July, 19, 2011

Yeah... internet wasn't working when I was typing this chapter up and I got really bored..so I apologize that this is an extremely long chapter.. I shortened it a lot from the original i used to have up, so it should be much better now.

WARNING: Chapter contains men getting kicked where the sun don't shine multiple times. You have been warned.


Fujioka Main-house: Hokkaido

"Gorou- Ojii Sama?" Akane knocked on the door or the room of the Head of the Fujioka family, the Elder of the Elders.

"Come in." said a soothing voice. Akane slid the door open and bowed to the old man. Gorou Fujioka was a kind-hearted man. Although he was bald, he had a long white beard. He was blind, but that didn't stop him from being able to assume the position of the most active member of the Fujioka family. He was wearing a black kimono, and was playing cards with a picture of a young boy with red hair and amber eyes. In the picture, the boy's arms were up, like he was playing airplane with a baby, but the picture was torn so you could only see until his elbows. The picture was draped with Sakura flowers on the sides.

"Yes Akane?" Gorou-sama said softly. She bowed momentarily to the picture and looked at the elder man.

"It still surprises me that even though you're blind, you can still tell who anybody is." she said quietly. He chuckled and took a sip of his tea.

"Any particular reason why you are here?"

"You know why I'm here Gorou Ojii-sama." she said, and sat on the ground cross-legged. "Ojii-sama...she's only 15." The old man sighed and turned to the girl, his blind, gray eyes looking straight at her.

"I'm sorry." he said apologetically "I understand that Haruhi is too young." he stopped because he knew Akane would interrupt

"Then why? She might have to leave her friends.. maybe even her lover... Why?" she asked. The old man sighed again and put a card face down in front of the picture.

"I'm sorry. There are only four people in this family who are able to know, and one of them is Haruhi. The only other two people I can tell are Kiyoshi and Tadashi." he said, and stirred his tea counterclockwise.

"Why're they so special?" she frowned

"Their actions may be rash at times, and childish, but they care for her more than anything." the man said, and dropped a cube of sugar in his tea

Akane slightly getting irritated, said "I would do anything for Haruhi! She's like my sister! But I don't get to know what's happening?"

"Venus will soon be with Uranus. The time will come, sooner or later." Gorou-sama smiled and closed his eyes.

"Gorou Ojii-sama, that doesn't make sense." Akane whined. Gorou-sama laughed softly.

"Please Akane, do be patient." he said "In the meantime..."

"Yes?"

"Please fetch me another bowl of Tokyo-style ramen." he said happily, holding out an empty bowl to Akane. She laughed and took the bowl.

"Everybody in this family has at least one thing in common with Haruhi." she said and walked out of the room. Gorou-sama looked at the picture of the young boy.

"Ichirou... Things were so much easier for Haruhi when you were alive." he said, and fixed the flowers on the side. "Imagine, loosing her elder brother at the age of 4, and her mother a year later."

He turned over the face down card, revealing what it was. The King of Hearts


Tadashi ran at Harry and punched him in the jaw, sending Harry to the ground with a loud thump. Harry got up, wiped his mouth and punched Tadashi in the stomach. Tadashi let out a small grunt, and reached for Harry's arm, but he dodged it and moved out of the way. Tadashi ran towards Harry who bent over and moved out of the way. Harry kicked Tadashi in the back of the knees, causing him to fall over. Harry got back up, breathing heavily as Tadashi slowly got up, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. It was at that moment that Tadashi took a running stance, raised his fist, and darted towards Harry, nearly punching the air out of him in his stomach. He left his hand there for a few moments, as Harry was still in shock from the strike. Harry quickly grabbed Tadashi's arm, and gave him a painfull kick in the crotch.

Their fight had started to gather a crowd, even students that were still inside the building were watching intentely from the windows. Chants were heard from the crowd. It wasn't everyday that a fight broke out and Ouran Private High School.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Takeshi Kuze, the captain of the American Football team, called in his teamates to break up the fight.

They each took hold of Harry and Tadashi's shoulders, actually struggling to keep them from getting near each other. Tadashi bit Kuze, then ran back at Harry. The class 1-A had left the room to go see the fight, as Yamaguchi-sensei had gone to call the principal. Hikaru and Kaoru were chanting along with the other students, and Haruhi stopped in her tracks. She stepped into the fight circle, grabbed the two fighting boys by their shirt collars and dragged them back into the building. Haruhi had dragged them into the school, and up to the clinic. Not caring about the people who saw her. She put Tadashi on one side of the clinic and Harry in the other and sat near the Nurses' desk.

