To Love in Darkness

by Asteral-Dreamer

In one moment, Haruhi's life changed. She learned that she could use magic and in the next she found out that there was a whole other world existing right next to the one she knew that she had only thought was in fairy tails. Now that she sees everything that was hidden from her, what will she do?

5. Chapter 5, A New Day, a New Spell

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5, A New Day, a New Spell

*~* Dream Realm *~*

A young Haruhi looked up in mix of awe and fear at the tall man in front of her and began to shake slightly. She didn't know who this man was but given the reaction from her mother, this man wasn't friendly or someone that she was to be around. She tried to take a step back but the man quickly grabbed hold of her.

"Let her go!" she heard her mother yell, her voice wavering slightly.

"Now, now," the man said with a sickeningly sweet voice. "We told you before, if we learned that any of your children carried any sign of Arcana that we would come for them and train them."

"She is my daughter and I will teach her!"

"Tsk tsk. You don't get it, do you Kotoko? There is no negotiating this. Father has made his order and we will train this child properly. She will do as instructed. She is barely even three and she already shows such potential. Not even you had this much Arcana surrounding you."

Haruhi watched in fear as the man tried to pick her up to take her from her mother. "NO!" she screamed and tried to run away.

The man glared and tried again, pulling her roughly towards him by her captured arm. Just as he was to pick her up, a loud roar rang out. She looked up to see a large blue and green dragon with piercing gold eyes glaring at the man as smoke began to rise from its nostrils. All Haruhi could do was look at the large animal in front of her in shock as it wrapped around her, effectively forcing the man to let her go.

"Help?" she asked meekly.

The dragon looked at her with soft eyes and began to wrap itself more closely around her, creating an armored cocoon with its body. She heard the dragon let out a warning hiss towards the man before she heard his voice again.

"Ut benedicat tibi miserias pati dolorem tuum, donec exhalaret ultimum,"* she heard him say before a dark green light shot towards her from his open hand but hit her mother instead as she had gotten in between them.

Kotoko screamed in pain as the light enveloped her and fell to her knees. She glanced at the dragon. "Please...take her away from here..."

Haruhi felt the dragon's claws wrap around her gently before she felt her feet lift from the ground. She panicked slightly and clung to the claws enveloping her as the dragon took to the air leaving her mother behind with the scary man. "OKAA-SAN!"

*~* Dream End *~*

Haruhi opened her eyes and sat up quickly panting slightly. She looked around and saw that she was in her room in bed. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Just a dream, she thought trying to calm down. It was just a dream.

She heard a small concerned growl and turned to see Qurdox with his head tilted slightly in curiosity while being curled around her pillow. "Are you well, little one? "

"Yeah," she replied. "Just a dream...or a memory. I'm sure to be honest."

Qurdox narrowed his eyes slightly before getting up and moving closer to her. "It may be both. Dreams usually are a message. Depending on the events of the dream, depends on what the message was. Sometimes it is foresight to something good, or a warning of calamity on the horizon."

Haruhi nodded and began to think about the dream again. As she went through it, she began to feel a spark of dread seep into her stomach and shivered. "I think it was a warning."

"Your reasoning? "

"In the dream my mother was hurt by someone and told me to get away. Or more like she told something to take me away."

"Something? " Qurdox asked.

"A dragon. It looked like you to be honest."

She could tell Qurdox wanted to know more but before she could explain, her alarm went off. Groaning slightly, she turned it off and began to get ready for the day. She was about to open the door but felt Qurdox coil around her legs. Glancing at the dragon curiously, she froze. His normally soft gold eyes were dark with anger and he seemed to grow in size a little. He now stoop as high as her waist when he had originally been just under her knees. Looking back at her door, Haruhi placed her hand back at her side. If Qurdox was preventing her from doing something, she would listen to him. She remembered Alyona telling her that if a familiar was stopping you from doing anything, there was a reason and that to go against it might cost you your life.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"Dark Magic," he rumbled. "Magic with dark intent at that. Do you know any shields from your mother's Tomes? "

"I remember reading a small incantation..."

