Chapter 2:
Chapter 2, Something New
Haruhi sat up the moment she heard the front door close. She glanced at the clock next to her bed. I'm not supposed to be up for another two hours, she thought. And I'm pretty sure that otou-san isn't supposed to be home until I am nearly ready to leave for school today...what's going on?
She got up and pulled on some shorts to go under her long night shirt. Once that was done, she opened her door and paused to watch her dad place a large box on the table that had a couple others nearby as well.
"Otou-san?" she called, making the red-head turn. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Oh, Haruhi," Ranka exclaimed. "Did I wake you up sweet heart? Daddy's sorry!"
Haruhi let out a slight groan as her dad pulled her into a bear hug. "No, you didn't wake me. I couldn't sleep."
"What's wrong?" Ranka asked worriedly as he pulled back.
"Nothing. I was just thinking and...remembering..."
Ranka nodded and smiled softly. "I see. As for why I'm not at work...you see, I got there and they told me that I could take the day off since I've been putting in so many extra hours lately. So, as I was heading back, I remembered that shortly before your mother passed, she placed all of her extra stuff in these boxes. I went to the storage room and pulled them after checking to make sure they were still there. I had forgotten that she put all of her books in one box. The others have some of her old clothes and collections of photos from school and our early moments together."
Haruhi looked at the large box on the table and smiled. Ranka smiled as well and walked with her to the table, sat down and opened it. Inside were neatly piled books on Law, Psychology, Sociology, and several other books with no defining titles. It took a few moments for them to pull out the books until the box was finally empty. It was shocking to see the whole floor around them and the table covered in books.
"Wow..." Haruhi exclaimed in shock. "How can all of these books fit in that one box?"
Ranka shrugged before looking back into the box. "Not sure...ah...here's something..."
Ranka pulled out a sticky note with funny writing on it and handed it to Haruhi.
"ወደጥልቅምማከማቻ , " she muttered slowly. ( wede t'ilik'imi makemacha )
Ranka felt his eyebrows raise and smiled. "You really are your mother's daughter."
Haruhi looked up. "Huh?"
Ranka chuckled lightly as his smile got wider. "You can read it. To me, it is just funny blurred symbols with no meaning that move around when I try to focus on them."
She glanced back at the sticky note in awe before looking at the untitled books.
Maybe those do have titles, she thought as she pulled a stack of white books with gold decorations on it towards her and opened the top one.
"Beginners Magic: Tome Level 1," she read aloud. "In this book contains the first level spells, incantations, miscellaneous jinxes and charms to help you begin your lessons into the arts of Arcana. Also included in this level are the requirements to begin your lessons."
Ranka smiled as Haruhi continued to read the books, out loud first before slowly getting quieter and finally reading in her head. He stood and began to make some tea and a light breakfast for the two of them. He had a feeling that his daughter would be so wrapped up in her new books that she would forget about everything else until her alarm for school rang.
~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
Umehito Nekozawa slowly walked through the dark, near barren corridors of his home with silent but sure steps. Normally he was in his room getting his spells and curses ready for the day but decided to let Beelzenef rest and walked towards the area of the house in which he knew his mother would be at this early hour. He paused at a set of large doors before knocking.
"Enter," a strong but feminine voice called.
"Good morn, mother" Nekozawa said with a polite bow.
"Umehito," the woman replied, somewhat shocked to see her eldest this early. "You need not worry about the light at the moment, the curtains are drawn and the lamps are dim."
Umehito slowly pulled his hood down and took his black wig off to reveal his shoulder length pale blond hair. His eyes rose to face a woman who could easily be dubbed his twin sister if not for the rings on her left hand. Alyona smiled at her eldest child but kept it soft for his sake since her some of her Radiant based magic reacted to her emotions. It had surprised her greatly when she had learned that he had the same affliction to light as his father but loved him nonetheless. In fact, it was she who made his cloak to help him in coping with the light and actually attend school regularly. His father had suggested the wig, partly as a joke but didn't argue with him keeping it after hearing about how effective it was in helping Umehito deal with daylight.
"To what do I earn such an early visit?" she asked softly. "Normally you are preparing for your day."
Umehito walked over to one of the chairs in front of the large desk his mother was sitting behind and placed himself across for her. "Beelzenef and I have only two minor classes today but those are directly after the sun is at its peak today. I actually am here at the request of a couple of friends of mine."
