I hope this will be a satisfying chapter.
The end of winter was rainy and dark with the clouds in the sky. The heavy droplets were frosty and splashed on the ground with thudding. Haruhi felt them on her neck and old raincoat, as she walked to the school. The distance between the bus stop and the school wasn't great, but before she managed to get to the school, her hair was wet, sprinkled with the cold water and dampened in the chill air. The weather was frustrating, and she had forgotten to grab her umbrella when she left the house. Her hair clung to her neck like sticky, watery raisin and her skin shivered in aversion.
She rubbed her neck, trying to dry off the humid paste of rain, sticking to her skin like a glue. She normally didn't mind rainy days, but today her annoyance was greater, as the rain was swifter and murkier. Sometimes, it's hard to explain why certain simple things feel so uncomfortable, and the raindrops on her neck was one of those things for the girl. It was warm inside the school, and Haruhi didn't even need to shake her raincoat to get rid of the water drops that were lazily making patterns on the rough material of her outfit. The air was warm and cozy, and raindrops evaporated so quickly that she didn't even notice by the time she reached the locker to get her school shoes.
She leaned down to take off her muddy shoes and replace them with the softer and more comfortable classroom shoes when she noticed several students glaring at her. She wondered for a moment if she did something strange to catch their attention, and then wondered if they were actually staring at someone else, and it was just her imagination, but looking back and around her, she realized she was the subject of all of those pointed glares. She shook her head, and ignoring the other students, changed her shoes. Got rid of her raincoat and quietly folded it and placed in her locker drawer.
A buzz, that bees would envy, rose in the corridors she walked through. Everyone seemed to stare at her like she had grown a second head and couple of eyes. What has happened? And the whispering was so disjointed that she couldn't actually make out anything of what they were gossiping. She was used to getting strange looks by the other students in this rich kids' school for her poor fashion, lack of uniform, bad haircut, and academic brilliance, but today the looks she received contained a different kind of curiosity. It almost felt like she had done something terrible and now was being judged.
"Are you sure it was a student from our school?" she heard a girl from her class, talking under her breath. "I don't think anyone from Ouran would have looked at her twice."
The girl looked at Haruhi, blushed as if caught in crime and looked away quickly, pretending to be interested in her textbook. She was about to head to her classroom when she bumped into one of the Hitachiin twins―if she was not mistaken, it was Hikaru, the temperamental one. Even though they were in the same class, and she would see him often in the host club, she never interacted with him before. It almost felt strange to bump into him, and she quickly apologized. He looked at her suspiciously and then mumbled something she didn't catch.
"Haruhi," Renge's loud voice reached her among the headache-tearing noise.
"Renge-chan," she greeted her with a smile, but the redhead didn't look like she was happy to see her. She had a bit of a pout on her lips, and her eyebrows were knitted in discontent.
"Who's the guy you are secretly dating?" she demanded offended. "Cheater, you should have told me. Who is he?"
Haruhi's eyes went wide in bewilderment, as she didn't understand where those baseless accusations came from. "I am not dating anyone," she said mechanically and then, rubbing her forehead, asked. "Why would you think that? Where did you get that idea from?"
"Don't lie to me," Renge whined. "It's all over the school, and everyone had seen it. So don't think you can deny it."
"Seen what?" Haruhi asked now even more confused. "I don't understand."
"This," Renge screamed now, taking out a small poster and shoving it in Haruhi's face. "Who is this guy?"
Haruhi blinked. For a moment, she didn't recognize her own face. She was standing close to the school wall, and a man's face was over her arm. It was Kyoya, but nobody could see his face. The photo was taken from his back, and she was the only one recognizable in the image. So, this was what made everyone lose their mind? That's why they were giving her strange stares, as if she had demanded their firstborn to be sacrificed.
"Who is he?" Renge demanded, waving the poster. "It's all over the school and, probably, would be for the best if you told me who is this bastard."
"Ah," Haruhi rubbed her reddening cheeks, but before she could say anything, the vice-principle's secretary called her name.
"Fujioka Haruhi, please come with me to the vice-principle's office. Violation of school's student conduct code has been reported, and vice-principle would like to see you about it."
Everyone had frozen and was staring at her. Haruhi nodded and, glancing at Renge apologetically, followed the woman. This wasn't good. If she was called to the vice-principle's office, it meant she could lose her scholarship. She was not only supposed to maintain high grades, but have exemplary behavior. She felt uncomfortable realizing how everyone was looking at her.
What was she supposed to do? How was she able to explain the situation. She couldn't say anything in her defense without revealing Kyoya's secret. Not only she didn't want to give up that information about him, but she also realized that it would be a ridiculous explanation to justify herself. She couldn't tell the vice-principle that she was merely feeding one of the students who happened to be a vampire.