The nurse handed the two boys ice packs for the bruises, and bandaged up the open wounds. "I'll leave you three to talk this out." she said, then walked out of the room. The three of them stayed quiet for a while until Tadashi got up and walked out of the room, leaving the ice packs behind. Harry got up from the bed and walked gingerly towards Haruhi, giving her a soft hug and kissed her forehead.

"I swear I didn't start it."

Haruhi turned her head away from him. "Go lie back down."

"Haruhi I-"

"Go." she said and left the room without another word. Haruhi went back to the classroom to get her things and stopped by the school office to inform them that she would be going home due to personal matters. They thought she was just trying to get out of school, so Haruhi called her father on the school telephone, and he gave her permission to come home early. As she was walking home, she met Tadashi at the front gate and they both walked back to her apartment without speaking a word to each other. She unlocked the door and neatly placed her bag and coat in the living room. She sat down at the table, Tadashi next to her.

"I swear I didn't start it." he said, breaking the silence. She shot him a glare, causing him to squirm nervously. "..It was his fault.''

"You started it because you lost your temper. I saw you two outside." she snapped, breathing heavily.

Tadashi took her hand and squeezed it tightly. He took a small orange bottle from his pocket and shook it in his hand. "It's not stealing. I asked the office if I could take it before we left."

"Onii-chan..." Haruhi said, looking down.

"It's my job to look after my baby cousin." he said softly.

"You..shut the hell...up." she growled "I'm going to sleep." she said, walking groggily to her bedroom. She took Tsumibito from the dresser and got under the covers. Tadashi tip-toed into the room and kissed her forehead.

"Sweet dreams."

"Don't...kiss me." Haruhi mumbled. "I love Harry..and Harry only." She shot up and bumped heads with Tadashi. "Oh my gosh! Harry!" She got up from the futon and made her way towards the door. Tadashi grabbed her hand. She looked back at him, his bangs were covering his eyes.

"No."

"But I didn't get to say-" Haruhi started.

"I said, no." he said menacingly, in his think-i'm-playing-and-i'll-kick-your-ass voice. "For once, listen to your Onii-san." Haruhi nodded shakily and sat back down with Tadashi.

"It's your fault." Tadashi said. Haruhi froze "You're the one that attracted him to you." Haruhi clenched her fist, and when she opened her mouth to say something,

"You're so tiny." he laughed."You're chest may be big...but you still have a little bit of growing to do in your hips." She gasped when he placed a hand on her hip. She slapped it away. "We used to play "Lovers" all the time, didn't we? I liked that game. I wanna play it now."

"Fine."

"Really?"

"Sweetie?" she asked him flirtatiously, one hand on his leg, another around his neck. Tadashi could feel his heart beating faster. Was he dreaming? "Can we please go back to the school? I really have to say sorry to Harry. I'll give you special surprise if we do." she said, her breath tickling his ear.

"I don't like this game anymore." he said, getting up. "This game used to be fun. You've soiled my childhood memories."

"Hmmph." Haruhi said. Just then, she saw a small, black peice of cloth from the corner of her eye and quickly went to get it. When she unfolded it, she found that it was a miniature eyepatch. "I found it!" she exclaimed. She took Tsumibito from the bed and slipped the eyepatch over the button-less part of his face.

"Haruhi..." Tadashi said

"Mmm?"

"When you said you loved... him.. were you..?"

"Yeah. I know what you're going to say, it's only been a couple of days, but with Harry it's just...just.."

"I tell you I love you every time I see you." Tadashi said blankly

"..Onii-san.."

"I would be the best lover.. if you didn't want to get married. I would take care of you, Haruhi. And besides..." He began unbottoning his shirt, but only the top few buttons. He took Haruhi's hand and placed it over his heart.

"My heart goes on a rampage when I'm with you."

"O-Onii-san.. It could just be that because my hand's touching your chest, that-"

"Listen to me, I sound desperate." he said, the corners of his mouth rising up into a sad smile.

While that was going on...

Haruhi walked out of the clinic without saying goodbye to Harry. He sat back down on the bed and scowled.

"I didn't start it." he grumbled angrily, massaging the bruise on his stomach. "His fault for losing his temper. His own fault."

"Harry?" he heard a familiar voice call. He turned around and to his surprise, saw Tonks standing before him, in the Nurses' uniform.

"Tonks! What are you doing here?" Harry exclaimed.

"My god Harry, what is it with you and getting beaten up this year?" she asked, referring to the Malfoy-on-the-train incident at the beginning of the school year.

"I didn't get beat up. As far as I see it, I'm the one who won." he scoffed.

