The Oni's stare held me captive. Its glowing red eyes glittered maliciously in the dim light coming through the broken window, and its shadow stretched across the room over both Haruhi's unconscious form, and my paralyzed one. What is happening!? These things aren't real! They're fairy tale villains! Nightmares! Figmentations of the imaginamiliation!
I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, sweat beading across my back as the creature and i sized each other up. It could've been minutes, hours, days that we watched each other, but at that moment time was a foreign concept. All i knew then was the pounding of my heart through my body, and the glowing red eyes, and open, fang filled mouth of the monster. Suddenly, the creature let out a roar and sprang. My heart stopped, and red filled my vision. You know how everyone says that your life flashes before your eyes right before you die? Well….if that's the case then either i've never had anything happen in my life, or it's just not how it works. My last thought before passing out was something along the lines of I wonder if the neighbors are hearing this? before my body hit the floor with a thud and everything went black.
"Ow ow ow ow." I moaned and sat up. Heaven sure looks a lot like Haruhi's living room….
"Oy! She's awake!" The sudden voice had me screaming and grabbing the nearest object to throw at the speaker, which just so happened to be a glass vase.
"AYE! Stop! Haruhi! Nala is going rampant out here!" I blinked, and my vision cleared showing a horrified twin cowering behind the other end of the couch. My grip on the vase slipped, and it fell from my hand shattering on the floor. Horrified eyes swept the room and i choked out,
"Where are Kaoru and Haruhi? What happened!? What in the ever loving mother of monkey butts was that fucking MONSTER!?" Hikaru scratched his chin, and eyes darting everywhere he mumbled.
"Kaoru isn't here right now….Haruhi is in the other room with Tamaki." Bitterness tinged his voice before he continued on after clearing his throat. "And what creature are you talking about…?" He chuckled nervously, "There was no creature...you must've had a nightmare." I glared at him.
"That was no nightmare Hikaru! That was…..not from this world at all. Don't even bother trying to lie about it, because you're a horrible liar. You do much better when Kaoru is here to help you. Now," I pointed at him, "Are you going to show me where Haruhi and Kaoru are or do i have to, like, beat it out of you." He held up his hands in defense when i moved towards him.
"Fine. Fine i'll show you but don't be surprised what you see." Without warning he snagged my hand, and jerking me behind him, he dragged me down the hall to Haruhi's room and throwing open the door he shoved me inside it. The sight in front of me had my jaw dropping.
"Y-Y-YOU FREAK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BEST FRIEND!?" My screaming had Tamaki jerking away from Haruhi in surprise. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" He began to stutter and blush and fumble with his hands. The scene i had just walked into, after the night i'd had was not an entirely pleasant one. Haruhi had been backed up against the wall with Tamaki's face pressed against her neck in what i had originally assumed was a kiss. Well...it wasn't a kiss. "WHAT THE HELL TAMAKI!? Are you some sort of wannabe vampire sicko huh? That is disgusting you freak! Get away from Haruhi right bloody now." Marching forward, i picked up textbook lying on the desk and chucked it at his face. He dodged and i grabbed another one. Right before i threw it though, a hand caught my wrist, staying it in place mid throw.
"Miss...Ahem Nala drop the book and let us explain this to you." Kyoya's calm voice both calmed and enraged me and i spun to face him now.
"You, you….you bastard! You knew about this," I beckoned to the messy room and Haruhi and Tamaki. "Whatever the hell this is, didn't you?" As a new thought crossed my mind i jerked my hand out of his grasp and backed away whispering. "Are you into the same sick stuff as Tamaki huh? Or is this some kind of practical joke that you guys put together? Playing pranks was something i only associated with the twins, never the rest of you. This though? This is sick and taking it way too far!" He sighed and pushed his glasses up making them flash.
"Well this is a bit problematic." With another heartfelt sigh he turned away and called over his shoulder, "Come back into the living room and I'll explain it all to you. Hikaru," he looked back glasses flashing, "Do finish picking this up." Hikaru scowled but didn't say a word at Kyoya's command. Reluctantly, and completely ignoring Tamaki and Haruhi, i scurried out of the room after Kyoya. Catching up to him in the hall, but still keeping a wary distance i spoke quietly,
"I hope you're ready for a helluva a lotta questions buddy." He merely nodded and beckoned to the couch saying,
"Sit down for now, we have to wait for Honey and Mori to arrive." My heart almost stopped again. Honey and Mori….oh my gosh they're in on this to….no, please no. I sat restlessly on the couch, but a few minutes later a knock sounded at the door. Defiantly meeting Kyoya's eyes i snapped,
"Well don't expect me to get it. We both saw how that went before." Merely nodding his head he went to get the front door. There was the low murmur of voices in the front hall before footsteps headed back towards the living room. When Honey and Mori turned the corner, Honey's big brown eyes lit up and he launched himself at me. I let out a whimper and tried to shove myself off the couch. There was the briefest breeze over my body, but a moment later i cracked an eye open and found Honey crouched in front of the couch, big eyes opened wide in horror. My own eyes widened in shock when i realized what i'd done, I had cowered away from Honey in fear. I looked down in shame and he backed away slowly at Mori's low call.