"Use it. If whatever is out there is going to attack, this size of me will be able to take most of the brunt but you may still get hurt. Best to be cautious."

Haruhi nodded and closed her eyes and muttered quietly. "Clypeus peto ne damno corporis et animae. Liberabit me tegeret resistentia putamen."*

Soon Haruhi was covered head to toe in a light blue glow, which faded slightly as it settled in place. Qurdox gave a small nod and allowed her to open the door again. When it snapped open, she faintly saw a dark shadow shift quickly before fleeing out through the wall near the window. Qurdox let out a deep growl but remained close to her. Haruhi looked around and saw that the house was trashed. Drawers opened with their contents scattered on the floor, plates and cups broken on the floor but the worst was her mother's shrine. The picture frame was broken and the picture itself was ripped in half while the altar was knocked on the floor with one of the doors shattered.

"What was that?" Haruhi asked, a faint quiver in her voice.

"A Shadow Familiar," Qurdox replied. "They are usually sent as spies for whoever summons them. They have no ability to defend themselves, hence why it fled."

"What was it doing here?"

"Looking for something most likely. But from this mess, I can tell it didn't find what it was looking for."

Letting out a sad sigh, she looked around at the mess. "Might as well clean up. This is going to take a while and now I have to get more cups and plates..."

Qurbox let out a comforting growl and began to move around the room with her. He took care of the broken glass while she began to pick up the room. Should I give a call to Kyoya-senpai about this? she mentally questioned, slightly dreading the idea. He said that he is a Dark Mage...maybe he knows how to prevent this from happening again or something worse. With that thought in mind, Haruhi picked up her cellphone from her room and gave him a call. Hope I'm not waking him up...

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

Kyoya let out a dark growl as he heard his phone ringing, his subconsious mind not placing the ringtone. He sat up and glared at it before reaching over to throw it thinking it was Tamaki calling to wake him up or to talk about something useless. His thoughts froze when he saw Haruhi's name on the ID. Why is she calling this early? he thought worriedly. "Hello?"

"Kyoya-senpai?" he heard. "Did I wake you?"

"I was about to get up any way," he replied calmly. "Is there something you need?"

"Um...I'm not sure how to say this because I'm still trying to get used to everything but there was a Shadow here at my house.."

Kyoya froze at the fear in her voice. "When?"

"Just a moment ago. I was just getting up and was about to leave my room when Qurdox stopped me..."

"Qurdox?"

"He's my familiar and companion. He's a dragon."

"Continue..." he uttered, trying to keep the shock out of his voice. She called a Dragon? That is near impossible to do unless the dragon has been called before...hmm...I'll have to do a bit more digging.

"Qurdox told me to place a shield around myself before we left my room. I opened my door quickly and saw something dark moving around the room but when it turned towards me, it flew out my living room window leaving a mess of broken cups, plates and it destroyed my mother's shrine..."

His eyes narrowed and he felt his demonic blood start to boil. "I'll be over shortly but I won't be coming alone. I may be a Dark Mage myself but I am still part human."

"Who?" Haruhi asked softly.

"Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai. Anyone else will just be in the way."

"Okay."

"We'll also arrange for the broken items to be replaced. Don't leave your apartment under any circumstance."

Once he got her confirmation, Kyoya said his farewell and hung up. Standing quickly, he began getting dressed while sending a call to Hunny and Mori. Getting confirmation that they would meet him there he hung up and called Tachibana.

"Yes Master Kyoya," the man said with a bow, hiding his surprise that his charge was up and dressed before the alarms went off.

"Someone sent a Shadow into the Fujioka residence and made quite the mess," he stated. "I will be going over to make sure Haruhi is okay. I want you to go and get replacements for everything that was broken."

"Yes, sir."

"I also want hidden patrols around the complex to prevent such from happening again."

"Yes, sir."