"Right, you won when your girlfriend had to step in and save you both." she retorted. "You lay there until I tell you to get up. I'm not Madam Pomfrey, so you're going to need all the rest you can get to heal those wounds up."

"Can't you just-?"

"Your opponent was a muggle, and he has to deal with healing over time. That's how you'll deal too."

Reluctantly, he lied down on the bed and stayed there until Tonks walked out of the room. He sat up and stretched out his arms in front of him. He stared outside of the window for a while, and didn't notice Tonks walk in with a file in her hands.

"This," she said, handing it to him, "Is your homework."

"Thanks." he said, and made his way towards the door. When he had a foot out of the doorway, he stopped and asked "Do you think that she's angry?"

"I honestly can't say, Harry." she told him apologetically.

Harry nodded in acceptance and left without another word. His walk back home was slow, he was still sore from the fight. It seemed like hours had passed by when he reached the apartment complex. As he walked up the stairs, he passed the door to Haruhi's apartment, and thought for a moment about knocking on it. He tapped fairly lightly on the door,

''Haruhi? It's Harry.."

When Haruhi opened the door, she did not look at him "Hi." He took her hand and pulled her into a hug.

"I swear, I didn't start it." he repeated. Haruhi put one arm around his back.

"I know. I saw you two from the window."

"Then why are you so angry?"

"Because of all the crap that I'm going to get at school tomorrow. "Man Haruhi! Guess you're not such a wimp after all!" Followed by a painful punch in the shoulder." she interrupted. Harry didn't reply to her, she let out a sigh "Are you hurt too badly?" she asked, examining the bruise on his face.

"I'm fine. I can take a punch." He said, and kissed her finger tips.

"Haruhi, who is it?" she heard Tadashi ask over the sound of the stove.

"Who do you think it is?" she hissed.

"Well, come in and eat."

"You can't make me come inside."

"I can, and I will. Get your ass in here before I do."

"You stingy old fart..." she grumbled. "Harry, I don't think that it's really a good idea for you to-"

"No, it's fine. I'm not in much of a mood to see him either." he said before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. He unlocked his own apartment door and quickly closed it behind him. Haruhi turned around and glared at Tadashi. She sat down and tapped her fingers on the table.

"Here." he said simply, handing her a bowl of ramen. "It got cold, so I just re-heated it for you."

Haruhi tasted it, adding "You made it better too." while staring at him. He gave her a little smile and ate his own sandwich in silence.

"You're out of milk." Tadashi said after a while.

"..Oh well. I'll just wait until Sunday."

"Why? Tadashi asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're really going to wait for the rest of the week to pass to go to the store and buy a carton of milk?"

"That's when all the good deals are."

"Then I'll buy it. You're almost done, we can leave soon." He said as she was about to eat the last bite.

"Ugh. Fine." she grumbled. "Let's go." she said, and put her bowl in the sink, rinsing it a little so it wouldn't be difficult to clean later.

The two of them walked to the store quickly, as it was a bit chilly outside. Tadashi held the bag with the carton of milk as they walked home. The two of them noticed a man following them, so they cut corners every now and then, making their journey home much longer. After a while, Haruhi turned around and snapped.

"Can I ask why you're following us?" she said

"My, my. You're a fiesty one, ain't ya?" The man was wearing sunglasses and had a grey sweater. He raised one eyebrow at the two, and and glared at Haruhi in particular.

"Hey, leave her alone." Tadashi said irritably.

"Her? You know, s'always the crossdressin' ones that get more clients." the man said, pinching Haruhi's cheek. "With a bit of work... you could be-"

Tadashi punched him in the face, "I said, leave her the fuck alone, you piece of shit." The man got up, wiped his mouth and turned his attention to Tadashi.

"Hey, s'not very nice to be callin' people pieces of shit. I was havin' a conversation with the young lady here, and-" Haruhi kicked him in the crotch, took Tadashi's hand, and ran. The man ran after them. The cut through alleyways and streets, but they couldn't lose him. He sped up towards them and grabbed Haruhi's arm.

"That was a bad idea, sweetheart. Now you're going to have to be punished."

"Get your damn paws OFF of her!" Tadashi yelled. He raised his fist towards the man, but the man punched him fist, sending Tadashi to the ground. He kicked Tadashi's face, and tightly lifted up Haruhi by the waist.

"Onii-san!" she screamed, kicking around to get free.

"Ha..ruhi.." Tadashi croaked

"ONII-SAN!" she yelled, kicking in screaming in her captors arms.