"I'm sorry Honey-senpai…." He didn't respond, and when i glanced back up i found him glaring at the floor. My shoulders slumped, but it was what he said next that made me jerk my eyes back up in surprise.
"Where is it? I want to send it to the abyss myself for scaring Nala like this." His voice was low, dark, and do i dare say evil? It was the total opposite of his usual sweet, bubbly self that it actually scared me a bit. Mori muttered something to him and rested his hand on the shorter boys head. A noise from down the hall heralded the arrival of Haruhi, Tamaki, Hikaru, and...Kaoru! Leaping off the couch i sprinted to him and yanked him into a hug.
"You idiot! Do you have any idea how scared i was when...when you or whatever it was you were fell out that window? I swear you took ten years off my life with that you baka!" He paused for a moment, before slowly lifting his arms and hugging me back. After a moment, someone cleared their throat and i leapt out of Kaoru's arms flushing bright red. The blush disappeared a moment later though at the sight of Tamaki and i glared at him before giving him the universal sign of 'I'm watching you'. He hurriedly dropped my eyes and hustled over to the couch to sit down. When Kyoya flicked a glance between an empty chair and myself, i shook my head and said,
"No you can all sit down i'll feel safer standing right now until this is all explained.
"Are you sure Nal-chan?" I couldn't meet Honey's eyes, instead i stubbornly nodded my head, jaw set. Kyoya shrugged and moved to take an empty seat. It ended up with Haruhi and Tamaki on the couch, Honey on Mori's lap, the twins sitting on the floor next to the couch, and Kyoya getting the last empty seat to himself. Leaning against the doorjamb i pointed at him.
"Alright Ootori you better have a pretty damn good explanation for this." He nodded and crossing his legs he leaned back in the chair and began his story.
"Haruhi already filled us in on what happened. The creature you encountered was an Oni, a demon." I rolled my eyes muttering,
"I know what that is."
"Miss Fuyumi," for once i didn't correct him on his choice of address, "Please refrain from interrupting while i'm talking or we'll be here all night. Let me tell the story, and then you can ask your questions. Haruhi," He turned to her, "Are you sure your father won't be home till tomorrow afternoon?" At her nod he settled back into his chair and began his story. "I'm sure that you are familiar with the legends, stories and myths the people in our culture have spoken of since before anyone can remember?" At my nod he continued, "Well then, what is normally left out, or what isn't believed by most, is that many of these legends are based on real creatures and real events that happened." I sat down on the floor with a thud, so much for being the cool kid. "There are two different categories of mythological creatures, the first holding monsters such as the Oni and others. This group is known to us as the Waru, the evil." That's original. As if he was reading my thoughts, he raised an eyebrow at me and said, "We weren't the ones who invented the names, so don't go calling us unoriginal." I sweatdropped at that. Creepy! "Anyway, that's the first category, basically-" Here, the twins who had been silent so far cut him off.
"Basically they're the things you don't want to run into at all, ever." Kyoya frowned at them for the interruption. Geez, he's like a school teacher.
"The second category-" Here he got cut off again, but this time it was Honey.
"That's people like us!" He beamed at me, "We're the protectors, we get rid of the Waru and keep people safe." I facepalmed i'm somehow even more confused now than i was earlier.
"Hang on a minute," I held up a hand to stop Kyoya from talking. "What the heck are you guys then? And what's with your ability to turn into a tiger," I waved at Kaoru, "And Tamaki's sicko blood thing?" He pouted at my term for it, too which i gave him a cold stare. Now Haruhi was the one to talk.
"Nala...each of the guys has a...gift so to speak. Their bloodlines are a little different as protectors, and along with the special gifts they have they need certain things. You saw what Tamaki needed," Here she blushed a bit. "And that's what i meant earlier about our relationship being complicated. I'm his, mmm how should i phrase it, supplier for that need." I frowned at Tamaki now.
"Sooo what? You're telling me that he's a vampire and you're his walking blood bag? Is this like the reality TV version of the twilight series?" I pointed at Tamaki, "You have the brooding vamp right there," then to Hikaru, "And the moody shapeshifter there. What's next? Are one of you guys gonna pull out a glass ball and predict my fortune?" At that the twins sniggered and looked at Kyoya. My jaw dropped and i turned to him. "You're a fortune teller?!" He frowned at me.
"No i'm not. I have the gift of clairvoyance. It's why i had the twins stage the fight so one of them would be here tonight. I felt like something bad was going to happen." I narrowed my eyes at him, and then the twins.