Alyona paused in her work and looked at her eldest in surprise. His friends? she paused to think for a moment before a memory clicked. "The children in that "Host Club" you and Kirimi mentioned a few times in the past?"
Umehito nodded. "Yes. One of them, Haruhi Fujioka, has learned that she carries an aptitude for Arcana; Balance Arcana to be specific from what I have Seen. Kyoya Ootori has asked if I knew of a teacher of such to aid with teaching her and the only one I could think of was you, mother."
Alyona crossed her arms and looked at the top of her desk in thought. It had been some time since she had taught her Balance Arcana, or any for that matter, to anyone. The last one being her own son until he developed a stronger connection to his father's affinity and Kirimi was getting to the age when her lessons would begin and could easily start right alongside anyone else.
"How is it that this child is just now learning of her aptitude?" she asked neutrally, she recalled him saying that the one he was asking for was two years younger than him.
"From what I understand, she gained her aptitude from her mother but when she was of age to begin learning, her mother had passed away and her father had no connections to get her a proper tutor."
Alyona placed a hand over her heart as she felt it waver in remorse that the young one had lost her only connection to Arcana so young. Poor little one...such an opportunity lost before it was even known to her... "They asked you for a tutor?"
"It was Kyoya Ootori that had approached me about finding one," Umehito explained. "There was a small incident during their club hours yesterday that brought the need to light."
"Explain."
He nodded and began explaining what Kyoya had told him as well as what he had glimpsed while scrying a few times before hand when he had met the young kohai before heading off to university. Alyona listened with a calm face but inside she was shocked. To inadvertently use Levitation with no solid lessons before hand indicated a great amount of power. It had taken her until she was about to be married to gain such control to make it seem as if time had stopped.
"Impressive," she stated with slight awe. "She will indeed be one worthy to teach, and your sister is ready to begin her lessons as well. Although their lessons will differ slightly as your friend seems more towards a Neutral Balance than Kirimi. Nonetheless, it shall be a worth the venture. Have the young one come here after her lessons and her activities tomorrow. That will allow me to get the needed items for them both."
Umehito smiled. "Thank you mother. I am sure she will thank you in turn."
Alyona smiled and nodded. Before he left, she had given him a list of texts that she wanted to see if the Haruhi had or if she would need to provide them. She watched calmly as her eldest child walked out of the room after replacing his wig and hood. To carry such potential at such an age is rare, she thought with a smile. However, I can tell you have only friendship in mind for the young one. Your gaze was steady, as was your voice. Her heart is to another and something tells me, she may not yet know it.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
Haruhi slowly ate her breakfast that Ranka had nudged towards her while she continued to read the White Tome. She had learned through the first chapters of the book that the colors of the Tomes indicated the level as well as what was inside it. White was Level 1 Basic Spells, Blue was Level 2 Spells and Incantations, Red was Level 1 Fire magic, Green was Level 1-4 Water Magic and Purple was Level 1-4 Dark Magic. The Orange Tomes were Level 2-4 Fire Magic, and Yellow was a mix of Level 1-4 Healing and Miscellaneous Spells. As she read more, Haruhi found that Level 1 was the easy stuff, and Level 4 was the expert things. While she reading she found a spell that looked like what was written on the sticky note.
"ወደጥልቅምማከማቻ ( wede t'ilik'imi makemacha ) or Bottomless Storage is a minor spell that allows for easy carrying of many items," she read aloud. "When written on any transferable surface, the spell activates allowing the object the surface is placed in to become near bottomless to carry everything needed/wanted without any of the additional weight of said items. It is recommended that when using this spell that the more important or the more relevant items are placed in the holding last for easy access. It can also be imbued into fabric for the same result."
Haruhi put the book down and glanced at the sticky note again as an idea began to bloom in her mind. "That will come in handy actually."
She stood up and went back into her room to get her school bag. She pulled out a small piece of paper and a pencil before sitting back down and began to trace the lettering on the sticky note, muttering the words as she went along. She had read that if she uttered the incantation as she wrote it, the spell would activate and do as it was created to do. Once that was done, she placed the paper with her copy of the spell in the box and began putting the books back in reverse order of level while keeping them together by category; Level 4 books on the bottom, Level 3, Level 2, and finally most of the Level 1 books with the exception of a couple of them for her to read through out the day. She then looked at the books of college courses and decided to put those on the shelves in her room so that the box could just be the Magic Tomes. Once that was taken care of, she glanced at the clock. Wow...that took a while.