"HARUHI!" Tadashi immediately got up, oblivious to the black dots he started seeing. He ran after her, shaking of the drowsy feeling he was getting. Didn't work. He stopped to catch his breath, hearing the echoes of her screams fading in the distance. His eyelids were getting very heavy.

Tadashi woke up in a hospital bed, an I.V. connected to his arm, and a thick bandage covering his left jaw and cheek. He looked around the room, looking for Haruhi by his bed. He winced slightly at the sudden pain in the stomach.

"Haruhi..." he whispered. A voice answered.

"The police told us they found you from an anonymous phone call." Akane said quietly.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"The police are still looking. The person who called saw them go down Ichira street, but then disappeared."

"WHAT?" Tadashi roared. "No, no, no no no no! I have to find her!" he slowly pulled the needle out of his arm, shivering for a little and jumped out of the bed. He gently peeled the bandage off of his cheek.

"How are you going to find her?" Akane cried "They could be hours away by now!"

"I'll FIND her!" He yelled, ran through the door, leaving Akane sitting in her chair, looking down.

"You'd better." she said, clenching her fist.

Tadashi ran down the first alley he saw that was closest to where Haruhi was taken. "Where the hell is she?" he cried, frantically turning his head He searched for what he thought was 15 minutes when he heard a noise. He heard a girl screaming. It was very faint, but he could still hear it.

"Tada-nii! Tada-nii, where are you?"

Tadashi widened his eyes. "Haruhi?"

"Onii-san!"

"HARUHI!" Tadashi ran towards the voice "HARUHI! HARUHI! HARUHI!"

He stopped when he saw the shadow of an injured girl behind a streetlamp.

"Haruhi?" he croaked

"O-Onii-san?"

The face of the girl emerged from the shadows. Her shirt was torn and was wet from little spots of blood and sweat. Blood was dripping from her right eye, and she was limping. Tadashi gasped and ran to hug her, practically choking her.

"O-Onii..." she whimpered

"Shh, I'm here now. It's okay, I'll get you to the hospital." he said.

"I need... a new uniform" she let out a small smile. Tadashi's eyes were drowning with tears. "Where's Harry?" she asked

"I don't know." Tadashi he said and heard a little ring from his cell phone. He supported Haruhi with his arm while he answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"You find her yet?"

"Kiyoshi?"

"Yes it's Kiyoshi, now did you find her yet?"

"Yeah, I found her. But she needs a doctor fast. Go to the four-way intersection off of Kuroneko street."

Kiyoshi hung up the phone. Tadashi held Haruhi tighter so she wouldn't fall. "What happened after he ran?"

"I..don't really know. It was all kind of a blur. But I guess that's mainly because off.." she trailed off, the right side of her face twitched "I remember getting thrown down, then kicked in the leg. I kicked him in the crotch again and at one point spat on his face."

"Don't rely on the kicking part too much. That just makes us pissed off."

"No, he was sobbing after. I didn't want to stay and see what happened after he got over it, so I limped back to where he left you... and you weren't there." Tadashi felt a pang of guilt shoot through his entire body.

"I passed out. Police got an anonymous phone call and I got sent to the hospital." he said stiffly. The two of the heard the low growl of a car engine and the saw a bright light flash in their faces. Kiyoshi rolled down the passenger window and told them sternly, "Get in." Tadashi first put Haruhi and the backseat, and climbed in as well.

"Thanks... for the ride.. Onii-chan." she said quietly, before she let her eyelids get too heavy to hold up.

"Don't mention it." Kiyoshi said.

She woke up in a hospital room, with something covering her right eye. She touched it softly, to find a cloth bandage. She sighed and looked around the room. The sleeping body's of Akane, Ryuu, Kiyoshi- his blonde hair peeking out from underneath his hood- Tadashi and Ranka. Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Harry, who immedeatly hugged her.

"Who told you?" she asked touching his back gently.

"Your father.

She smiled faintly and put her head back on the pillow. A nurse walked in the room carrying a clip board.

"Fujioka-san? Are you in any pain?" she asked

"A little, but not that much."

"That's good. But I'm afraid I have some bad news about your injuries.."

"Why, what happened?" Haruhi asked

"You're right leg has been severlely damaged, and you will have be in a cast for at least two months."

"Really? That's not so bad."

"Yes, but your eye.."

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry Fujioka-san." Haruhi didn't have to hear anymore to know what had happened. She already knew that there would have been damage to her eye in some form, but didn't expect the news to be so unpleasant when she heard it for herself.

"Well then, I guess there's nothing left to do." Haruhi said. "I'll get used to wearing an eyepatch eventually..."

