Chapter 34:

Chapter 34, The Next Step

Mori sat in the light peach waiting room of the clinic with his father and Asuda on either side of him. The place looked like any ordinary health clinic would, a single floored building with white walls, several windows to allow natural light in and dark gray tiling for the roof. Inside had light peach walls that gave off a warm, welcoming feeling and a few abstract paintings decorating the walls. The chairs were cushioned with teal coverings and wooden framework with a few glass tables carrying a small collection of different kinds of magazines. As his eyes moved around the room, he noticed that there were may different kinds of people ranging from all monetary types. He smiled softly as a couple children ran around the chairs as they played together. He had also quickly noted that neither child was human.

His attention was quickly diverted to the door leading back to the exam rooms when it opened. A woman wearing a long white lab coat stood there with a set of thin rim glasses seated on her nose. She was dressed in light crimson scrubs and her eyes were a sharp citrine. She looked up from her clipboard and scanned the room. When her eyes landed on Mori she motioned for him to follow her.

Mori stood easily, his father and Asuda rising with him. He walked calmly and was slightly glad that Asuda had offered to go with him and his father to the clinic. Although they didn't really think anyone would be foolish enough to try something in such a public place, both had agreed that having someone with that knew what was to be expected was a boon. Asuda had explained that the people of the clinic didn't treat one type of patient over the other, even if they were of the same race. They were trained to treat all races for nearly every ailment that could befall a living being.

They were shown to a small exam room, large enough to hold the four of them with ease but small enough that many similar rooms could be on the floor of the building.

"Greetings Morinozuka-sama," she bowed after reading the board again. "I am Dr. Sakura Hito. I will be assisting your son in getting some pseudo-tablets made to help him begin to regulate his feeding. From what has been given to me, this has been a bit of a trouble since his control test before high school, am I right?"

"Yes," Akira answered. "He had a couple minor issues when he was younger, however, those were attributed to the switch in the Donors we had arrive at the estate."

"If I may, what caused the need to switch?"

"The birth of my second son."

"Does he have any feeding issues?"

"None as far as we know."

Dr. Hito nodded and began to write down what was being said. "All right, I am going to do a quick resonance with your son to determine his feeding level as well as his hunger state."

"My son has formed a bond with an Arcana user with a companion," Akira informed her, recalling that Asuda had stated that it would be best to inform the doctor of such before hand so that such would be taken into account before and during their tests.

"Thank you for informing me. How strong is the bond?"

"They have their Union at the end of the month."

"All right. Knowing that, I will place that on your file. Now then, do you have a crystal sample of your intended's blood?"

Mori nodded and pulled a small box about the size of a mini mint tin and handed it to the woman. Dr. Hito carefully took the tin and opened it, revealing a small crimson ball no bigger that a centimeter in diameter. She gently waved her hand over the small sphere, her hand slightly glowing blue, before she closed the tin and set in to her mobile desk. She then faced Mori and took a breath.

"I am going to place my hands on either side of your face, okay," she explained. "I am going to need you to show me your eyes and keep them focused on me. While doing so, you may feel a slight pressure build in your mind. That is just my awareness looking at your bond and instinct. Even though it may be uncomfortable to have me there, please try to refrain from lashing out. If you do any damage to me while I am in your mind, you will suffer the agony you would have inflicted in my place."

Mori nodded and closed his eyes before taking a few breaths to center himself, as well as send a silent message to Qurdox as to what was happening and why. The dragon replied stating that he would still be there but he would do nothing to the woman unless she attacked first. When Mori opened his eyes, they had a dark wine red glow to them. Dr. Hito nodded and placed her hands on either side of his face, her citrine eyes locking on to his. As she had explained, he felt a slight pressure slowly build in his mind as she seeped in. He felt her tense and knew that she had encountered Qurdox due to the light rumble he heard before the pressure seemed to flow through the rest of his body.

He noted that the pressure he felt was similar to the times he had gone to get a physical exam but it was on the inside of his body rather than outside of it. He managed to keep his instinct from trying to shove the woman out, but only barely. It didn't want a stranger walking through for any reason and stated such clearly but backed off slightly when he explained that she was trying to help them by giving them a means of keeping their balance and control. It quieted and let Dr. Hito continue her exam.

"Well then," she said after a few more moments. "I have what I needed."

Mori watched as she turned to pick up the clipboard and write down several lines on the paper there.

"You can make his tablets?" Akira asked.

"Yes," Dr. Hito answered. "I can even have the first batch of them to you in about an hour since we have a sample to work with."

"You are going to make the tablets based on my bonded's blood?" Mori asked.

"Yes. Since you have that bond with her, and I must say it is one of the strongest I have encountered in my near millennia of existence, it is actually more beneficial to you and her. I can also develop some tablets for her despite the fact she is asleep."

Asuda tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "How would they affect my niece?"

Dr. Hito looked at him with a steady expression. "No differently than iron supplements since they will be made at the weakest level. She shouldn't need anything stronger until she awakens or becomes pregnant."

"Would it take the same amount of time?" Mori asked.

"I can have them made together, so yes, they will be."

Mori nodded and Dr. Hito smiled softly. "I will need to take a small sample of your blood to make them. As I said, since the bond is already there between you two, it is more beneficial you use your own bloods."

Mori simply rolled up his sleeve and held his arm out to her.