According to her clock, she only had about twenty minutes to get ready for school. She quickly emptied her school bag, placed the sticky note at the bottom then began to repack it with everything. Tomes at the bottom, the school books she needed for the day, notebooks and finally her utensils on top or in the appropriate pockets. Once that was done, she quickly went into her room to change into her uniform.
"Hey otou-san," she called. "Can you put the box in my room and okaa-san's college books on my bed? I need to head to school."
"Sure sweetheart," Ranka replied softly with a yawn.
He was almost ready for sleep when he heard Haruhi call out to him. So wrapped up in her studies regardless of what they are, he thought with a smile. I am certain that you might be able to teach yourself how to use magic Haruhi. I know Kotoko had to once her family disowned her.
Haruhi quickly ran to the bus stop to catch the next one that would take her to school but as she neared it, she felt as if something was following her. She glanced over her shoulder before shaking her head when she saw nothing. She continued on and paused as she waited for the bus to arrive. After a few moments, she felt as though she was being watched again and glanced around. What's going on? she thought slightly panicked. It feels as if someone is staring at me but I don't see anyone...
She shrugged the feeling off as the bus arrived and boarded. When she sat down, the feeling went away for a moment but that didn't really alleviate the feeling she had. She kept glancing out of the corner of her eyes around the bus and outside at the passing scenery as it drove her closer to her stop. Maybe...maybe I should mention this to Kyoya-senpai when I see him today... she mentally considered. I know it may recreate my debt with him but I'd rather know what's going on then be left in the dark. This feeling is really creepy...
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
Kyoya began to stir as his alarms went off. There were times he was glad that he had more than one due to the fact that if there was only one, he would break it and go back to sleep, thus either being late for school or not go at all. The only times the alarms were off were during breaks and weekends when he didn't have any pressing family obligations to attend and even then, he had another annoying daily alarm, Tamaki. He let out a groan and sat up before running his hand down his face. He really didn't want to be up at the moment, not that he every really did, but he had school, so up he was. He stood and stretched before glancing down at his arms. Yet again, he thought angrily as he saw the tribal banding around his forearms. There are times I loath being part human but the alternative would be hard to explain. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and focused his attention on his human visage which caused the symbols of his demonic heritage and magic use to fade. As he began dressing for the school day, his cell went off.
"If that is Tamaki," he groused, eyes flashing black momentarily. "I'm going to kill him slowly."
He walked over and paused when he saw a number he wasn't expecting. "Ootori speaking."
"Hello Ootori-kun," came a slight baritone voice. "It is Umehito Nekozawa."
"Ah, Nekozawa-senpai. How are you this morning?"
"I am well. I have news for you."
"I see. And that would be?"
"My mother," Nekozawa replied. "She has agreed to teach Haruhi Fujioka. You need not worry about materials as my little sister Kirimi will be beginning her lessons of Arcana as well. The lessons will begin tomorrow after she has accomplished her tasks at your Host club. I will be there to today to explain matters to her with your permission."
"That would be acceptable," Kyoya replied. "Just do so after Club hours. As you well know, Tamaki still has a slight fear of you."
He heard Nekozawa let out a heavy laugh. "Indeed. Although Suoh's fear has some relevance, it is unneeded. Though, I must admit, it is amusing."
"I agree. Thank you for the news. I shall see you later this evening."
"Be graced with the Darkness," Nekozawa bid.
"You as well," Kyoya replied and hung up.
"Master Kyoya," a deep voice called.
Turning, he saw one of his three guards, Tachibana, bowing slightly. "What is it?"
"There has been a slight change noted around the Fujioka residence. The surveyor noticed a rogue Shadow wandering around and following the Fujioka child. When we tried to snare it, the Shadow fled. We were unable to catch all of the creature's trace as your friend boarded the bus."
Kyoya's eyes narrowed. Something following Haruhi? Sent by who and why? "Were you able to catch part of its signature?"
"Yes, Master Kyoya. We have already begun our analysis and are tracking the resonance."
"Good. Inform me when you find something."
Tachibana bowed again. "The car is ready to take you to school, young master."
Kyoya nodded and went towards the car. Once inside, he pulled out his black book and began reading the file inside.