"I'm very sorry." The nurse said sadly. She bowed to Haruhi then left the room. Haruhi looked down and Harry stroked her cheek.

"What is it?"

Haruhi pointed to her left eye. "Would it be creepy if I only looked at you with one eye?

Harry squeezed her hand tighter, nearly on the verge of crying. "You're still so beautiful." he said.

"Is that all the reaction you're going to have?" Akane asked, tired of pretending to sleep.

"I thought you were sleeping." Haruhi said

"At least cry a little bit! You're only gonna have one eye for goddamn sake!" Akane cried

"What's the point of crying?" Haruhi asked

"What's the point-? You know what Haruhi?"

"No I don't know what. Please tell me, Onee-san." Haruhi, getting slightly angry

"YOU STUPID LITTLE KUMQUAT!" Akane yelled then trampled out of the room.

"What's she going on about?" Tadashi yawned. Ryuu rubbed his eyes. Ranka shifted in his sleep. Kiyoshi stared at Harry, who stared back at him. Kiyoshi's eyes were barely noticeable from the darkness that his hood gave.

"My eyes are prettier." Kiyoshi said.

Haruhi sighed disapprovingly. "The one person in the room who knows the real value of having both eyes, and he uses it as an insult."

"What do you mean"?" Kiyoshi asked

"I'm going to have to start wearing an eyepatch." Haruhi said.

"There's nothing we can do?" Kiyoshi asked.

"I doubt it." Haruhi said tiredly. Tadashi and Haruhi began to have their own conversation, leaving Harry feeling left out.

"You looked pretty sexy as a damsel in distress." Kiyoshi laid his head back.

Tadashi grabbed Kiyoshi by the shirt collar. "Wanna try that again?"

Kiyoshi smirked "What're you gonna do, threaten me to death?"

"Oh, quit it. The both of you." Ranka said. Ranka hugged his daughter for dear life. "Are you okay?"

"Hai. Otou-san."

Ranka kissed her forehead. "Harry, thank you so much for coming." he said.

Haruhi opened a pudding cup on the side table. Everybody stared at her in awe. "I have a sugar craving. Problem?" she asked darkly. Everybody shook their heads.

The nurse walked in the room again. "I'm sorry for intruding again. Fujioka-san, may I please speak with you outside?" she asked Ranka. He nodded and walked out of the room with her, gently closing the door behind him.

"So... who's the dude?" Kiyoshi asked, eying Harry with eagle eyes.

"Haruhi's boyfriend." Ryuu said boredly.

"I don't think so." Kiyoshi said.

"It's not your choice to tell me who to date." Haruhi said

"I can't beleive this. You're the one that promised that-"

"When we were kids. Grow up, Onii-chan." she said.

"Kiyoshi." Ryuu said sternly. "Haruhi can make her own decisions without her elder cousin's consent. This is between you two," he said, looking at Haruhi and Kiyoshi. "Feel better, Haruhi." he said, ruffling her hair, then left.

"Harry, you should probably go too." she said quietly. Harry looked at her anxiously.

"Positive?" she nodded. He leaned in to give her a loving kiss- much to Kiyoshi and Tadashi's discomfort- and lingered on for just a few more moments to piss off Tadashi before kissing her cheek then taking his leave.

"Why him?" Kiyoshi asked, moving closer to her. "He's so... so-"

"It was my choice. If you're so angry about it, then I'm sorry."

"But...but you told us that.."

"Onii-chan," Haruhi said, tugging on his shirt "I'm in love with him."

Kiyoshi looked down "They lied to me."

Tadashi rolled his eyes, "Oh, stop with the melodramatic performance. Akane's not outside anymore."

"Hmm.. Wish I knew that earlier." He said, frowning. He leaned in to whisper something in Haruhi's ear, "Go out with whoever you want. I don't give a damn." he said, sticking his tongue out at her.

Haruhi blinked confusedly, "But...you just said..."

Kiyoshi scoffed, "Please. Akane's used to the dramatic, traumatized Kiyoshi who became a pessimistic fool after his goldfish was savagely murdured." he glared at Tadashi, then looked back at Haruhi "It's fun to watch her try to play Therapist. Ryuu's probably going to tell her all about what I said, then I'm going to play along when she confronts me about it and try's to "help me get through it." He said, rather proud of his scheme.

Haruhi rolled her eyes "It's really sad how Tadashi's more mature than you are."

