The following program contains violence, coarse language, and adult situations not suitable for minors… Viewer discretion is advised.
Another long day of school and hosting activities was coming to an end. It was the Wednesday after the great cowboy event had taken place and Haruhi still couldn't believe that the makeshift saloon was gone as though it had never been there in the first place. The guests were gone for the day which left the hosts alone in the third music room. The short brunette was eager to leave so she could get a jump on her night's homework, unfortunately Kyoya had called a club meeting.
"Alright everyone." The shadow king spoke up officially starting the meeting, the remaining hosts sat in a semi-circle of chairs as they were addressed. "As you are all aware the summer break is coming up quick and we have our annual summer Gala the evening before it starts. I have already set out forms for our guest to reserve dances with their host of choice."
"Oh yes the Summer Gala, how marvelous." Tamaki said with a nostalgic smile and a glowing disposition. His eyes flicked to Haruhi and lit up with realization. "Oh, I can't wait to dance with my beautiful daughter again. Last time was not long enough, I wish that moment could have lasted forever."
"Oh, but Tono, I've already reserved the first dance with your precious daughter." Hikaru teased the club president who acted as though he took an arrow to the heart.
"How dare you, I'm the only one who should get to dance with her. As her father its my right." Tamaki countered angerly.
"You're not my dad." Haruhi said off handedly, as she watched the exchange with exasperation. She wasn't the fondest of ballroom dancing, even though she had to admit she did have fun at the last one. She peaked over at Mori-senpai who was sitting across from her with his cousin. He looked back and their eyes locked for a second, he gave her a small Mori smile before turning his attention back to meeting. Haruhi couldn't help but smile to herself, then again it wouldn't be too bad to go to another dance.
Tamaki was curled up into a gloomy ball of to the side of his chair muttering to himself about how cruel everyone was when Kaoru piped up. "We do have the loveliest dress from our mother's collection for Haru, she will be the bell of the ball."
"Not necessary." Kyoya said drawing everyone's attention back to him, even the sulking Tamaki.
"What do you mean not necessary?" The president demanded back on his feet. "My daughter needs an extravagant dress for her dance with her father."
"It's not necessary because Haruhi will not be dancing with us." Kyoya said flatly as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We can't spare the host, this dance is projected to have the highest attendance on record. If we have her switch into a dress to dance with the other hosts then we lose a total of twelve dances for our clients. I repeat twelve dances. That is a sizable profit margin that I am not going to miss out on."
Tamaki and Hikaru were both about to object but shrunk back at the glare the Shadow King threw their way. Both huddled together to sulk about the turn of events in the corner. Haruhi couldn't help but feel a little bummed out, she understood Kyoya's reasoning for the decision but still. She actually wanted to dance with atleast one particular host. Maybe she would ask the senior for one dance after the gala was over.
"Koaru, your brother and you are to oversee our suits." Kyoya continued going down his check list. The younger twin nodded in understanding. "I'm thinking matching white with each of us having our personal tie and matching boutonnieres. Hunny-Senpai, can I trust you with the deserts and catering?"
"No problem Kyoya." The smallest host said with a big grin.
"Excellent. Tamaki and I will handle decorations." Kyoya finished. "Mori-senpai you know what your tasks are?" The big man simply nodded in response.
"Alright with that covered onto the next item." Kyoya said checking his list. "For the summer break my family has recently bought a new resort. It's beach side with gorgeous sandy beaches, I've already arranged us a two week stay for the seven of us."
"No." Haruhi said bluntly which drew the attention of everyone to her. She sat there defiantly with her arms folded. "No, I'm not going to another one of your resorts. Not after last time."
"This isn't up to debate." Kyoya said his eyes narrowing on the crossdresser.
"No it isn't, cause I'm not going." Haruhi said standing her ground. "I don't want to, and I actually want to have a relaxing vacation of my own."