Kyoya took a breath to try and calm down before heading to the waiting car and ordering the driver to the Fujioka residence.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

Hunny was seething, shaking and about ready to rip something apart. Someone had sent something to try and hurt Haruhi. He took a quick glance at his cousin and saw a tenseness in Mori's frame. That was the only outward sign that he was just as upset. To threaten his friends was a big no-no in Hunny's book.

"Let's go Takashi," he stated, his dark aura in full force.

"Yeah," Mori replied.

He was just as angry as his smaller cousin. Even though Kyoya didn't say much of what happened, he could tell that the Shadow King was deeply angry. He knew Kyoya had small patrols around the area to give peace of mind to Ranka when Haruhi was alone at home but the fact that Kyoya's own Shadows didn't manage to catch this happening was a blow to his pride as a Dark Mage. Both of them quickly decided to forgo the car and used their own speed to get to Haruhi's home. They slid to a stop just a Kyoya's car pulled up.

"Running was a bit faster and would draw less attention than two cars," Hunny explained once Kyoya got out.

Nodding in agreement, the Shadow King began up the stairs with Hunny and Mori close behind. Kyoya took a look at the door when they arrived to see if their was any sign of blunt entry. Seeing none, he took off his glasses to see with his true eyes. His normal brown-gray eyes turned completely black. Looking at the door again, he could see the residual traces of the Shadow sliding through the cracks in the door and glared. Allowing his eyes to shift back, Kyoya placed his glasses back on and knocked.

Haruhi jumped slightly when there was a knock on the door. Qurdox curled around her in defense. Glancing at the clock, she stood and slowly made it to the door.

"Is your shield still in place?" Qurdox asked, he didn't recognize the energies outside the door but could tell that they were powerful.

Haruhi nodded before opening the door. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Kyoya, Mori and Hunny. She smiled softly and let them in only to look at Mori and Hunny in confusion as they remained outside of the door.

Smiling slightly Kyoya spoke. "You actually have to say that they may enter. A vampire cannot enter any place they are not invited."

"Oh! Sorry about that senpai. Please come in."

"Thanks Haru-chan," Hunny said with a smile.

Mori nodded with a small smile of his own before they entered. As Haruhi closed the door, Mori and Hunny began looking around. They could tell that Haruhi had cleaned up most of the mess but Hunny felt a pang of sorrow as he saw Kyoya kneel next to what remained of her mother's shrine. He was about to speak when he saw a glint of turquoise. Turning to see, his eyes went wide.

"A...dragon?" he spoke in awe. "How?"

"This is Qurdox," Haruhi explained, placing a hand on the dragon's head as it was now the size of a large dog. "When I got home yesterday, there was a white cat laying on my table. When I looked at the collar around its neck, I decided to take it back to his owner. The cat actually belonged to Nekozawa-senpai's mother. We spoke and I got to know her a bit and she explained about familiars and helped me summon him. Needless to say, everyone was surprised."

"That's understandable Haru-chan," Hunny stated. "Dragons are hard beings to call on for any reason. They will only come to those that are worthy of their loyalty."

"Or if they had been called once before by the one calling them," Mori stated. "Given how he stands near you, he was called before to aid in your safety."

Haruhi's eyes went wide and she looked down at Qurdox as she recalled her dream. "That might be..."

Kyoya looked at her with a raised brow. Taking a breath, Haruhi explained her dream without actually saying the incantation. As she spoke, everyone looked at her in awe.

"Wow Haru-chan," Hunny uttered. "Calling your familiar at only three? That takes a lot of power and you weren't even tired."

"But why was I when I called him yesterday?" she asked.

"It is more than likely due to the fact that your body had gotten used to not using your Magic," Kyoya theorized. "It is like exercising for the first time after quite a while, your body isn't used to the pull anymore."

Haruhi nodded and sat at the table. "Sorry about not offering tea but pretty much all of my cups were broken by the Shadow."

"It's fine," Mori stated, sitting next to her.

Hunny sat on her other side, Kyoya sat across from her and Qurdox curled around her from behind. She looked at her friends and sighed. She felt Mori place a hand on her head and gave a soft but reassuring smile.