"I'm gonna go get something to eat. You want a candy bar?" Tadashi asked. Kiyoshi shook his head. "Fine then, suit yourself." He stuck out his tongue and closed the door gently. Kiyoshi looked at Haruhi

"You're still cute even with one eye." He said, and kissed her forehead. The corner of her mouth rose up a bit, and Haruhi gestured for him to sit on the bed with her.

"Did you bring cards?"

"What kind of Kiyoshi would I be if I didn't?" he asked, and pulled out his deck of cards from his pocket. The two of the were half-way into a game of B.S. when Akane stomped into the room, fuming.

"Look what the cat dragged in."

"Please, I was telling you the truth!" a man'c voice said. He looked exactly like Ryuu, but was different.

"Masayuki?" Kiyoshi asked. "Akane, he sucks ass at lying. Whatever he's saying, you should believe him."

"Akane, he doesn't look like a jackass." Haruhi whispered.

"Wait, what?" Masayuki "I've never even met Akane before today."

"YOU DARE FORGET ME YOU SON OF A BITCH?" Akane roared

"I'm terribly sorry, the person who you've met would be Kohaku. He poses as me sometimes to ruin my life because we hate each other with a burning passion. But, I must tell you that he is rather brilliant. Not many people can create robots that resemble humans and aren't destructive at the same time."

"So..but I thought….then….TRIPLETS?" Akane cried.

"So you're not a jackass?" Haruhi pointed to a space "It that a muffin? IS THAT A MUFFIN?" she giggled

"Oh crap, I've been leaning on the painkiller button. No wonder she's hallucinating." Kiyoshi stood up

"Kii-nii….when'd you dye you're eyes red? I liked'em better when they were green." Haruhi whined put her hands on his cheeks, squishing his face with her fingers.

"I'll change them."

Tadashi walked into the room. "Masa-neko!" he yelled

"No "I missed you Onii-san" or anything?" Masayuki said

"Don't play innocent with me! Both me and Ryuu know what you did!"

"What did I do?"

Tadashi whispered something into his ear, and Masayuki held back laughter.

"Are you serious? A, I haven't even been in the country for the past two weeks. B, do I seem like the type of person to do something so amateurish? Please. Go ask Kohaku."

"Kohaku… where've I heard that name before…?" Tadashi put his fingers on his chin like he was a detective.

"Wow, you forgot your own bro- TSUMIBITO!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I HAVE TO GET HIM! I HAVE TO GET HIM! NO! LEMME GO! LEMME GO!" she kicked and screamed, held back by Kiyoshi's strong grip. He hugged her tightly, keeping her on the bed.

"It's okay, Tsumibito's fine. But if you hurt yourself anymore he wont be, so you have to calm down." He stroked the back of her neck. She buried her face in the bed sheets, and let out a muffled scream.

"YOSH! Akane oba-san's on it!" Akane ran out of the room, a rocket trail of smoke behind her.

"Tsumi….Tsumi…..bito.." she whispered

"It's alright, Akane went to get him." Tadashi patted her back.

"But still…" Haruhi said.

"It's okay. Uh... Guys can you leave for a sec? I have to talk to Haruhi for something." Tadashi asked. The two brothers left, rather confused. Tadashi closed the curtain of the hospital room window.

"Haruhi…"

"What is it?"

He put his head on her shoulder and she patted him on the back comfortingly.

"None of this would have started if it wasn't for me." He said

"What are you talking about?"

"I should have listened to you. It was so stupid... so stupid!"

"Onii-san..."

"How can I say I love you know, huh? How am I supposed to go on with the fact that I couldn't even protect when something like that happened?"

"Onii-chan..that's not what love is. Love is when you care about somebody so much, that you would risk anything to keep them safe." she said, gently stroking the bruise on his face from her kidnapped kicking him. "It's when you get hurt, and you know that you'll be able to count on somebody to comfort you."

"Since when do you know so much about love?"

"When you loose a mother..it's not something you forget."

Tadashi frowned. "I'm sorry, Haruhi..I didn't mean to-"

"Stop...Just..just stop."

20 minutes later

Akane tip-toed into the room, "Haruhi?" she crooned. "I've got something for you."

"What is it?" Haruhi asked. Akane held up Tsumibito and handed him to Haruhi, who was clearly very happy.

"Thanks, Onee-chan!" Haruhi said gleefully.

"No problem. Oh, Tadashi's outside. He looks pretty down."

"Don't ask."

A different nurse than before walked into the room.

"Fujioka-san? Are you feeling any better?" She asked kindly, Haruhi gave her a nod. "I'm sorry, but would you be able to leave for a little bit? I have to change her bandages." she asked Akane.