"What do commoners even do on holiday breaks?" Tamaki said, he was out of his funk and sitting back in his chair. The question hung in the air for a moment as the host thought about it. The twins, Mitsukuni, and Tamaki all cocked their heads to the side stumped on an answer before they all turned to look at Haruhi expectantly.
"All sorts of things." The girl sighed and she began to list off activities. "We visit loved ones, go to fairs, camping, …"
"Camping!?" Tamaki shouted excitedly. "I've read about this, it's where commoners go out to the woods and pretend to be poorer."
"Ohhhhh." The twins said in unison as though that made the most sense in the world. Haruhi had to fight off the uncontrollable urge to face palm at Tamaki's explanation.
"I vote we try this camping thing." Tamaki continued appealing to the group. "If commoners can do it and have fun, I'm sure we can absolutely excel at it!"
The twins seemed thoughtful of the idea as they began to whisper to one another, after a few seconds they came to a conclusion. "We're in."
"Camping sounds fun don't you think Takashi?" Mitsukuni said to his cousin who agreed with a simple nod. Haruhi felt a pit in her stomach imagining this group trying to rough it out in the wilderness, but she actually liked the idea. She hadn't been camping since she was a little girl with her dad, if she recalled correctly he still had his old camping gear in storage.
"Enough." Kyoya commanded as he adjusted his glasses once again. "It has already been decided that we will be spending this break at the new resort."
Takashi surprised everyone by standing and walking up to the shadow king. "Can I speak with you in private for a moment?" Everyone just stared at Mori-senpai, it was very out of character for him to say so much, or to challenge the shadow king. Kyoya nodded to his senior and they walked over to a quiet corner of the room to speak in hushed voices so as the others could not hear.
"What do you think their talking about?" Hikaru asked his twin.
"Don't know, but it has to quite the pitch cause Kyoya is nodding along." Kaoru replied. After a minute or two the two hosts returned to the group and took their seats.
"Alright it is decided." Kyoya said in a calm, yet slightly annoyed tone. "Go on your camping trip but I will not be joining you."
Everyone looked from the vice president to the silent senior and back before the four hosts let out a cheer, whatever Mori-senpai had said had worked.
"With that this meeting is adjourned, I'll see you all Friday." Kyoya said dismissively. The rest of the hosts began to pack their things, well all except Mitsukuni who wandered over to sit next to Haruhi.
"So Haru." The little host said innocently although there was a hint of an evil smirk. "Takashi tells me you two are going on another date this weekend."
The heads of Tamaki and Hikaru snapped to stare at the two smallest hosts, while the rest just idly glanced.
"Absolutely not!" Tamaki shouted out, the first time Mori-senpai had asked was during club hours and he'd not been able to interject. This time however the club president was not hindered by such constrictions. "I do not allow this, my daughter is not allowed to date. She is much to young."
"Far to young." Hikaru agreed with his boss, boosting the king's confidence.
"As her father I will protect her from the evil neighbor." Tamaki continued.
Haruhi was about to respond with her normal, 'you're not my dad' remark but this was annoying her more than normal for some reason. On impulse she folded her arms and stared the to men down. "Oh really? Well watch this. Hey Mori-senpai, are you busy this evening? Would you like to go see a movie?"
Takashi had to suppress a grin as he looked to the celling and pretended to think about it for a second. He dropped his gaze back to his cousin who gave him a giant smile, welp that settled it. "Sure." Was all the giant said in response as he continued to pack his bag.
"Mommy, the evil neighbor has corrupted our darling daughter." Tamaki whined to Kyoya. "She's openly defying us now, we must put a stop to this before it gets worse."
Kyoya grimaced as he felt the start of a headache forming from all the racket. He grabbed the president's and Hikaru's collars and began to drag them out of the music room with Kaoru following behind. "What is this 'us' you speak of? She wouldn't have done that if you weren't being so controlling. Now you're going to learn from this lesson."
The remaining three hosts just watched in amusement as the others disappeared into the hall. Once their belongings were packed Takashi slung his pack and looked down at the brunette with a hint of a smile.
