Chapter 16:

Chapter 16, The Newest Lesson

While the three teens continued to talk and joke around, Vaska had been relaying everything to Alyona. She listened calmly to everything her familiar said and when he was done, she closed her eyes in thought. Because of the recent events, Haruhi never really had a chance to actually start her lessons with the exception of summoning Qurdox and whatever she tried from her mother's old books. Plus the brief lesson yesterday at the Haninozuka estate. Pulling out a planner, Alyona looked over the openings she had and thought about what she could move around to allow her to teach Haruhi with some regularity. She knew that she could plan around a great deal of things and, if anything of great importance came up, she was sure Katsuro would be able to handle it better than she would.

She paused before she started to write anything down and called Umehito to her study to talk. Soon her son walked in the room with Kirimi following dressed in a little black cloak she got. Alyona smiled softly at her daughter trying to immitate her brother and knew that Umehito thought it was cute too. Kirimi had taken to dressing like her brother when she was spending time with him of her out volition rather than due to any input from her brother.

"You asked for me, mother?" he asked.

"I did," she replied. "Do you know the schedule that Haruhi has for her club activities?"

Umehito tapped his chin in thought. "If I recall rightly, it goes for about two hours after the last bell of the school rings near everyday of the week. The only time that is different is when they do one of their events and those usually last until roughly ten but don't start until around five or six or when something unexpected comes up that requires them to shut down their Hosting hours."

"The only large event coming up is the Gala on Hallow's Eve between your former club and the Hosts, correct?"

"That is correct. Why do you ask?"

Alyona leaned back in her chair. "I'm trying to come up with a schedule for Haruhi's lessons. Something that she would be able to do with some regularity that won't conflict with anything else she needs to do. Kirimi's lessons can be done every day as I am always here and able to help her with them and if not, you or your father could do so, but Haruhi does not have that luxury."

"How about you have her lessons set when Morinozuka is unable to attend the Host club?"

Alyona narrowed her eyes in thought. That would be a good idea since she had a feeling that when the elder Morinozuka child was with her at the club, they might be able to head for the combat practices she was thinking of joining. A day of rest between physical activity would be good and most of the lessons for Mages and Sorcerers were more about challenging the mind instead of the body.

"That might be something to work with," Alyona conceded. "I will have to be informed of the times when he is around though."

"Ootori-kun would more than likely get that information just before or as soon as Haruhi-san would," Umehito stated. "Since I do not have anything pressing tomorrow, I will head to Ouran and talk with him about it or give him a call. Although they might only know their schedules for the week as they come."

"Knowing even just a few days is better than not knowing at all."

Umehito nodded and looked down when he felt a tug on his cloak. Kirimi looked up at her big brother with sleepy eyes and rubbed them gently. Giving his sister a soft smile, Umehito knelt down and picked her up, cradling her to his chest. Alyona smiled as her son carried his sister out of the room. She relayed her thoughts to Vaska and smiled softly.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

Vaska watched as Haruhi stood in a fighting stance. After the children had finished the sandwiches and a few more laughs were shared, Hunny and Mori asked if Haruhi wanted to start. With a solid nod, all three of the teens helped put her books back into her bag and went towards the dojo. As they walked, Hunny explained some of the people in the paintings they passed as well as the history behind some of the pieces on display. Qurdox had taken Haruhi's bag and carried it for her and Vaska padded along quietly taking in everything Hunny said. Soon they were at the dojo and Hunny went into one of the closets at the far wall and pulled out something.

"This is one of Yasuchika's old karate gi," he said. "You can use it until we get you one of your own."

Haruhi was about to refuse the thought of getting one specially made for her but Mori gently shook his head, the motion clearly indicating that she would get on regardless, and motioned her towards the doors leading to the changing rooms. She sighed and walked quickly over to them, Vaska at her heels since he was small enough to not take up too much space while she changed. Although he knew that she was safe with both vampires and her dragon in the next room, there was still no way to tell if there was anything else lurking around. Once she was changed, Haruhi stepped out. Hunny smiled before walking over and explained to her how to adjust a couple pieces of the gi that were slightly off. When she had them fixed, Hunny and Mori had her do some stretches with them as a warm up after they went to change themselves. After the warm up, they started with some light kata.