"You guys are sneaky bastards…" I suddenly whipped my arm to point at Honey and Mori. "What are you guys then? I swear if one of you turns out to be a genie let me tell you right here and now there will be absolutely no lamp rubbing jokes in my presence." I shot a look at the twins and they smirked at me. Honey giggled and shook his head.
"We're priests Nal-chan. We protect the shrines and holy places." I raised an eyebrow Kyoya style.
"Forgive me for finding that highly dubious, most priests i've seen aren't A. younger than 40 and B kick ass ninja judo people." Kyoya cleared his throat and after leveling a frown at everyone in the room he turned to me.
"Do you honestly think real priests are like that? They wouldn't be protectors if that was true. Honey and Mori have been getting trained for this for their entire lives, it's second nature to them." I cocked my head pondering it and realized, that somewhere during this discussion my fear of the boys in front of me had faded. Honey climbed out of Mori's lap and slowly walked over to me. I watched him the entire time as he came closer before stopping in front of me.
"I'm sorry Nal-chan i didn't mean to scare you." I sighed, and leaning forward i snagged his arm and pulled him into a hug murmuring.
"It's not your fault Honey. Besides i'm not scared of you guys now, i know that you're no different now that i know your secret than you were before i knew it. Granted this isn't the way i would've chosen to find out, but everything that happens happens for a reason. And besides, Kaoru protected us, and Kyoya and Hikaru helped even if they should've been upfront about it. Now can i ask my questions?" I let Honey out of the hug and he sat down next to me snuggling against my side. Kyoya nodded seemingly realizing he wasn't going to get much farther explaining it to me tonight. "Alright first off what was the abyss Honey mentioned? Also can you get me a book in myths and legends so i can catch up on it all?"
"The abyss, is the place that the Waru go after they've been killed. It's similar to the Greek's Tartarus." I went pale.
"WAIT! Does that mean that legends and myths from other countries are real as well?" The twins shrugged,
"Who knows, it is possible though." I mentally started freaking out and Tamaki whacked them both over the head.
"Don't go scaring my darling daughter like that you shady twins!" I sent him an impassive look and he dropped his eyes and curled up in his depressed corner. Haruhi sighed and shook her head at me and i scowled at her. Our silent communication went something along the lines of
Seriously Nala?
Damn right i'm serious Haruhi
You have to forgiven him sometime
Pfffttt
Nala!
Haruhi.
"Ahem." Kyoya cleared his throat and we both turned to glare at him now for interrupting us.
"What?!" We snapped together. The twins sweatdropped and Tamaki cowered in his corner some more upon seeing our deadly auras.
"There will be time for you two to fight later. As for now we need to update Miss Fuyumi on some more things." He turned to me ignoring the murderous looks from Haruhi and myself. "Miss Fuyumi, now that you know of our….predicament, you have no choice but to join the host club so we can keep an eye on you." I dropped my death glare and looked at him incredulously.
"Are you serious? I'm winning our bet Ootori and i'm not joining the host club." He gave me an indifferent glance.
"Well have it your way, good luck protecting yourself from the Waru without our help."Beckoning to the others he stood up. "We'll be taking our leave, Haruhi you should go with Tamaki tonight to let Miss Fuyumi think things over by herself." She nodded and standing up she dragged Tamaki up with her. The twins, Honey and Mori followed suit and they filed out the door. Before she left though she turned back to me.
"Please consider it Nala. We can talk about this all tomorrow but please don't be mad at me." I sighed and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm not mad at you Haru. Sure i'm annoyed that you didn't up and tell me about all this when you first found out, but i'm more annoyed with Tamaki right now." Turning to face said boy narrowed my eyes at him and said, "Listen here Suoh. Anything happens to my best friend i'm coming after you with a stake and a big old wad of garlic products so watch out for her." He nodded fearfully and grabbing Haruhi's hand he pulled her out the door towards his limousine. As the front door closed behind them i sweatdropped. I forgot to ask about the neighbors...oops. Turning back i looked down the hallway, a shudder rolled over me and i hurriedly fastened all the locks and deadbolts on the door before hurrying around the apartment locking windows, flicking lights on, and pulling curtains shut. I was in for a long night.
*****Another far too regular Authors Note****
Alrightie so here it is dun dun duh! I hope you guys i like, personally i am loving writing this story so far. I hope this is satisfactory justaislinn and that it explains the craziness from the last chapter well enough. Again let me all know what you think. Although i do have a question. Is Nala's personality too all over the place? I'm trying to have it level out as the story goes but i dunno….has it been acurate/ok so far? Anyway let me know what you all think and i really hope you're enjoying reading this! Btw in case you're wondering about what's happening with her father that will all be brought back in a few chapters, i just wanted to let one thing unwind at a time.