"It's fine." she said, before exiting the room. The Nurse went into the room with a cart with medical supplies and crutches on the bottom. Akane saw Tadashi on the bench, his head on his hands, slouching. "You seem down. Have a fruit snack." Akane said, holding out the fruit snack bag in front of her so he could take one.

Tadashi let out a small sigh "Is Haruhi gonna be okay?" She put her arm down, and sat beside him.

"Haruhi's a strong girl, Tadashi. You know that. Of course she's going to be okay."

"Akane, Haruhi just lost her eye. She has broken bones and that bastard probably...he probably..." he growled, clenching his fist.

"Tadashi... the doctors have ways for checking for rape. Haruhi wasn't violated. You can relax."

Tadashi just grumbled and looked the other way "She's going to pick Kiyoshi. I know it."

"You know that she loves Harry." Akane said "It's not your place to decide who she's going to pick. The Elders shouldn't even get the right to do that."

"Yeah..but out of me or Kiyoshi, who do you think has a higher chance of winning?"

"This isn't a game. Especially when Haruhi only has a little while left before the Elders start their plans."

"What plans?"

"Well..." Akane trailed off "I don't know much about the actual plans.. but I know what's definitely going to happen.." She said, confusing her own self just a bit.

"Akane?" Tadashi asked suspiciously.

She sighed "Haruhi's supposed to be what the Elder's are calling "Blending." But the thing is everyone else "like" Haruhi isn't.. here right now, and they're probably not coming back for a while now. She's definitely going to feel alone, I mean really alone. Probably the only one who will understand is Tsumi-kun..."

Tadashi groaned "Not the damn doll again. I'm telling you, it can't talk, and it never will talk."

"Well, it's a secret, but in their past lives, Haruhi and Tsumbito... were... they were.." she started to whisper "Lovers." Tadashi raised an eyebrow, but his heart began to beat faster. "Time and death warped their places in life. Tsumbito's soul couldn't find a body to dwell inside of, so it...he had to reside in an object. That's why Haruhi's so partial to him. They have this... special mental connection."

"Thanks for the creepy good-for-nothing crap. Now answer the question."

"I would've answered it if you let me finish my story first!" she said

"It was a damn story? I've wasted my time listening to this and you were making it up as you went along."

Akane looked up and smiled brightly "Your fault for being a gullible, blithering idiot when it comes to Haruhi."

Tadashi slapped his forehead "So what's this about blending?"

"One person every five generations is supposed to be like her. And none of the others are dead, but they are in a very deep sleep."

"That's what this thing does? Extends your life?"

"We both know what happens when we-"

Kiyoshi put his hand on Akane's shoulder "Enough."

"Don't cry, I'm here now. Where's Haruhi?" A soothing voice said. Akane turned around first. She gasped at who she saw, Watanabe. Watanabe had dark brown eyes, and always seemed to be smiling. He wore a simple, black kimono; similar to Gorou.

"Haruhi's getting her bandages changed." Kiyoshi said. Tadashi slowly waved his hand infront of Akane's face.

"Oh. Well, I brought her a get-well card. What happened to-"

"Don't ask." Tadashi interrupted, "It's a long story."

"What did happen anyway?" Kiyoshi asked

"What the hell did I just say?" Tadashi hissed, pushing Kiyoshi away from him. "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Obviously not, moron. I was just asking a question." Kiyoshi retorted. "Now back off and calm the hell down." He pushed Tadashi away just as he did to him. Akane and Watanabe just let the argument go on, and sat on the bench outside of Haruhi's room.

"So.. How've you been?" Akane asked, twiddling her thumbs. "I haven't um.. haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been...I've been busy. So how's Haruhi doing? Nobody told me what happened so I just-"

"It's better that you hear it from Haruhi." Akane stated simply. "It's a fragile situation."

"How bad is it?"

"Alright, I'm all finished. You three can come back in now." The nurse said, not knowing that Watanabe had joined the group. She kept the door open on her way out of the room. The four of them walked into the room slowly. Kiyoshi closed the door behind him as he was the last one in.

"Sensei, what are you doing here?" Haruhi asked, sitting up in her bed.

"I'm sorry, maybe I should just come back when somebody I know is maimed." Watanabe snorted. "When's the eyepatch coming off, kiddo?" He asked, ruffling her hair. There was a painfully long silence after he asked Haruhi that question, including all of them but Watanabe moving their eyes across the room awkwardly. The silence just seemed to grow longer as the number of times the clock went .. "I...see..." He said finally. "And the cast?"

"Couple months." Haruhi said. "So..I have crutches now, and I'm leaving this room because it's getting cramped and stuffy in here. Who would like to join me?"