"So, was that invitation just out of spite or do you actually want to go see a movie?" The big man asked. Haruhi blushed in embarrassment at acting so bold.
"Well, to be honest it was mostly a spur of the moment thing out of spite." Haruhi responded shyly. "I do have quite a bit of homework that I really need to focus on, but a movie with you sounds like a fun Senpai. So would you like to go see a movie tonight?"
"I'd enjoy that." Takashi said before looking at his watch. "We have some time before any showings start so we can get some studying done here and just head straight to the theater."
"You two have fun." Mitsukuni said as he scooped up his stuffed rabbit from his chair. "I've got a date of my own with a large cake at home, so I'll see you later."
"Bye, Senpai." Haruhi called after her friend as he made his way out the door. "Get home safe."
"Come on, let's go to the library." Takashi said picking up Haruhi's bag and leading the way.
After a couple hour study session and with Mori-senpai's help they were able to finish up all their homework for the evening. Haruhi couldn't help but think that her date was also a great study partner, even with him subtly distracting her. With homework out of the way they opted to walk to a theater that was halfway between the school and her house. The movie was enjoyable, they'd settled on a cheesy horror movie that was more unintentionally funny than scary. Although a few actual scary parts had the small chestnut-haired girl clinging onto Takashi's arm for safety. When the two hosts emerged from the theater the sun was setting and the streetlights were just turning on.
"Thank you for the evening Senpai." Haruhi said as they walked towards her apartment, she had originally protested him walking her the rest of the way home, but he'd insisted. She didn't really argue it as she was just trying to be polite, frankly she was happy that he was persistent. She did enjoy spending time with the senior, he wasn't overbearing like the rest of the hosts. She had to admit to herself that she could feel herself falling for him a little more and more with each passing day.
"No, thank you." He responded giving her a ghost of a smile as he placed his hand atop her head and ruffled her hair. It was something he'd done many times since they'd first met, but now there was extra affection in the act and that caused her cheeks to glow. "You're the one who invited me."
"Well then thank you for saying yes and letting me pay." She retorted. She had been rather surprised when he hadn't argued with her when she'd offered, he simply put his wallet back. She didn't want him to feel as though she was only agreeing to date him if he spoiled her. Of course, a movie date wasn't on the same level as the fancy restaurant of their first date but still it was the thought that counted. Not to mention the fact that he had accepted it without so much as a complaint had made her feel that he truly understood her more than any of the other hosts. That she wasn't just some poor commoner who couldn't make it in the world without one of them taking pity on her.
"How could I say no to such a beautiful woman?" He said and the compliment made her stomach fill with fluttering butterflies. Face beat red she had to look away in embarrassment which had the large senior smiling affectionately. They continued walking in a comfortable silence for a bit longer while Haruhi cooled off before a thought popped into her head.
"Senpai, what did you say to Kyoya to make him change his mind about the camping trip?" She asked.
"Oh that?" Takashi said stroking his chin while he thought back to earlier. "I merely suggested to him that with the rest of us going on a camping trip that he could take Renge with him on vacation to the resort."
"Renge?" A look of confusion overtook the short girls features as she thought about her senpai's words. "I thought she no longer had a crush on Kyoya… Wait, are you telling me Kyoya now has feelings for Renge? Are they dating?"
"I don't think they are officially dating." Takashi said as he contemplated his opinion on the Shadow King's personal life. "As for Renge's crush on Kyoya I believe she lost her feelings for the character she thought he was and slowly began developing a crush on the actual Kyoya the more she got to know him."
"And Kyoya?"
"From what I've seen, Kyoya admires her as an equal in her drive for earning money. I'm gonna be honest I in no way understand or want to understand what goes on in that man's head; however, I've had my suspicions that he would want to investigate her further. I suspect if he likes what he finds, he'll have his father arrange a marriage with her family, that is if he can convince him that a union between them would be beneficial to the Ootori family. A vacation at a resort would be the perfect opportunity for such."