Mori walked around Haruhi, helping her adjust her footing, the positions of her arms and her posture as she mimicked the movements Hunny was making. She would correct them as he spoke and Hunny would explain why she was positioned in certain ways. Once she was completely in the proper position, Hunny began guiding her through the steps of a few kata. As he performed the kata, Hunny would explain how best to execute it so that she wouldn't hurt herself while she practiced. Although he and Mori would usually go through the kata at a faster pace and rarely repeated one single kata over and over, Hunny made sure that each step was done slowly so that Haruhi knew the movements well enough before they went on to the next step or tried going a little faster. He also considered doing all of their future kata that way since it was more of a test than doing it normally. Moving in slow motion put strain on the muscles that he hadn't thought of before.

Once she had a complete series of kata down, they would run her through the whole thing once again. They would practice the completed set a few times before trying another one or adding on to it. After a little bit, Hunny and Mori caught sight of their younger brothers entering the dojo but payed them no mind as they continued. Satoshi watched with interest as Haruhi went through a couple of the stances with his brother and smiled. Yasuchika crossed his arms and watched as she practiced but he was also listening to the advise his brother and older cousin were giving to her as she moved, mentally making his own notes on how she was doing and how it could be improved.

"Hey, Yasuchika," Satoshi spoke softly. "Isn't that your old gi?"

"Yeah," he replied. "But she can use it. I had to get a new one when I hit a growth spurt a couple months back. Haruhi-senpai isn't that much shorter than I was when I used it but she has a completely different build than I do. Knowing our brothers, they will get her one of her own soon enough."

Hunny and Mori had heard the soft exchange between their brothers but continued to focus on the lesson they were doing with Haruhi. Both weren't very surprised that she was picking up on the lessons so quickly. From what they had seen in the time they were around her, Haruhi was always one to learn things quickly, even more so when she set her mind to it and had patient teachers. Mori was proud that Haruhi was learning so quickly and he was sure that she would have the basics down fairly soon and be ready for some harder lessons in the future.

Satoshi cleared his throat, more to let Haruhi know they were there since he knew that his brother, cousin and the two Familiars already knew. He smiled and waved when she turned. "Hey senpai."

"Hi Satoshi, Yasuchika," Haruhi smiled. "How long have you two been standing there?"

"Not that long. If you keep learning those stances as quick as you are, you might just be ready for some of the more fun stuff."

"Although sparring might be out of your reach for the moment," Yasuchika stated.

"How come?" Haruhi asked as she turned to the younger Haninozuka.

"Usually sparring will be done with someone who is on the same level as you are," he explained. "If you went against someone with less experience, you won't really learn anything from them, though they would learn from you; but if you go against someone stronger, you will learn something but you may get hurt depending on who you spar and who is watching."

"So usually an instructor will have you practice with someone around your level of experience to prevent serious injury," Satoshi finished.

"Not to mean we won't spar with you Haru-chan," Hunny added. "We just won't use the skill level we have against you unless we are showing you how to do something."

Haruhi nodded. "Sounds good."

Mori smiled softly and ruffled her hair. They all turned when the door opened again and saw Kyoya walk in silently, his dark aura swirling around him.

"Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi called softly. "Are you okay?"

She held back a startled yelp when she saw Kyoya's eyes completely black when he looked up. Sensing the fear in her, Qurdox moved to her side and coiled around Haruhi's legs and Vaska stood next to the dragon, his fluffed up tail swishing wildly. Looking up, Kyoya flinched slightly at the bright light in front of him and shook his head trying to clear it while rubbing his eyes. Taking a few breaths, he tried to calm down.

"It will take a little," he muttered. "But I will be."

"What's made you so mad Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked. "Given what time it is, you can't have just woken up."

