Short on time and unable to go through reviews to reply to them, but to sum up: Riko went to Haruhi's because she can't stay at the house (which would prove to be dangerous because of Ursula) and she can't go the ER because going to a hospital alerts guardians/requires guardians (Ursula).

~CWA


Chapter 53


My story has them all in shock for a while, some are still visibly crying and shaking in anger even by the time that Kyoya's doctor gets here. The doctor wastes no time in looking over my injuries and applying this and that to them. He tells me what he's doing as he does it, but I think he does that to put Takashi at ease. My boyfriend is standing on edge right beside me, his eyes locked on the doctor's every move. If the doctor does one thing wrong, I feel sorry for the guy that will be the blunt of Takashi's wrath. I have bandages around my ribcage, but thankfully the doctor was able to do that without taking off my shirt completely, rolling my shirt to just below my breasts and I can't be thankful enough that I didn't wear my binder to school for once otherwise this whole thing may be a lot worse. My wrist is in a split and I can't really move it, but for the most part, I'm doing a lot better already… Though that may be the pain pills kicking in.

I glance toward Takashi as the doctor starts to finish up his work. My boyfriend is still grinding his teeth and seething in anger that I try to calm with a soft I'm okay in his direction. His eyes snap to me and soften considerably as he dips his head toward me in acknowledgment. I look toward the others. Hunny is still seething considerably, enough that I give him back Usa-chan to help calm him down. It works, thankfully, but he still has a stern dark expression on his face as he settles himself at the end of my feet, his eyes on the doctor's every move. Like Takashi, Hunny is making sure the doctor is doing everything right. At least that's what I think.

Haruhi is standing close to Tamaki, her arm brushing against his in a way that makes me think she likes him as more than a friend. It's already obvious Tamaki thinks of her in a romantic manner. Her eyes are focused on me and she still seems to be holding back sobs as she lets out shaky breaths. I try to give her a reassuring smile that makes her grin at me sadly in return. For a brief moment, I even see Tamaki's hand snaked around Haruhi, pulling her close in a side hug. I quirk my eyebrow as I look toward him, just noticing the more intimate gesture. The good news is that seems to bring the old Tamaki back as he flushes red and pulls his hand away from her, babbling about how it's not what it looks like.

Though the look I share with Ranka tells me that I'm not the only one who doesn't believe him. Ranka seems to have calmed down considerably himself. He is no longer shaking in fury, or at least, he isn't shaking in fury over Ursula and my condition. He seems to have focused his anger back on Tamaki as he swats the boy away from Haruhi with ease, knocking him to his butt causing me to let out a small chuckle that brings everyone's attention back to me for a brief moment.

It seems like my chuckle has taken down the elephant in the room*. Almost instantly, it seems they all relax considerably. I can see Takashi smiling softly at me as well as Hunny, Haruhi, Ranka and Tamaki. All are grinning at me in a way that lets me know that they're doing okay with all of this. That's good. For a bit, I was concerned that it was too much for them. I look toward Kyoya, wondering if he's doing any better.

Kyoya seems to be the seething as much as Hunny is, shaking violently as he speaks into the phone. I can't really hear what he's saying from where I am, but as soon as his eyes notice that I'm looking at him, he quickly excuses himself and leaves the apartment all together to finish his call. Whatever call it is has to be important or about me. Either way, it's clear Kyoya isn't going to tell me what he's planning yet. After a second, Ranka follows after him, sparing me one last glance before he too disappears out of the apartment. Probably checking on whatever Kyoya is doing.

Though my eyes go to the twins in the corner that are frantically whispering to each other. They look like they're silently arguing about something or another, which is a first, before finally they seem to come to an agreement. They turn their attention to me with easy grins on their faces as they slither their way to me. Normally, I wouldn't like the mischievous look in their eyes, but it's that look that lets me know that they are back to normal.

"So Riko," they say in union as they hover around me, dodging Takashi's glare, "You only seem to have brought some essentials with you."

It's only then do I realize that they have my bag in their hands, looking through it as they name off the items. Laptop. Toothbrush. A few pictures. A binder. It's not until they get to underwear does Takashi do something, lashing out toward the twins with a furious expression that almost seems comical. The twins yelp as they dodge him, dropping the bag with flushed expressions. Takashi stands up, seething darkly, as he stalks calmly toward the twins. I can't help but watch this scene unfold with amusement. The twins look toward me for help, but I just sit back with a grin causing them to yell out their protests of me being a traitor. They quickly shut up when they realize that their priority should be dodging Takashi.

I wonder how long before Tamaki joins Takashi in chasing the twins. Almost as soon as I think about that, Tamaki has noticed the whole situation and has a darkened furious expression on his face as he joins Takashi in chasing the twins. Unlike Takashi, he's not eerily calm about the whole thing as he screams French profanities at them that the twins would have been laughing about if they didn't have to worry about Takashi.