"Arrange a marriage?" Haruhi was shocked at the terms that Mori was using, she thought that arranged marriages were things of the past. "Wait, you're telling me like an actual arranged marriage? A union simply for the benefit of their family's business?"
"Correct."
"That's still a thing?"
"Yes." To Takashi this was just a standard way of life, he had to remind himself that concepts like this were a foreign to the chestnut-haired girl. "Almost all marriages of the super wealthy are arranged, marriage is more like a chess game than anything else. Very few are actually lucky enough to even meet their future spouse before their wedding day, even more rare is for someone to get to choose their spouse."
"So you're telling me that you're parents could just choose to marry you off to someone?" Haruhi had come to a stop on the sidewalk in front of a dark alley and was staring up at Takashi, her chocolate brown eyes were beginning to water at the thoughts going through her head. The sight caused the big man's heart to ache; he never wanted to see this girl cry. "That even though you are going on dates with me, you could just be married off to someone else at any moment and none of this would matter?"
"No." Takashi said calmly, his stoic features seemed to soften as he raised his hand to cup her cheek. His steely grey eyes staring deep into hers as he used his thumb to gently brush away a tear that had spilled over. "The Morinozuka family is one of those extremely rare groups that are not bound by such traditions. We may be on the same level in terms of wealth now-a-days, but we do not share the same status as most of the wealthy families of Japan."
"I don't understand." Haruhi said as she subconsciously leaned into the warmth of his hand.
"Until my grandfather married my grandmother, Mitsukuni's great aunt, my family was considered a Servant Family. For hundreds of years we have been in service of the Haninozuka's and even though they have always treated us as equals, most of the distinguished families have never seen us more than commoners ourselves. Wealthy commoners, the Haniozuka family paid well for our services, but commoners none the less. Even now my family's status is considered less than equal to most of the students that attend Ouran, a large number still view us as just a servant family who got lucky."
Haruhi's eyes widened at the explanation, a lot of the things she had always wondered about the stoic senior from the time she had got to know him was starting to make sense. Whenever she needed help cleaning up after the club it was always Mori who stepped up. Whenever heavy lifting was needed it was Mori who took the brunt of it. He had a work ethic that she had deemed rare in the student's at her High School.
"My grandfather's marriage changed little in regard to the duty's we performed for my cousin's for generations." Takashi continued giving Haruhi the most comforting smile he could manage as he watched her tears begin to dry. "The traditions we have formed and carried are what continue to guide the Morinozuka's to this day."
"And those traditions are?" Haruhi asked nervously, almost as a whisper.
"Well for one, the Morinozuka's can marry whoever they so choose because we do not care about our status in society or growing our wealth. Our only priorities are to uphold our oaths and duties, that's what it means to be a Morinozuka."
Haruhi smiled softly before bringing her hand up to grab the larger one caressing her cheek. "Thank you for sharing this with me Senpai, it means a lot to me. I think I understand you much more now."
"Thank you for listening, you're the first person I've had to explain this to. It was, cathartic. Now let's get you home before your father gets worried." Takashi said with an actual smile as he let his hand fall and turned to continue walking.
A strong hand grabbed the back of Haruhi's school blazer and yanked her into the ally they'd paused in front of. She was about to scream for Mori when she felt an object pressed against her neck, she couldn't see what the object was, but it felt cold and sharp. Takashi had sensed her move from his side and turned to see what the issue was, a man in a tattered suit had the short crossdresser held in front of him.
That man was a head taller than Haruhi with various tattoos across the skin that was visible. His left hand was cupped over the girl's mouth, effectively silencing her and pulling her head to the side to give him better access to her neck. He was missing the pinky on that hand as well as half the ring finger, which indicated to the tall senior that this man was probably involved with an organized crime syndicate and wasn't very good at his job. Before Takashi made a move, he noticed the glint off the knife the man had pressed against Haruhi's throat.
"My, my, my." The man said, his voice sounded as greasy as his attire. He was eyeing the Ouran High's uniform that the two students still wore with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "What do I have here, two students from that rich brats school out and about without a chauffeur. Today must be my lucky day."