"This," he replied, tossing a piece of paper towards the group.

Hunny caught the page and as he looked it over, his own dark aura started to seep out as he read the words over and over. Getting somewhat confused, Haruhi moved over and took that paper out of the shaking hands of the loli-shouta. It looked like a page printed off of a website but what really caught her attention was that it had a picture of her just after she had joined the Host Club. As she looked over the page, she saw that most of the details about her life her printed in bold text, as well as her usual routines in daily life on any given day. The statement at the very bottom of the page however caused a trill of fear run up her spine.

"We would like to have her returned to us as soon as possible. Any and all methods are allowed as long as you can to get her to us. However, she must be unharmed and healthy."

"Where is that from Kyoya?" Hunny growled darkly.

"The Arcana Listing," he replied.

"The what?" Haruhi asked.

"It is a website that people in the Arcane community use," Kyoya sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "The site is mostly a collection of tips and tricks that are helpful to those who either have little control over their magic or have problems hiding their inhuman lineage. It also acts like a "help wanted" listing. If you need help of some kind, you make an ad for someone to answer. That is the more recent posting for the page. What is more unsettling is that apparently it has been up for a several years but is only just now being steadily updated."

"Who is it from?!" Hunny yelled, his eyes completely red in his anger.

"From the very ones that sent the fool who attacked you," a monotone voice answered.

Everyone turned to see a man in a well made black suit with frigid green eyes and cropped black hair. Those cold eyes turned to Kyoya and the man bowed.

"Was my hunch correct?" Kyoya asked, his eyes slowly returning to normal from being pitch black.

"It was," the man replied. "I know I should have reported to you first, Master Kyoya, but I came across the Ancient Trekiva before I found you. I have already informed him of my findings. He is...less than pleased."

"You did well Quin'Derax. How much time do we have before they expect some kind of report from you?"

"They have given me three days. I will only give what information you allow."

Kyoya nodded and crossed his arms. "That gives us until Wednesday to have some safe guards in place. We need to..."

Kyoya was cut off by his cell phone ringing. Sighing angrily, he answered the phone.

"Ootori...ah, hello senpai...I see...I will ask and see what we can do...I'll let them know...You as well."

"Who was it Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked at the change in his kohai's attitude.

"Nekozawa-senpai," he replied. "Apparently his mother is trying to form a schedule for Haruhi's Arcana lessons. She wants to do them on days when you and Mori-senpai are not able to attend club hours."

"We only know our schedules on a weekly basis."

"She is aware of that and her words were "It is better to know a few days ahead than none at all" and I agree with that sentiment. I would be able to relay the schedules between you all if that would be helpful."

"Would that interfere with anything?" Haruhi asked Hunny and Mori.

Kyoya quirked a brow and took a better look at what Haruhi was wearing when he saw Mori shake his head. "Haruhi, are you learning Karate?"

"Sort of," Haruhi shook her head. "Mori-senpai and Hunny-senpai are teaching me Judo and a little Kendo."

The corner of Kyoya's lips threatened to lift as he spoke. "Why do you still call him Mori-senpai when you are in essence married to him with a formal ceremony being planned for after the Gala on Halloween?"

"Uh," Haruhi stuttered as she looked at Mori with a soft blush. "I guess it is because I am so used to calling him that."

"It is probably a good idea if she does that while we are at school," Satoshi stated with a soft laugh. "Otherwise a lot of people will start asking questions that we really don't want to answer just yet."

"However," Hunny added. "You could call Takashi by his name when you are away from school. Sato-chan and Kyo-chan are right. At school, it would be like it was before and a sign of respect, but at home or with each other, call him by his name."

Haruhi looked at Mori and gave an apologetic smile. He smiled in return and gently placed his hand on her head. Hunny giggled softly and Kyoya let out a soft sigh.

"Do you two know your schedule for this week?" he asked.

Hunny looked down in thought. "There is a Karate meeting on Tuesday, and a Belt Awarding on Friday for the ones that passed the entrance trials."