Dr. Hito stood and pulled a tray over that had a few sterilized needles, some stretchy bands, a glass vile and some cotton balls. As she prepped the syringe, she explained that Mori should focus on his connection to her intended. She detailed that if his focus was on her, than the bond ties between them could be strengthened each time either one took the tablets. She also mentioned that having the if blood donated for the tablets was at its most filling, i.e filled with pleasure and passion for the one it was being given to, it was at its most beneficial.

Mori managed to squash the urge to blush at what the woman was saying so casually but understood what she meant. He actually could understand why it was best the way she explained and was glad that the drop he had given of Haruhi's blood was already like that as he had collected it while she was taking a bath after their little enterprise in the little enclave that Trekiva had created in the new expanse of Kyoya's Sanctuary. He shut his eyes and began to enter a light meditative state, allowing his mind to slowly fill with his desire to have Haruhi with him and have her writhing below him.

He felt his instinct begin to slowly surge forward, trying to do just that but iron-clad will prevented him from doing so. Mori felt the small prick of the needle as it entered his arm then felt the light pressure of a cotton ball over where the needle was. He opened his eyes and saw the doctor holding a the small vile filled with his blood.

"There we go," Dr. Hito smiled. "Now, I will get this sent to the lab and they will have at least one case for both you and your intended in about an hour."

Mori nodded and pulled his sleeve back down. With a soft bow, the woman left the room after telling them that they could wait in the reception area or go out. They would get a call on when the tablets were ready to be picked up either way. Once she was gone, they opted to wait in the waiting room and went back to the small room.

While they were waiting, Asuda stepped outside to call Trekiva and inform him of what Dr. Hito had explained to them and had offered. When he came back, the elder vampire sat next to Mori and stated that it might be best to explain to Haruhi the same. After looking at the clock hanging on the wall, he nodded and went into a light meditation.

*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*

Haruhi took a deep breath as she centered her focus back on her parring partner. After the exam that gave her her belt and place in the club, the session started with a small introduction of her to the rest of the club. Some already knew her but not because of the Host club. A number of them were in one class or another with her or had seen her during the entrance exams and had been shocked that she had gotten the scholarship to attend. They actually were more shocked that she had gotten a near perfect score on the test rather than the fact she was a commoner. She honestly hadn't thought it was that hard since she had studied the material most of her last year in junior high and the summer until the exam itself.

Needless to say she was shocked when she found out that the scholarship exam was changed every year and that passing with a near perfect was almost unheard of even by their own means. She just smiled with a slight blush at the praise the rest of the club gave her and the few that did know about her from the Host Club did ask the one question that Kyoya had stated the first time she wondered about getting asked when she first arrived.

"What made you join now instead of before?" one of the senior Kendo artists asked. "I mean, those of us who have gone have seen how most of them treated you. Heck, with exception of Ootori-kun, Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai, they still treat you the same way."

Haruhi sighed softly. "Honestly, it had been on my mind before but I really couldn't. During my first year, I had to pay back the debt I had incurred by breaking a vase and I also had to keep up with my grades. After a while, I got used to what they all did to me because it was just how they were and it was easier to go with the flow rather than fight them all on every little thing."

Many of the gathered nodded in understanding before the sensei broke them up to begin practice. During the course of the session, Haruhi had a total of four partners of about equal strength, each one a little better than the last. She was currently practicing with her fifth and knew it would be her last of the day before the cooling meditation before she went to the Host Club with Satoshi and Yasuchika. She noticed that this one fought somewhat similarly to Tanya and with a few solid strikes was able to disarm them easily, thus ending the match.

"Dang," they chuckled. "No wonder Zatar-san told me to have a tighter grip. She wasn't kidding about you being able to disarm someone."

Haruhi smiled back before bowing to them. They bowed back and the instructor called everyone to sit and begin cool down stretches and meditate. As Haruhi slipped into position, she felt a small pulse from her connection to Mori.

"Hey," she greeted. "How did the appointment go?"

"It went well," he replied. "I will have a small case of the tablets in roughly an hour. They are making it from a small sample of your blood."

"When did you have a chance to get one?"

"During our time in the small home inside the Sanctuary."

Haruhi felt her cheeks warm slightly at the memory. "Oh. Is that going to be okay?"

"From what the doctor explained to me," Mori explained. "It is actually better for me that the tablets are made of your blood, especially at its most filling. Not only will it dampen my hunger, it will also boost my control and strengthen our bond."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. There is something else though."

"What?"

"They are making a dose set for you as well out of my blood."

"But I don't need it," Haruhi stated confused. "My blood is still asleep."

"Although it is asleep," Qurdox spoke. "It can still draw on the benefits of Takashi's blood. If you take the dose given to you as you are now, they will act similarly to supplements to boost your body and you will gain the same boon as Takashi in that your bond to him will be strengthened."

"It won't hurt me or wake my blood before I am ready?"

"Correct. It will only aid you."

Haruhi thought about it for a few moments before agreeing to take the tablets. She knew that Qurdox wouldn't allow anything to hurt her in anyway he could prevent and she also knew that Asuda had gone with them so he would be able to better elaborate what the tablets would do for her. She and Mori talked through their bond for a few more moments before she had to enter the physical world due to Kendo being over for the day. They both agreed to speak a bit more about it when they saw each other back in the Sanctuary. When she opened her eyes, she saw that everyone else was getting up, some of them stretching to get a few extra kinks out from practice, and making their way to the changing rooms. She stood to join them and get changed so that she could head to the Host Club for the last hour of hosting. She also made sure to get a locker for her stuff when she had practice.