Haruhi sighs and moves to stand by the couch, looking at me tiredly,

"Do you really have to let this go on? Someone's going to get hurt running around like this."

I give her a cheeky grin that causes her to sigh before she joins Hunny and I, favoring for just watching the entertainment rather than protest it. And it is a funny sight to see. Takashi looks like a zombie, each calm stride of his covering more ground the twins could ever hope to cover by running so it's a close match at least. He still seems so eerily calm, never saying anything as he goes after them. Tamaki is still screaming in French at them, stumbling as he tries to catch up. They're running circles around the couch and the kitchen. The twins even slide across the floor every now and then to slide past Takashi and Tamaki.

I chuckle a bit and look toward Hunny as he giggles as well. He seems to be to his normal giggling self again. Though I have doubts about that being his normal self, it's at least familiar to me.

"Takashi isn't too happy with the twins for seeing your underwear," Hunny whispers to me, giggling slightly, "I think they deserve it though, don't you? It's not nice to look through a lady's personal belongings, especially their underwear."

The twins pass in front of the couch, stumbling and running away from the zombie-like Takashi. Hunny sticks his foot out ever so slightly, causing the twins to trip and backpedal away from Takashi, looking toward Hunny with betrayal. The cheeky bastard just grins innocently as if he didn't do anything. If this situation has taught me anything it's that I was right about Hunny being more than what meets the eye.

Takashi is now towering over the twins with a dark aura as they sit flat on their asses on the ground, scrambling to crawl away from him. Tamaki is a bit away, gasping for air from all the running around, but he still has enough energy to continue to whisper French profanities under his breath. Haruhi is looking back and forth between Takashi and I with concern as if maybe I can stop this chaos. Not a chance. I know my boyfriend. I know what he's up to and from the look on Hunny's face, he knows too. His hands clench into fists and head straight toward their faces.

"We didn't mean it," the twins protest, dodging Takashi as he reaches out for them, "We swear! We're sorry!"

They hold their arms over their faces in an effort to protect themselves, but Takashi's fists stops just before their arms. A small smirk is on his lips before he relaxes his fists and offers his hands to help them up. After a second, the twins move their arms and peak at him, unsure if he's just waiting for the moment to strike or if he's stopped trying to hit them. Their eyes go to his hands and after a moment of hesitation, they grab on and are lifted back onto their feet with ease, confusion on their faces. Takashi leaves them with ease to return to my side as I giggle to myself. Hunny is giggling as well as he looks at the twins,

"Taka-chan was just trying to get you to apologize," Hunny explains, grinning ear to ear.

The twins flush slightly, crossing their arms over their chests in a huff as they mumble about there being better ways to get them to apologize. But all of us know that there really isn't. Nothing can get those stubborn devils to apologize… Except for Takashi that is. Haruhi is looking at me as if to say really, but I just give her a cheeky grin. She shakes her head with a sigh, but even I can see the small hints of a smile on her face.

"We're just trying to point out the fact that she didn't bring any clothes with her," the twins start to insist, perking back to their normal selves, "And we were going to say that we'll make clothes for her to wear so she has some."

They pout a bit and I smile at them and their words. That's sweet of them to offer to make clothes for me in the meantime and after I give them a nod of agreement, they cheer and start to dance around the apartment about having a new dress up doll…. And that's the scene that Ranka and Kyoya come back into. The twins dancing around the apartment. My bag still laying on the floor with only the laptop being protected, but everything else (including my underwear) is skewed across the floor. Tamaki is huffing and puffing trying to catch his breath as he kneels to the ground, only to scream when he realizes he's face to face with a pair of my underwear, scrambling backwards as I laugh. Kyoya quirks an eyebrow before shaking his head, used to coming in onto such strange scenes,

"The situation is taken care of," Kyoya informs me, "I'm personally looking over it myself and it will take a few days before anything is absolute so I must insist that you take those few days to rest and take care of yourself, do not worry about coming to school-"

I don't catch the last part of his sentence as Ranka's last nerve snaps. He lets out a bark for everyone that is not injured on his couch or his daughter to get out. One by one, they do just that, the twins swiftly dodging past Ranka and out the door, calling out a cheerful text you later toward myself and Haruhi. Kyoya walks out as cool as ever, whispering something to Ranka as he passes the man in the doorway before he too disappears. Tamaki gets tripped by Ranka on his way out, causing him to let out a few whimpers as he cries. I can hear his cries even if I can't see him anymore when he disappears around the corner. The last to leave are Hunny and Takashi. Hunny gives me a small hug and a quick get better soon while Takashi kisses my forehead, whispering loving things under his breath.

After a quick exchange of I love you, both he and Hunny are gone, leaving me alone on the couch with Haruhi and Ranka. I can't help but wonder what our next step is.


*Elephant in the room- to not acknowledge something that is obvious, in this case, they were not acknowledging the sorrowful tone/tension in the room