A/N: For those that did not know, the Valentine's Story went up and Kyoya won the poll. It is called Mission: V-Day Accept or Reject. Check it out if you haven't had a chance yet. The story is complete. As for Another Chance, some of you are saying that she reacted better than you thought she would after reading the letter, there is a reason for that and you will find out in this chapter. Thank you everyone for reading and for those that have reviewed… A huge thank you! Let's see what happens next, shall we? Review if you get the chance and as always, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 29 – Breakdown

"Did she read it? Is she scared yet? She will know what it means? I wonder what happened to my beloved cousin. I am sure Kyoya Ootori is handling him personally," Yasu laughed to himself. He was too good to get caught, but he didn't mind throwing his cousin to the wolves. Daisuke was only collateral damage.

Yasu could barely stand it. He was forced to stay at home and he could not watch how his plan was playing out. It wasn't fair, but he would bide his time and eventually he would see the how he was turning the life of one Haruhi Fujioka upside down.

Back at the Haninozuka Estate

Haruhi started to whimper and slowly opened her eyes. Tears were pouring out and she tried to keep her crying as quiet as possible. She didn't want to wake anyone or bring attention to her. When she had read the letter, her first instinct was to run and hide, but she couldn't do that. Instead she put on her brave face and gave a strong front, feeling as far from strong as she could get. Yes, it was easier because Hunny was there beside her, holding her hand and lending her his strength, but she was sure someone would see through her mask.

Haruhi could remember in high school and college being terrified of storms. She used to get through them alone, but then the hosts had found out about her fear and they were there every time there was a storm. They had developed a system so that she would never have to face her fears alone any longer. When they parted ways, she was once again alone and had to relearn how to get through her fears by herself. It wasn't easy, but she had finally done it.

This situation reminded Haruhi so much of the storms she had to weather alone. She knew she could trust Hunny and her friends, but something inside her forced her to swallow her fear and push it way down deep inside her. It was instinct to put on her mask and hide her fears when they arose. Reading the letter, she felt bile rise up in her throat, but somehow she was able to keep it down and instead of running, forced herself to carry on the conversation about what happened.

Now that Haruhi was alone, she could allow the fear to take over and she felt the full force of the hurt, pain, and fear that Yasu wanted to instill in her. Tears were slipping down her face and soaking her pillow as she curled into a tighter ball. She was terrified of what might happen to her and her friends. Maybe it was best if she left. She would not be able to live with herself if something happened to any of her friends, and yes that did include Tamaki and the twins.

Haruhi told herself to get up and grab her bag so that she could leave, but she couldn't make her limbs move. She was in true panic mode and unable to control any of her actions right now. She may have appeared calm in front of her friends, but now was a different story. Crying her eyes out, she buried her face into her pillow to quiet the sobs that were getting increasingly louder. Suddenly she screamed as a hand touched her shoulder. She scrambled to the other side of the bed with one thought in her mind, Yasu.

"Haru-Chan, it's only me. It's Mitsukuni," Hunny said softly. He had seen fear encompass her before, but this was different. Normally he slept very heavily, but something weighed on him tonight and when he first heard the sobs, he thought he was hearing things. As the crying got louder and more muffled, he knew that Haruhi was either dreaming or finally reacting to everything that happened today. He was afraid that she would have a delayed reaction. He wasn't sure if she was just numb to everything earlier because it was just one more thing in the course of events today, or if something else prevented her from reacting to the news she received today. He only knew that he would do anything for her and he would be there for her when she finally broke down.

"Mitsukuni?" Haruhi asked dazed. She was still wrapped up in her panic and terror.

"Yes, Haruhi, it is me," Hunny said as he sat slowly on the bed. He didn't want to do anything that would freak her out more than what she already was. The last thing he wanted was for her panic to increase and right now she looked like she was more afraid than he has ever seen her. It was reminiscent of her reaction to thunderstorms, but this was multiplied by a million. It twisted his heart and he didn't know what else he could do but to talk to her quietly and hope that he could reach her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Haruhi cried. She couldn't control her tears and they were flowing freely.

"You didn't wake me up. I was already awake and worried about you," Hunny said softly.

"You can go back to bed now. I am fine," Haruhi sobbed. She was trying to control everything so that Hunny would leave knowing that he wouldn't budge until she was calmer, but her body was not cooperating.

"I am not going to leave you Haruhi. I am here for you," Hunny declared in a very serious voice.

Haruhi looked into Hunny's eyes and she couldn't push him away any longer. Rushing over to him, she threw herself into his arms and continued to cry. She felt his arms tighten around her and she instantly felt a small sense of security.

Hunny closed his eyes, tears forming in his eyes. He wanted to cry for the woman in his arms. One arm was rubbing up and down her back and the other one was moving through her hair. Leaning down he rested his cheek against the top of her head after he kissed it. "I am here for you until you tell me to leave Haruhi. What happened?" He inquired. He knew it had to do with the day's events and the letter, but he was wondering if she would talk to him about it.

"I couldn't hold it in any longer. I'm scared," Haruhi cried into his shirt.

"I know baby. It will be alright though. You have a barrage of people there to protect you and you have all of us in your life again. Most importantly, I am here and I am not going to go anywhere. You are not alone in this," Hunny promised.

"I am just so afraid something will happen to one of you. I couldn't deal with that."

"It is alright to be scared. I would think something was wrong with you if you weren't scared, but we will not let you go through this alone. There is risk with anything that happens in life. What you have to decide is the risk worse than not taking a chance? You are worth any risk to have you in my life."

"Maybe I should go away so that nothing happens."

"Don't even think like that! If you go, I will just follow you and I have a feeling the others would tag along also. Well maybe not Kyo-Chan, but he would show up at some point in time."

"But Yasu has already found a way into the middle of everything!" Haruhi's cries were once again increasing.

"Haru-Chan, any one could have figured out that you were going to be guarded. So he found out our plans a little sooner than we would have liked, that does not mean that you are not protected. You are still protected. One of your body guards is Takashi's cousin. You can't get more guarded than having family watch your back. Leaving would only cause more problems. Now is the time to hold your ground and know that you have a support system that will be there through all of your good and bad times," Hunny explained. He felt her nod her agreement. He wrapped his arms around her a little more tightly and just held her until her cries subsided to hiccups. Looking down he noticed that she had fallen asleep once again. He adjusted his position so that he could lay her down in the bed and climbed in behind her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed the back of her head and just laid there thinking about everything. He made himself a promise, Yasu Sato would pay for everything he did to Haruhi. He pulled Haruhi tighter against him and savored the feel of her in his arms until sleep consumed him.