"What do you want?" Takashi asked in a low calm voice as if he didn't already know. The big senior was slowly adjusting his stance as he glared darkly at the criminal holding his best friend hostage. Haruhi's eyes were wide, tears openly flowing down her cheeks. Terror etched onto her face.
"What do you think?" The criminal asked in a sarcastic, wheezing voice. "You rich shits are loaded out the ass, give me your money and any jewelry you've got or I slice this boys throat."
"Its going to be ok." Takashi said to Haruhi trying to calm her down, to let her know that she will be fine. He pulled his wallet from his coat pocket and tossed it over to land at their feet. "There's a lot of cash in there, now let my friend go."
"Oh I'll let him go, when I'm finished with him." The man said with an evil smirk before sticking out his tongue and running it up the side of Haruhi's face. The action caused the poor girl to flinch and her eyes involuntarily snapped shut, her whole body was trembling.
A loud crack rang out into the air which left Haruhi's ears ringing. She felt the man's grip over her mouth loosen then fall away, the cold steel against her neck followed shortly after. She was supporting her own weight again, and it took all her strength to stay standing as her legs trembled and threatened to give out. She slowly opened her eyes, vision blurry through tears, to see Mori still standing in the same spot. His hands were outstretched holding a rectangular object, it only took her a moment to recognize the device.
'Why does Mori have a gun?' She thought to herself before her eyes widened as her very gifted mind began to register the clues and connect the dots. The seconds felt like minutes as she slowly began to turn her body to look behind her. She had only glimpsed a pair of worn dress shoes when a pair of large strong arms wrapped around her petite frame and pulled her into Takashi's chest.
"Don't look Haruhi." Takashi said his arms tightly around her shoulders, one hand holding the back of her head keeping her face in the crook of his neck. He felt her legs give out, but he supported her weight effortlessly as he felt the hot tears run down onto his shoulder. "Don't look."
It only took the police several minutes to arrive at the seen after Mori had called them. It all seemed to be a blurry haze to Haruhi, who had found herself in the back of an ambulance with a wool blanket wrapped around her and a warm drink in her hands. She was in a such a state of shock from the events that she didn't even know what her drink was. She had given the police a statement of what had happened before they had her escorted back to her house by an officer. They'd said that Takashi had to come with them to the station for a bit, but he hadn't been in handcuffs, so she hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.
When she got home, she'd burst into tears again at the sight of her father who was just on his way out to go to work. He'd rushed over and engulfed his daughter in a hug trying his best to comfort her, while the officer explained the situation to him. He had nodded and thanked the man before picking up his daughter and carrying her inside.
She was a sobbing mess as she sat on her bed, back against the wall hugging a pillow to her chest. Her father had called into work and spent the last hour just holding her, whispering comforting things to her. He was now down making them some tea when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She found that odd, why would her dad be knocking?
"Haruhi." Came a deep voice she knew all too well from the other side of the door. Mori-senpai. She couldn't believe it was him, she'd thought for sure that he was locked in a jail cell at this point.
"Come in." She managed to say. The door clicked softly as it was swung open to reveal the tall senior standing there awkwardly. He looked disheveled, his blazer was ruffled, and his tie was pulled loose. Her eyes couldn't help but focus on his left cheek which was rather red compared to the rest of his face. He slowly entered her room and walked to the edge over her bed where he gestured as though to ask if he could sit, which he did when she nodded.
He sat down, arms resting on his knees as he let out an uncharacteristic sigh. A sigh that let his exhaustion known to the petite girl, a sigh that told her that this had affected him just as much as her.
"You killed a man." Haruhi said, the words had just fallen out of her mouth. She still couldn't believe what had happened.
"I did." Was all that he responded with. His tone was somber but there was no regret there, he had done what he'd done and he would do it again if he had to.
