help you, at least say goodbye to him.

Kaoru stared at her for a while. "Let's go." The two of them started running, but Kaoru went in a different direction than where Haruhi was intending, she followed him. "You said you were ambushed outside?!"

"Yeah!"

"Were they anywhere near the entrances near the 3rd Music Room?"

"No, closer to the roof and main gate."

"Then Hikaru should be safe."

"Hikaru is here?!"

"He's been camping out here, waiting for me to come and meet him."

"This is not good, you should've told me this first!"

"Hate to break it to you, Haruhi, but you aren't the only hero in this story. Hikaru is my brother."

The two of them heard a crash, and they both cursed under their breath. Haruhi took Kaoru by the arm, threw him onto her back, told him that whatever it takes, he shouldn't scream, and with a whirlpool of light, she transformed back into a dragon and flew through halls. They were lucky the original designers were rich, and could afford huge hallways, otherwise her wings would have cracked every wall and created unnecessary noise. Haruhi closed her eye, and then both her and Kaoru were able to move through the walls, so that they could go down to the 3rd floor more quickly. They flew through the door of the music room, and Haruhi tried to land as quietly as possible, but there was a loud whoosh that filled the room when she entered. They saw a flashlight turn on.

"Who's there?!" An angry Hikaru shouted. Haruhi could tell that there was more than three people in the room, and braced herself for a fight. She thought that they had been waiting to strike on Hikaru.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru asked. "Hikaru, it's me, Kaoru."

"Kaoru!" Haruhi heard people whispering almost inaudibly in the room. Hikaru reached for the light, but a loud growl stopped him.

'I swear, there's someone else here. Oh crap, Hikaru can't see me like this! Shit, there's nowhere to hide!'

"Wh-wh-what was that?" Honey said. Haruhi stopped panicking, when she realized the room was filled with friends only, then started panicking when she realized she was still a dragon. They would still see her in this form if she tried to transform, the flash of light was bright but not blinding. What she did next was not quite as noble as she thought it was, and even less clever. She hid behind the chair next to Kaoru, brushing against his side.

"Don't turn on the light yet. Please don't." He pleaded, muttering under his breath to Haruhi, 'change back, dammit.'

"Kaoru, what the hell have you been doing here?! I was worried sick about you! So were the other hosts, and Haruhi too! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Oh, to hell with this." Said a familiar, warm voice. "Who cares if we turn on the-" Kyouya flipped on the light switch. The entire room was suddenly filled with a quiet, cold, stone-like tension. The other hosts had their jaws dropped in both awe and horror. Hikaru would've hugged Kaoru, but he was covered in blood and there was a dragon right next to him.

"You guys... all of you guys are staying here?" Kaoru asked, trying to sound innocent. Haruhi peered at them from behind the chair.

"We... found out... Hika-chan was ..c...c...camping out here, and we... couldn't let him... stay here... all... by... himself."

"Are we really going to ignore the fact that there is a-!" Tamaki hissed.

"Yes." Mori said, holding on to Honey.

Kyouya stared at the scene intensely, then turned off the light switch and went back to sleep.

"Hikaru, how many times have I asked you not to hide your hallucinogens inside of the air vents?"


For the first time in a long time, I am actually enjoying writing this story. Maybe it's because I mentioned drugs, but whatever.