"From what I was able to gather," Kyoya stated. "The Shadow was looking for something. What that something is, I am unsure. When you were cleaning up the remains of everything, was there anything missing or give you a sense that it was off somehow?"

Haruhi shook her head. "Nothing that would be deemed important. The only things that gave me that feeling was my mother's ripped picture and broken frame. I don't think it found any of the other important papers since my dad has those locked in a small safe in his room and when I checked, his room was fine. Only a few items of clothes and his make-up were messed about but that is normal."

Kyoya nodded. "I see. I'll have someone replace those items as well as your broken dishes. And before you ask or argue, I am doing this as a friend and won't be making a debt out of it. After all, this concerns your safety. Something I take very seriously. I will also be taking you to school today as an added measure to prevent a relapse of what happened yesterday. Be sure to bring your familiar with you as well. Shadows tend to move in groups and often return when it is safe enough."

Haruhi nodded. She knew that her debt from the broken vase at the beginning of her first year at high school was gone. Now the mention of a debt was more of a running joke with the Host Club, a slight slip of the tongue, to try and get a laugh out of her, or distract her from whatever she was stressed over. And despite the fact the school knew she was a girl, she was allowed to wear the male uniform but it had a couple of changes. Unlike the male uniform that had a blue blazer and white shirt with a black tie with a blue stripe down the middle and black pants, her top was a very pale yellow with a white vest, she wore no tie and had the blue blazer with white pants. When asked why she got to wear a different uniform, she said that it was what she was comfortable with and had asked the Chairman about being able to retain comfort but stay within school rules. He had easily accepted as there was no official rule stating she had to wear the yellow dress. She just had to conform to the colors of the school.

"Thanks Kyoya-senpai," she stated.

"I will also be adding a patrol of my own Shadows and a few Void around the area to prevent this from happening again."

"What is the difference between the two?"

"A Shadow has no means of attack or defense," he explained. "A Void on the other hand can attack and torment a target."

"You might want to think about adding some Defense and Reflective Wards on the doors and windows," Hunny suggested.

Looking at the table, Haruhi thought about everything she had read thus far in her mother's Tomes. "I don't think I know any...I have gone through most of my mother's Level 1 Tomes but haven't come across Wards yet."

"You might be able to learn about them in your lessons with Nekozawa-senpai's mother today," Kyoya offered. "Until then, I will place my own."

"I'll ask and thank you." Haruhi stated before she glanced at the clock and blanched. "I need to get dressed! I'll be late otherwise!"

Before any of the men in the room could remind her about the offered ride, she was already gone. Qurdox just watched her door with his head tilted to the side. Soon after, she bolted back out, dressed in her uniform and went to the fridge. She looked in and saw two bento, one of which had a note on it.

"Darling Haruhi, daddy made you a small lunch from some of the food you brought from your friends house. There was more than enough for it and I can always get some snacks during my shift at the bar. Have a good day at school.

Love, Daddy"

Haruhi gave a smile as she took the note. Remembering what Kyoya said about things feeling wrong, she hesitated before taking out the boxes. Touching the bento her father left for her, she felt nothing but her father's unyielding love for her. She then took out the other when she felt nothing from the bento holding the meat for Qurdox and brought them over.

"Here Qurdox," she said opening the bento and placing it near him.

The dragon sniffed the contents before he quickly began to eat the raw meat. She let out a small laugh and Hunny started to giggle. Haruhi grabbed her school bag and went through it, making sure she had all of her books before placing her bento inside. She stood to walk towards the door and paused as Hunny spoke to her.

"Haru-chan," Hunny called getting the girls attention. "Did you forget something?"

Haruhi paused to think.

Letting out a slight laugh, Kyoya walked over. "I do believe that I mentioned taking you to school today and you need to bring your familiar."

Sweat-dropping she turned to look at the amused faces of her friends with an embarrassed blush. Qurdox took the empty bento to the sink in his mouth and looked at his Summoner, amusement shining in his golden eyes. Haruhi turned, went to the sink and began to wash the tray, still very much red. Once it was clean, she set it to dry.

