"Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?" Haruhi's voice from above me snaps me back to the present.
"Oh, I can tell that he is dangerous. But he is very good at solving most of the mysteries or problems that he comes across," I tell her as I walk up the stairs.
"Just please be careful with him," Haruhi warns.
"What if I told you I like Mori?" I ask as I come level with her.
"Then I would assume you are actually interested in at least one twin. I just know you that well," she says easily.
"Maybe, but it is really too early to tell honestly," I tell her. She stops at the door to her apartment. I go a little further and stop at my door.
we stare at each other for a long moment, before she gives me her biggest grin. "You have always had a soft spot for red heads," then she slips inside. I open my door, and lean against the door after closing it.
Do I like the twins? I barely even intereacted with them today, and it was my first day. I definitely interacted more with Kyoya. Something about him doesn't put me on edge. He feels familiar somehow, and I have no clue why. When I open my eyes, I see that all of my frniture has been delivered. No time to dawdle, got to put stuff away.
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I do my best to ignore the persistent poking on my head, but it is very hard. "Do you think he is sick?" apparently one of the twins is concerned about my welfare.
"Not sure Kaoru, he seems like the type to party all night. I wouldn't be surprised if someone like him had a hangover," the other says in a louder than needed voice.
"You don't know what you are talking about Hikaru, Ebira isn't like that," Kaoru says softly.
"Must the two of you be so loud?" I grumble grumpily from the depths of my arms.
"A bad influence like you should not spend so much time around Haruhi," Hikaru says viciously from behind me. I sit up straight, turn around, look him in the eye, then I slap him across the face.
"Ebira!" Haruhi says loudly as she walks into the classroom. I just collect my things, and walk out. I don't bother staying at the school. I pull out my phone, see Haruhi trying to call me, and turn off my phone. I walk all the way back home, and lock the door behind me. I look at all the boxes that I still have to go through. I purposely avoid looking at the photo album still sitting open on the floor in what will eventually be the dining room. I drag the mattress into the master bedroom, put it together where I want it. Then I pull out a sheet and blanket from the box nearby. Once the bed is made, I collapse onto it, and go to sleep.
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"Haruhi, where is Ebira?" Kyoya asks sharply. Haruhi glares at the twins, but only Hikarou looks bad about something.
"Someone told Ebira that they were a bad influence on me, and that they needed to stay away from me. So Ebira slapped Hikarou, and stormed out. I haven't been able to get a hold of him all day," Haruhi says.
"Why would you say things like this Hikaru?" Kyoya asks.
"Because look at how he dresses? When we came in this morning he was clearly hung over. How could you want someone like that in the club?" Hikaru explodes angrily in defence.
"That is not for you to decide," Kyoya says.
"Well I am very sorry Kyoya, but I need to go check on him," Haruhi says sharply.
"Can I come with you?" Kaoru asks.
"Sure thing Kaoru," the two leave, and Kyoya glares daggers at Hikaru.
"You had better work extra hard to make up the numbers for the three missing memebers today," tells the red head.
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"Are you sure it is ok to enter without his permission?" Kaoru asks softly.
"If he did not want me to enter whenever I want he would not have given me a key," Haruhi reasons.
"I guess you are right," Kaoru follows Haruhi into the apartment.
"Wait here, I will go check the rooms," Haruhi says. Kaoru nods his acceptance, and looks around the sparce apartment filled with boxes. An open book on the floor nearby catches his eye, and he moves closer to see what it is.
"A photo album?" he whispers. He kneels down to look at the open pages. There are four pictures visible. All four look like they were rescued from a fire. The first one actually shows Ebira with three other people. The next one seems to be his parents, the third seems like it might be an older brother or something. The last one is clearly Ebira, but he is wearing a pink dress and holding a teddy bear.