"I have a Kendo Tournament with Satoshi on Thursday," Mori added. "Other than those, we should be able to attend hours for the whole week, or at least the latter half."

Kyoya tapped his chin in thought. "Would the Ceremony make you late Hunny-senpai?"

"Nope," Hunny smiled. "There are only three people getting their new belts so it shouldn't take more than an hour and the Karate club members are going to be excused early for the ceremony. Takashi's and Sato-chan's Kendo Tournament won't be until much later in the day so that won't be a problem. As for the meeting on Tuesday, I'm not sure if we will be able to arrive for the first part of Hosting hours but we will be there for the last half."

"So you will be attending every day this week?"

"Yup. Since Neko-chan's mother wants to start Haru-chan's lessons, we could do ours every other day or every two days so that Haru-chan can get ample rest between Judo and Kendo lessons and her Magic lessons."

"Arcana tests the mind more than the body," Kyoya explained. "So every other day, with exception of our events and weekends would be best."

"Um," Haruhi stated. "I still have the tutoring sessions with Ayame-senpai on Tuesdays."

"Ah," Kyoya nodded. "That's right you do. I'll see if there is any way to rearrange your meeting days around. However since it is still early in the new year, that shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Then that works for me," Haruhi nodded.

Hunny and Mori nodded in agreement as well. With a small smile, Kyoya nodded and began typing the information into his phone. Once that was done, he clicked it shut and put the small electronic in his pocket. Glancing back at the group, he noticed that most of them were looking at Quin'Derax with caution.

"He is trustworthy," Kyoya sighed.

"We realized tell that when he called you "Master" Kyoya-senpai," Yasuchika stated coldly. "But who is he?"

"Not a "who"," Quin'Derax replied. "More of "what", would be apt."

At the young vampire's confused glare, Quin'Derax shifted slightly and the human form he carried fell revealing a mass of dark purple Void energy.

"Quin'Derax is one of my stronger Voids," Kyoya answered. "In fact, he was the first one I ever called. I had him follow the trail of that ad you just read. Seems like your "family" wants you back Haruhi."

"My only family is my dad," Haruhi stated. "As well as Hunny-senpai's and Takashi's since the forming of the bond. No one else is my family!"

Kyoya smiled softly, not at all fazed at the outburst of her instinct. He was also going to refrain from correcting her since Trekiva, Abraham, Fernando and Hannah were also family to her. "You have another family, you just never met them. My theory as to who has been sending the Shadows after you as well as the ones behind the attack two days ago are starting to come together."

"Who are they Kyo-chan?" Hunny asked.

"The Katayama family," he answered. "The family that disowned you mother, Haruhi. It seems like they learned of who you are and what you can do. How and when they learned it, I do not know but I will find out. And when I do, I will make sure they understand what it means to mess with someone close to our "family" as Tamaki has called us so many times."

Haruhi shivered at the cold smile on her senpai's face. The last time she saw that smile was during the debacle that was physical exams last year when Dr. Yabu showed up and was mistaken for a pervert doctor when he was only trying to find his daughter. She also had a fairly good idea what would happen to anyone that crossed any of his family, or the others in the Host Club, in the wrong way. Giving a soft nod, Haruhi suppressed a shudder and felt Qurdox coil a little tighter around her legs. She then felt Mori wrap his arms around her and she closed her eyes. Opening her eyes, she nodded and Kyoya's smile got a little bigger.

"All right then," he smiled. "I'll let you get back to your lesson. I'll call Nekozawa-senpai and let him know of the arrangements. Or Vaska can inform his mistress about the plans."

Everyone nodded and Quin'Derax reformed his human guise before following his master out of the door. Vaska then gave a loud meow and rubbed against Haruhi's legs in a persistent demand of attention.

"Okay Haru-chan," Hunny smiled. "Let's see how well you can preform the stances we showed you before we go have a snack."

With a soft smile, Haruhi got back into proper stance after giving into the pestering of the feline underfoot and started going through the kata she learned from earlier once again.