"Sorry about that, Kyoya-senpai," she mumbled.

"I take no offense," he replied. "You have a great deal on your mind."

Haruhi looked at Qurdox and smiled as she silently stated the incantation to switch his forms. The dragon moved closer and began to shrink into a smaller and smaller form before forming into a small but beautiful Jade dragon on a silver chain. Kyoya looked at it in shock. She is full for so many surprises, he thought in awe. She may become more than just a Balance Mage. If she has this much power so early on, she may actually become a Sorcerer sooner than most. The lessons they take have their own set of challenges. Her mother carried Level 4 Balance Mage until college and was on her way to becoming a Level 1 Balance Sorceress. Ashe gained level 4 shortly before meeting Ranka. She probably would have made it to Magus had things been different.

Haruhi placed the necklace around her neck and tucked it in her shirt. "All set. What about Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai, though? Don't you two have to go to the University?"

"Not until later," Hunny answered. "Our first classes aren't for another two hours."

"They are going to be attending the meeting this morning for the Host Club as their schedules allowed them to be there this afternoon," Kyoya explained.

Haruhi nodded and all four of them began to leave. Kyoya offered to lock the door for her and she nodded. As she and Hunny went down the stairs Kyoya looked at his stoic companion.

"I'll be placing a Void inside just in case the Shadow returns," he stated. "You may want to place one of your own so that if the Shadow tries to flee, we will have something to follow, preventing it from escaping."

Mori nodded and Kyoya saw a little bat appear near his shoulder. With a quiet nod, the small creature went inside and Kyoya watched as one of his Void materialized just inside the door.

"You know your task," he stated.

The Void gave a low bow and Kyoya shut the door, locking it and turning to head down with Mori to join their friends. Entering the car, they saw Hunny had Haruhi in stitches and smiled. Mori just shook his head and sat next to his cousin who was also laughing.

"Care to enlighten us?" Kyoya asked

"We were just discussing the reactions Tama-chan, Hika-chan and Kao-chan would have if Haru-chan let her familiar out on them so they don't attack her," Hunny stated once he had caught his breath then began to imitate the possible reactions.

Kyoya tried to hold it back but failed. He let out a loud laugh as he thought about what would happen.

"To be honest, I would love to see such an event," he said still laughing.

Hunny nodded and Haruhi faintly caught amusement flash through Mori's eyes. She smiled and the ride continued in peaceful silence.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

When the group got to the music room, they were shocked to see Tamaki already there. Kyoya glanced at his watch with a raised brow. He wasn't expecting anyone to be there before him.

"How is it that you are here so early Tamaki?" he asked.

Kyoya watched amused as Tamaki let out a startled squawk at the sudden sound. Whipping around, Tamaki's eyes went wide when he saw Haruhi standing next to Kyoya with Hunny and Mori. He knew that all three of the latter mentioned would be able to arrive early but how was it that Haruhi was early too?

"Haruhi!" Tamaki yelled as he ran over. "My darling daughter! How are you?"

Tamaki failed to notice and amused expression flash across the faces of two of the four members while the other two had a stoic face and a mischievous grin.

Haruhi took a breath before muttering the spell to let Qurdox enter his living form. When Tamaki was close enough, Qurdox let out a playful roar and coiled around Haruhi in a protective spiral. Tamaki let out a startled yelp at the roar and slip to a stop but due to momentum landed on his face in front of everyone. He slowly looked up at the terrifying beast with glowing eyes and began to panic.

"Ha-ha-Haruhi?" Tamaki stuttered.

Unable to hold it back, Haruhi and Hunny began to laugh and Qurdox let out a warble that sounded like laughter. Kyoya smirked and pushed his glasses up and Mori had a faint smile on his lips as well. Hunny's prediction of a 'Terrified Tamaki' was spot on and well worth seeing given the morning so far. He only regretted not having a camera to tape the event.

"Yes Tamaki-senpai?" she asked once her laughter subsided.

"What..." he tried to ask as he pointed to the large creature.