"Kotoko Fujioka, formerly Kotoko Katayama, status deceased. Former schooling includes St. Lobelia's Girls Academy and Todai University. Level 4 Neutral Balance Sorceress, sited Gray Caster. Given top Honors in all academics and sited to have mastered most of her Arcana just as she entered her senior year in College. No disciplinary problems and no negative record in Human or Mystic Society. The Katayama family are well known Lawyers in both societies. Disowned by the family when she married Ryoji "Ranka" Fujioka and chose to work in smaller domestic cases. Parents are Kenshi Katayama, Level 3 Dark Mage, and Mitsuko Katayama, Level 3 White Summoner. "
Kyoya narrowed his eyes as he reread the last detail of the file. A Level 3 Dark Mage, he seethed. Most Level 3 Mages can summon at least 2 familiars at one time to do their bidding. It might be possible, certainly something to look into. Kyoya was pulled out of his thoughts as his driver mentioned that they had arrived at the gates. Letting out a sigh, Kyoya closed his file and exited the car. Time to begin a long day.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
Haruhi quickly ran towards the gates of the school. The moment she got off the bus, she felt it again, like she was being watched and followed. As she got closer to the gilded gates, she felt a strong chill run up her spine and one thing flashed through her mind; a spell she had read that morning in her mother's old books that helped in emergencies or when trying to escape.
"ውሰድ"* she muttered softly. ( wisedi )
In a split moment, she felt herself take one step and then the felt like she hit a wall. She fell back with a thud, falling on her butt and looked up to see that she hadn't hit a wall, but Kyoya. She felt her body go cold as he stared at her in shock.
"I am so sorry Kyoya-senpai," she stated unable to hide the slight quiver to her voice.
Kyoya continued to stare at her in shock. She just Jumped... he thought in amazement. She shouldn't be able to do that just yet nor should she have any reason to. Not unless... "Haruhi, are you alright?" he asked, trying to keep the surprise and anger out of his voice.
"Uh. Kind of."
He raised an eyebrow in silent question as he held out a hand to help her up.
"I feel like something has been following me all morning," she muttered quietly as Kyoya helped her stand. "Not sure why. Every time I turn around, there is nothing there."
"I see," he stated and took a subtle look around.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he caught sight of a Shadow lurking near by.
"እሥርቤትአስገባ ( iširi bēti āsigeba ),"* he muttered under is breath and smirked slightly when the Shadow started to try and flee but couldn't move. He glanced at Haruhi with his Host smile before walking off.
Haruhi tilted her head in confusion as she watched Kyoya walk away. I could have sworn Kyoya-senpai just said something...but what?
Once he was far enough away, Kyoya pulled his phone out and called Tachibana. "There is a pest stuck at the east gate. I have in trapped for now. Collect it and learn why it was here. I believe that it may be what the surveyor saw following Haruhi."
When given confirmation that it would be collected, he hung up and continued towards the building.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
The rest of the day seemed to pass quietly for Haruhi with the exception of the twins asking her constantly about the White Book she was reading. She told them it wasn't any of their business and tried to continue reading until Hikaru took it out of her hands and started looking through it.
"Huh?" he looked at the pages confused. "There is nothing here. Why are you reading an empty book?"
Kaoru looked over his brother's shoulder and tilted his head to the side curiously. "Yeah Haruhi. If you wanted us to leave you alone, you could have said so. Not pretend to read a book."
She felt a few tick marks appear on her head as one of her eyes began to twitch slightly. "I did ask you to leave me alone. You didn't listen."
They looked at each other before shrugging and handed the book back. "By the way Haruhi, do you know what you are going to be for Halloween?"
"No, why?"
"We need to know for the Gala," Kaoru stated.
"We are making everyone's costumes," Hikaru continued. "We have the ideas for the others. The only one we are missing is yours."
"I'm not really into Halloween, you two. Let's not forget what you guys did last year."
The twins winced when she brought up the plan they had last year with the Witch. "It got you to participate didn't it?"
She glared at them. "That may be so but I really don't like Halloween."
"Come on Haruhi," they whined. "Please! We are letting you come up with your own idea! We're just making the costumes this time! We promise!"
She let out a groan as they continued to whine and plead with her to reconsider choosing a costume until the teacher walked in. It continued like that during each class she shared with them as well as lunch, but at that time Tamaki had joined in pestering her until she left to find a quiet spot to eat. Once the last class of the day was finished, which she sadly shared with the twins, they started up again as they began heading towards the club room. Their whining and begging were getting pretty annoying and she was developing a headache because of it since they didn't stop even when she asked them to. Not something she wanted to deal with any long on top of the stress she had that morning from her impromptu run-in with the Shadow King and whatever had been following her that morning, Haruhi knew she needed to put some distance between her and the twins quickly or else she was going to snap.