"Why did you have a gun?" She asked, she needed to know more. She needed to know why. She was thankful that he had saved her but the traumatic event was so chaotic, it had happened so quick. She needed to know why.
"I always have a gun." Takashi said, he let that hang in the air for a moment before he continued. "Always. Even at school. I have special permissions to do so from the government. It is required of me in order to carry out my duties to Mitsukuni."
"Honey-senpai?" Haruhi asked even more confused on what the small senior had to do with this.
"Yes." Takashi said exasperated, his head hanging slightly. "The main service the Morinozuka's provide to the Haninozuka's is protection. From the moment we are able to walk we are taught to fight; we're taught to protect our cousins at all costs, even if that cost is our life. The Haninozuka's have a lot of people who want them dead."
"I don't understand senpai." Haruhi pleaded to him. "Why would anyone want Honey's family dead?"
"The family business." He said looking at her for the first time. His steely eyes shown his inner turmoil from having to explain this part of his life. "The family dojo is the pride of both of our families and the martial arts we teach inside are passions that we love, but that's just a front. The main business is training. For generations the Haninozuka's have held the contracts with multiple organizations and governments for combat training. The military, the police force, foreign military, even Kyoya's secret police were trained by us."
Haruhi was surprised by this information. She knew about the dojo that the two seniors were so passionate about, but she had no idea it was so interconnected with the world around her.
"The men and women we train are the best of the best and tend to excel at their work, anytime a big Yakuza boss is taken down or there is a major bust. It's generally done by someone we trained, because of this there is a bounty out on the entire Haninozuka family in the criminal underground."
"Just the Haninozuka's?" Haruhi asked now worried about her friend's safety. "What about your family?"
"My family has no legal connections to the dojo other than the kendo portion." He said with a shrug. "A lot of work has gone into making it appear that it is all the Haninozuka's, it gives us leeway to carry out our duties."
"Have… Have you ever killed anyone before?" Haruhi asked. She barely noticed the flinch Takashi had at the question which gave her an answer.
"This will be the fourth." He replied looking away from those big brown iris's. "The first that didn't involve saving Mitsukuni. I don't enjoy it, but it is my duty. I understand if you no longer wish to date me after learning all this."
Haruhi began to panic as she watched him begin to stand up, of all the things that had gone through her head. She crawled forward on her bed and wrapped her arms around her senpai's torso under the arms. He froze, feeling her press herself against his back. He could feel her heartbeat and she could hear his.
"Senpai, don't go." She whispered, almost begged. "What happened tonight does not change the way I feel about you. I am very thankful for what you did, you saved me from dying or worse."
The petite girl shuddered at the thought, she could still feel that mans tongue dragging up her cheek, tasting her tears. It made her squeeze Takashi tighter.
"Thank you." He said, and Haruhi couldn't help but think that he sounded relieved.
"So don't think you're getting out of taking me to an amusement park and winning me the biggest stuffed animal they have. Alright?" Takashi could help but to smile softly at Haruhi's words, he knew she was just trying to put on a tough face for him. Trauma like this was not cured so easily, but it was a start to actually healing.
"Deal." He said as she let go of him and he turned to face her. She noticed the red mark on his cheek again and had to know.
"What happened to your cheek?"
"Oh, your father." Takashi sounded a bit sheepish at this, something Haruhi never thought she'd hear from the stoic man. She found it adorable. "He, uh, slapped me when he opened the front door."
"He what?" Haruhi said shocked at this revelation.
"Slapped me." Takashi reiterated. "Then hugged me and thanked me profusely."
"That sounds about right." The petite girl said before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on the injured cheek. When she pulled back the other was just as red, they probably matched her own. "I hope that makes it feel better."
Authors note: Well, that escalated quickly. This was supposed to be just a cute little side date idea I had but it took off while I was writing it. As this chapter turned out to be very exposition heavy, I tried to get it to flow naturally and not be just an information dump. One of the things I really like writing about Mori is that his character has so much potential on what he can be. Please comment, review, and critique my work it really does help me become a better writer.