She nervously rubbed her palms against each other and walked into the vice-principle's office. Zennosuke Kazama was sitting in front of a beautifully crafted oak desk and eating a bowl of hot nabe. Haruhi found the act so strange that she had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating anything. Noticing Haruhi, the man left the food, rubbed his mustache and motioned the girl to sit in in the chair in front of his desk.
"Fujioka-san, the school's administration is very worried about the latest report of a student's inappropriate conduct and violation of a student behaviour code," the man said, slightly coughing. "It caught our attention that the posters of two students engaging in... in an unbecoming act within the school premises had been spread and that quite frankly hurts not only Ouran High School's reputation, but also violates all of our student conduct codes."
Haruhi gulped. This wasn't good. She was going to lose her scholarship, wasn't she?
"Now, the person who has spread these photos is not found yet, but when we find them they will be punished as well," the man continued, "I hope you understand your situation, Fujioka-san. This kind of behavior can get you expelled from school. Now, as this was for the first time, we will only take a disciplinary action and issue a warning if you agree to reveal the name of the other person who was in the photo with you."
Haruhi paled and looked at the vice-president with a look of a horror in her eyes. What was she supposed to do? She was in an unfortunate situation and didn't know what to do. He wanted her to tell the name of the student in the photo, but she couldn't do it without letting everyone know about Kyoya-senpai and if she did, she would involuntarily admit whatever the man and the rest of the school were thinking they were doing. She couldn't admit to something she didn't do, and she couldn't drag Kyoya-senpai into this mess.
"Fujioka-san," Kazama said coldly, noticing the girl's hesitation. "I don't think you understand the seriousness of your situation. You shouldn't cover the identity of the student you were with. I repeat, this scandalous behavior can get you expelled from school. I hope I am clear. Now, I know you are a scholarship student, and I know how hard you had to work to get here. Do you want all of that to go for nothing? If someone is pressuring you into doing something that you don't like, you should tell me... you can trust me. If some other student is forcing you... you should speak up."
What was he implying? Haruhi understood well what kind of game the vice-principle was playing. He was trying to be sympathetic and gain her trust. He was trying to put her at ease so she would confess by putting the blame on some other student, implying that she could have been a victim. This wasn't good, and she wasn't going to fall for it. She didn't do anything wrong, and she wasn't going to act like she did, even though she was probably going to lose her scholarship.
"Kazama-san," she said politely. "I think there is a big misunderstanding of what has happened. Nobody is forcing me to do anything..."
Her voice trailed off and as the door to the vice-principle's office was opened and someone walked in. She looked back to see who interrupted their conversation and was shocked to see Kyoya-senpai, standing there at the door.
.
"Can you believe what they are doing?"
"Is he kissing her arm?"
"That actually looks innocent. I don't understand what's the big fuss about?"
Kyoya unsuccessfully blocked the loud chatter around him. He stared at the photograph and gritted his teeth. If he caught whoever did this, they were going to be sorry. He wouldn't be Ootori Kyoya to let them off. It must have been that little bitch Ayanakoji Seika. He wrinkled his nose in annoyance. His face wasn't visible, but Haruhi would face problems. She could even lose her scholarship. Kyoya tightly pressed his lips. He wouldn't let it happen.
He glared at the gossiping students, and they quivered under his cold gaze. It was quite disgusting, and Kyoya was appalled by it. He couldn't stand gossip and shared his hatred of the act with his father. His father was also very strict about it, and the staff at Ootori estate feared him and didn't openly gossip. Although, Kyoya was sure that they did secretly, on their own time, when the Ootori patriarch wasn't around.
He walked up to the principle's office to speak about the issue, but was informed that he wasn't there, and vice-principle was investigating the scandalous incident at Ouran.
"I am here actually to speak about it," he told in an even voice.
The secretary nodded and gestured towards the door. Kyoya bowed politely and walked to the door. He gave a firm knock and opened the door. She was sitting in front of the old man, her shoulders slumped forward. She looked anxious and worried, and his heart skipped a beat when she looked back at him with her pretty eyes. He blinked and gave her a reassuring nod.
The vice-principle stood surprised, seeing him at the doors. "Ootori-san," he said politely. "I am sorry, but now I am busy with Fujioka-san. My secretary should have told you..."
"Good morning, Kazama-sensei," Kyoya gracefully bowed, without, cutting his gaze from Haruhi's worried expression. "She told me that you were questioning Haruhi-san about the photo incident, and I may be able to shed some light into the circumstance, which someone tried to use in this distasteful way to dishonor our school and disgrace the reputation of one of the students."