"ውሰድ ( wisedi )" she muttered when she saw they weren't looking.
Hikaru and Kaoru were so focused on they pleas and reasons as to why Haruhi should reconsider that they didn't catch what she said until they heard a small hum and pop.
"Huh?" they looked in between them and saw nothing there.
They looked up and saw Haruhi walking a ways further up the hall. How'd she do that? they thought simultaneously.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
Haruhi began to walk a bit quicker, muttering the spell every now and then when she was sure that no one would notice, and soon she found herself at the large doors to the club. She opened the door and didn't see anyone in the main room. Did I get here before everyone else? she though curiously. But if that is true, then wouldn't the doors be locked? Haruhi shrugged and walked in going towards the back room to place her bag down before she paused due to a faint sound. She could have sworn she heard something in the club's prep room. She quietly walked further into the room towards the kitchen then paused in shock at the doorway. In front of her she saw Mori leaning against the counter drinking out of what looked to be a medical IV bag filled with red liquid.
Getting the feeling he was being watched, Mori looked up with crimson eyes and froze. In front of him he saw Haruhi staring at him with wide eyes and he could hear and see her heart beating faster and faster with each passing second. He opened his mouth to speak to her but she turned to flee. He brushed his tongue over his teeth and grimaced before dropping the bag and bolting after her. She saw, was the only thing that crossed his mind.
Haruhi turned to run as quickly as she could, the image forever ingrained into her mind. Mori had fangs. Fangs! Like that of a vampire in the movie! He also had glowing red eyes! As she turned to run, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and a hand over her mouth causing her to freeze.
"I'm not going to hurt you Haruhi," she heard Mori say in her ear. "I would never hurt you."
She began to shake slightly in fear and Mori frowned. He was about to try speaking again when he felt heavy pressure against his mind and body.
"Takashi," a dark voice said calmly. "What is going on?"
Both Mori and Haruhi looked up and Haruhi began to shake a bit more. In front of her with deep red eyes and a dark aura swirling around him, was Hunny, and he didn't look happy.
"I was trying to explain," Mori strained due to the pressure Hunny was placing on his body. "She saw..."
Part of the aura dissipated as Hunny looked at Haruhi and felt tears sting in his eyes. He could see her fear and hear her heart beating erratically. "Haru-chan...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you..."
Hunny slowly took steps forward, lessening his oppressive aura against Mori as he did. He held up his hands in a placating manner, almost like he was surrendering or approaching a frightened animal. When he was close enough, he paused to kneel in front of her and looked at the girl he always thought was like a little sister to him despite her being a bit taller than he was.
"Please believe us Haru-chan," he pleaded as the last of his dark aura faded. "We aren't going to hurt you. We would never hurt you."
Mori slid to the ground with a quiet thud once Hunny's aura had faded. Standing against his cousin's aura was always a challenge since the Haninozuka had always been Vampiric while his family was still new to it. He panted slightly and Hunny looked at his cousin.
"Gomen, Takashi," he said sorrowfully as he turned to his taller cousin. "I thought something else was going on since you hadn't eaten yet. Were you when Haru-chan came in?"
Mori gave a soft nod. "Yeah."
Glancing back at his kohai, Hunny looked down sadly. "Sorry you had to find out like this, Haru-chan. We were going to tell you but...we just didn't know how. It's not something we openly say. And if we do, it's only to people we trust."
Haruhi looked at her two senpais in shock. "You...you've always been like this?"
"They have," a cool voice stated, causing her to jump slightly. "And they aren't the only ones."
Haruhi turned and saw Kyoya standing a few feet away with Tamaki and the twins, all three looking slightly sheepish. She glanced towards the door and saw Nekozawa entering the room with careful steps.
"Club has been canceled for the day," Kyoya spoke. "We have a lot to discuss."
A/N: The name of the language used for the spells is called Ahmaric. Here is the translations for the Spells. I also added the verbal components to the spells to help with flow rather than just keeping it a picture.
ወደጥልቅምማከማቻ = Bottomless Storage ( wede t'ilik'imi makemacha )
ውሰድ = Teleport ( wisedi )
እሥርቤትአስገባ = Imprison ( iširi bēti āsigeba )