"This is my familiar. He protects me from anyone that would harm me."

"But...daughter...daddy would never hurt you...surely this isn't needed...and it can be put away..."

"Actually Tamaki-senpai, he is very much needed. I like breathing."

Hunny let out a snort as he tried to hold his laughter in. Everyone, with the exception of apparently Tamaki, knew that when he gave Haruhi one of his "hugs", she was nearly deprived of air unless saved. Hunny actually wondered how Haruhi was able to get out of the "death hugs" now that he and Mori weren't there to pull her out of them. Hunny sent his silent question to Kyoya with just a glance.

Kyoya turned slightly to see a silent question in Hunny's eyes. Hunny's eyes flicked towards Haruhi and Tamaki and Kyoya gave a slight smirk, speak just softly enough that only the two vampires would hear. "Tamaki tends to forget that I am nearer to her now that you two are in University. I have also had one of my Void blend to her shadow as a silent defense while she is here at school. It works to keep him away and is a mild deterrent to the twins."

Hunny nodded. "Looks like you may need to do that outside of school now too."

Kyoya gave a small nod. He glanced back towards Haruhi who was lecturing Tamaki about personal space with Qurdox still wrapped around her while Tamaki was trying to get passed the dragon to give her a hug. Shaking his head, Kyoya pushed his glasses up and grabbed Tamaki's collar and began dragging him towards the chairs.

"We have a meeting to get ready for," he spoke with deadly calm. "If you keep this up, I will make you pay for wasting my time."

Tamaki let out a fearful squeak and let Kyoya place him in a chair but tried to get up when Haruhi sat across from him. He was about to sit near her when Hunny and Mori sat on either side and the dragon around her shrank to the size of a cat and sat in her lap.

"Excuse me Mori-senpai, Hunny-senpai," Tamaki placated. "Would you allow me to sit next to my daughter?"

Both men gave him blank looks and Haruhi gave a growl. "You're not my father Tamaki-senpai. Now sit back in the seat Kyoya-senpai put you in."

Tamaki was about to argue but the combined dark aura of Haruhi and Kyoya shut him up. He went back to the seat Kyoya put him in just as the door opened to reveal Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Wow," Hikaru stated. "We are the last ones here..."

"How did you get here before us, Haruhi?" Kaoru asked.

"I got a ride," she replied.

"From who?" they asked as the sauntered closer.

Qurdox popped his head over her shoulder with a hiss, causing the twins to jump back slightly in fear. Hunny giggled and Haruhi stifled a laugh as best as she could. She smiled at the startled twins. "Not telling."

"But we want to know," they whined.

Haruhi shook her head and Kyoya cleared his throat. "We have a meeting to start."

With that stated, the twins put aside their curiosity and listened to the meeting about the cosplay events for the next two days as well as the plans for the Gala. Hikaru and Kaoru mentioned that the costume designs were nearly done, they just need to do the rough fittings and get the opinions of those wearing them.

"That can be done closer to the Gala," Kyoya stated. "For now, start on the outfits for the next two cosplay. You already have the designs, correct?"

"Yeah," the twins replied. "They are set and ready to be used."

Kyoya glanced at his watch before nodding. "Well unless any of you have anything to add, our meeting is finished with enough time for you all to get to your classes on time."

Everyone shook their heads and got up. Hunny gave Haruhi a quick hug and Mori patted her head before they left to go to University, Kyoya grabbed Tamaki before he could get Haruhi in a hug and began dragging him away pleading to be let go so he could get a hug from his lovely daughter before leaving. Haruhi shook her head and let Qurdox form back into a necklace for the day as she began to leave the Club Room. Today was going to be interesting to say the least.

A/N: Incantation translation, these are in Latin.

Ut benedicat tibi miserias pati dolorem tuum, donec exhalaret ultimum = I curse you to suffer in agony and misery till you take your last breath.

Clypeus peto ne damno corporis et animae. Liberabit me tegeret resistentia putamen = I ask for a shield to prevent harm to my body and soul. Cover my shell with the resistance to keep me safe.