Haruhi shook her head. Surely, he wasn't going to tell the man the truth. That would put him at such risk. She gulped worried. The vice-principle looked intrigued, and he motioned Kyoya to sit down. He came forward and took the seat next to Haruhi's and giving her another firm nod, turned to Kazama-san.
"Do you happen to know who is in the photo with Miss Fujioka?" the man said with a slight smile. "Because she doesn't seem to understand the situation."
Kyoya's expression didn't change from the calm, relaxed demeanor his face already bore, but the man's words made him fume inside. He found it infuriating that he was using such condescending tone with Haruhi. Why was getting so pissed over how some man was treating a girl he happen to know? He cleaned his throat and nodded.
"That's why I have come here as soon as I saw the photograph, Kazama-sensei," he said courteously. "I am the person in the photograph with Miss Fujioka."
"What?" the vice-principle jumped up, knocking down his heavy armchair. He stared at Kyoya in complete disbelief and shock. Haruhi looked at him awkwardly. What was he doing? She wasn't sure this would end well for either of them. "What is that supposed to mean, Ootori-san?"
"I can't believe some stupid and reckless prank could have wasted your valuable time, Kazama-sensei," Kyoya said, shaking his head as if bewildered and frustrated. "I don't even know how they managed to make it look like I was kissing Miss Fujioka's arm, which let's be honest, wouldn't be a place of choice to kiss and any reasonable person knows that."
"Why not?" the man mumbled under his nose, but then realizing that he said that out loud fixed himself and cleaned his throat. "Are you saying you were not kissing, Fujioka-san's arm?"
"Of course not," Kyoya scoffed. "And I find it ridiculous that anyone would think someone like Haruhi-san could have acted against the school rules. She is a very respectful person and follows the school rules."
Haruhi blushed. It was strange to hear Kyoya-senpai speak like that about her to the vice-principle.
"Then what were you doing?" the man screamed. "Because I don't know what else I can think of this to be?"
"As you know a few weeks ago, some thugs had entered the school and attacked Haruhi-san," Kyoya said and there was a hint of accusation in his voice, which made Kazama-san shift in his armchair that he had lifted up earlier. "I was the one who took her to the hospital that day. She got quite a few injuries. She had asked me yesterday to take a look at them, because they were not healing. She knows that my family is engaged in medicine, and she was wondering if there is a reason why her wound wasn't healing. I took a look at it. The picture you are looking at is just a convenient angle that makes it appear as if I was closer than I was. I just didn't have my glasses on and had to look closer. I can't believe I had to explain something so simple."
Kyoya let out a dramatic, frustrated sigh and then grabbed Haruhi's hand to her surprise. "Here take a look at this," he said rolling up the sleeve of her jacket and exposing the bandaged wound which was left by his fangs. "I was looking at this. Miss Haruhi must have felt very embarrassed to have the whole school to gossip about her so shamelessly."
Kazama-san looked purple now. He was very embarrassed, too. "I suppose that makes more sense. Why would anyone kiss the arm if they were going to break the rules? I have told so to my secretary. But she... Doesn't matter. I am very sorry Haruhi-san. I will make sure the posters will be removed and whoever thought it's funny to start this prank will be found and punished."
"Thank you, Kazama-sensei," Kyoya said with a curt bow. "I am sure this has caused trouble for you and the school administration as well. Miss Haruhi looks shocked herself, and we both would like to put this behind us and continue our classes."
"Of course, Ootori-san," the man hurried to say. "Thank you for explaining the situation. Of course, a respectful student like you wouldn't do anything wrong."
Kyoya stood up and offered a tight smile to the man. "Haruhi-san, would you like to leave with me?" he asked.
Haruhi jumped up. "Yeah," she mumbled. "My classes must have started already."
They walked out together. Haruhi breathed relieved. "Thank you," she said, and when he nodded, she quickly added, "I need to go now. I don't want to be anymore late than I already am."
Staying alone Kyoya took a deep breath. He wouldn't let anyone to jeopardize her education at Ouran, and if Ayanakoji thought she could play games, she didn't know yet what he was capable of. The timid and more reserved part of his personality was always displayed, but he had a different layer of himself; something he wouldn't allow anyone to see, something he kept to himself and that part of him wouldn't bat an eye to make the girl pay for what she did. He had no patience for games like that.
He walked down the corridor, finding himself relax, as he heard the school's announcement of the photo being a fake prank and of the punishment the person responsible was going to receive. Ayanakoji has dug her own grave. He found her angry, seething and walking in circles impatiently. She glared at him when she realized he was looking.
"Seems like some people have no taste," she commented dryly.
Kyoya turned his head dismissively. "If you want to play dirty," he said quietly when she was passing by. "Then get ready to be humiliated."
A/N-I hope Kyoya's actions met your expectations. I have planned this arc long time ago, so after I wrote it, it felt different than I thought it would be.