"Nosy much?" avoice growls nearby. Ebira snatches away the photo album, and stomps away. Kaoru stands up quickly, and Haruhi gives a look that says everything she wants to say. "I turned my phone off so I could avoid being bothered today Haruhi," Ebira says as he comes back into the room. He pulls three mismatched cups out of a random box, and fills them with water. He offers two to Haruhi, and Kaoru, while he drinks from the last one.
Kaoru can see that his eyes are actually red rimmed, and his nose looks a little red as well. "I know that Ebira, but you do not ususally hit people, so I had to check on you," Haruhi says.
"I know Haruhi, but I have changed over the years. I take self defence classes now," he says.
"Self defence is different than attacking!" Haruhi says harshly.
"Not always," Ebira says equally as sharply. Then he turned to me, and we maintain eye contact. "You are Kaoru, right?" He asks.
"Yes,"
"Attack me," he demands.
"What?"
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"Are you insane?" Haruhi asks.
"No, I need to show you that sometimes attacking first is the key," I tell her. The three of us stand silently staring at each other. Then surprisingly Haruhi rushes forwards, and before she can blink, I have her pinned to the floor.
"That really hurt," she says a little breathlessly.
"I know, my teacher does not pull her punches," I tell her. Before Kaoru can make contact with his fist from behind, I catch his wrist and flip him over both me and Haruhi. He lands hard on his back.
"You seem to know what you are doing that is for sure," he says.
"What I want to know is why you would hit Hikaru? Just because he called you a bad influence?" Haruhi asks.
"Yes, I was up all night crying, and he assumes I have a hang over," I tell her. She sits up and wraps her arms around me.
"You can admit to crying so easily," Kaoru says softly.
"Don't play dumb, I know which pictures were on display," I tell him over Haruhi's shoulder.
"So you are a girl?" he asks.
"Yes," I tell him. I bury my face in Haruhi's neck. She feels so safe, and familiar. Like being home again.
"I am sorry, why didn't you come over and get me?" Haruhi asks.
"Because I needed to be alone," I tell her. I stiffen briefly as I feel Kaoru wrapping his longer arms around both me and Haruhi.
"From now on, as part of the host club, you do not need to be alone," he tells me.
"Kyoya said much the same thing so long as I am willing to help him on occasion," I told the two of them, and just like that we al started laughing.
"Go back to bed, I will get some of these unpacked for you," Haruhi says, scooting back a little.
"What about me?" Kaoru asks.
"I don't mind if you stay and help Haruhi," I tell him.
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"Hey Kaoru, can you go wake her up for some food?" Haruhi asks from the small kitchen area.
"Sure," he says readily. He moves through the hallway to the master bedroom, and gently pushes the door open. Ebira is curled up asleep on her bed. He steps up beside her, and reaches to touch her shoulder.
He never got to touch her shoulder. Before he could make contact, she grabs his arm, and pulls him down. Now he is in her bed, and being smooshed against her chest and his face feels incredibly hot. There is no way for him to mistake her as a guy from this angle. He blushes even more if at all possible when she starts rubbing her face in his hair.
"So soft and warm," she murmurs.
"Ebi," he whispers.
"Yeah?" she answers back.
"Haruhi has finished making dinner," he says. Trying very hard to ignore the position he is in.
"That's nice," she giggles.
"Ebi!" Haruhi says sharply from the door. She sits up quickly, thankfully letting Kaoru go. "Stop molesting Kaoru and get out here to eat," she says before walking away. Them Ebira turns towards him and blushes at how close they are.
"Sorry," she says, before racing after Haruhi. Kaoru decides to take a moment to get his thoughts together. He does his best to get his emotions under control. He manages to make it through the rest of the night without bringing it up or feeling too awkward around the two girls.
However later when he got back home, he could not tamp down his blush no matter how hard he tried. Hikaru was really worried, about his brother. He kept asking what happened, but each time he did Kaoru would clam up, beet red, and refused to say anything. It really hurt Hikaru's feelings. This is the first time that Kaoru with held anything from him. He will simply have to get to the bottom of it in the morning. Kaoru also stayed in his own bed that night, which is rather odd.