"Crutches? Haruhi, I don't think that you should be using a wheelchair by yourself, let alone using-" Akane said

"You are not the nurse. That lady that was in here before is the nurse and she helped me get changed out of the hospital gown, and into pajamas so I can walk freely."

"That's not exactly what I was worried about." Akane muttered as Haruhi was slowly getting prepared.

"Why are you two so silent?" she quickly looked Tadashi and Kiyoshi while trying to get up on her crutches. Before Akane could move a step towards her, she stopped her, "No, I can learn how to do this on my own." she assured. Haruhi stumbled a bit, but soon got the hang of being able to walk with the support of the crutches. "That offer for the walk wont be available forever. Are you guys coming with me?" The group nodded and followed Haruhi to her destination. After about six minutes, they arrived at a wide window which infront of it was a tree. Hidden in the branches was a tiny birds nest which housed a small, blue, bird. Haruhi opened the window, stuck out her hand to the bird, which hopped on the finger.

"This is my friend." Haruhi showed the tiny bird to them. "She." Haruhi told them.

"Aww, she's so pretty." Akane said

"What's her name?" Watanabe asked

"She doesn't know." Haruhi said

"You didn't name her yourself?" Akane asked

"I asked her if she wanted help figuring out what her name was, but she said no."

"You speak bird?" Tadashi asked

"You could say that." Haruhi stroked the birds back. The tiny bird chirped and tilted it's head.


"Well, it was nice to meet you, Birdie-chan. Tadashi, take Haruhi to the cafeteria. We three will go find Ryuu, Masayuki and Ranka-papa." Akane said. Tadashi took Haruhi's arm in his and walked her in a different direction. The bird flew from her finger and back to her nest. Haruhi waved at the bird, stumbling a bit as she tried to keep up with his pace

"Nii-sama, I can't go that fast with crutches." She pulled him back. He turned around and put his arm under hers and around her back, to help her walk.

"Just let me ask one question."

"What?"

"If you weren't in love with-"

"You have a bigger chance."

Tadashi blinked "How did you-?"

"I heard you and Onee-chan out in the hall."

"E-Everything?"

"Just the part about me choosing you or Kii-Nii." She said reassuringly, while thinking: He's so gullible.

"I'll catch up with you later. I just have to take care of something."

"Promise you won't run off again?" he said, still holding her tightly.

"I promise."

"Then come down in ten minutes, okay?"

"Yeah." Haruhi went back to the window and opened it without a sound. She let the tiny winged animal hop on her finger and pat it's head lightly. "Guess what?" she asked

The bird chirped and cocked her head towards Haruhi.

"You already know?"

The bird sang once more and hopped up and down impatiently, as if saying, 'don't insult me.' Then it chirped something else, much more excitedly.

"You found a way out of this curse? Why didn't you tell me you found a way out?"

The bird fluffed up it's feathers smugly

"Ok then, I'll help you. But I'll stop by when i'm not being bombarded by my family, alright?"

The small bird nodded and flew out of the window. "What the hell was that?" Haruhi heard a soft voice behind her say

Shei turned around and stared at Kiyoshi. "Nooothing."

"Sure didn't look like nothing. Now what does that bird know about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Please, Haruhi. I heard the very beginning of you little conversation too. What does the damn bird know?"

"You don't think I'm crazy?"

"I'm not Tadashi. Now what does it-"

"What you guys have been hiding from me." she said darkly

"That's alot of things." he said and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I know what you're hiding too." she said, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"You use me to get Tada-nii's attention." she said blankly.

"How'd you find out?"

"I'm super observant." she said.

"Yeah? I'm even more so. You stayed up pretty late last night, and put on Ranka-papa's cover up so nobody would notice."

"You took up guitar recently. And you're left-handed."

"Ranka-papa caught you and told me about it."

"You have callus on your right hand-finger tips, but not the thumb."

"Nice...You bitch!"

"What did I do?" Haruhi asked

"You changed the subject! Now what does that bird know about?"

"Well, she can hear people's thoughts so..."

"Mm-hmm?"

"I heard Tada-nii and Onee-chan outside in the hall."

"Wh-What all did you hear?"

"Oh, just about everything." Haruhi said.

Kiyoshi sighed. "Well, you were bound to find out sooner or later."

"You're damn right I was. Now can I ask you something?"

"What?"

Haruhi slowly sat down, keeping her crutches next to her. "Tada-nii doesn't think i'm going to be okay." Kiyoshi sat down next to her, and pat her back comfotingly.

"That wasn't a question." Haruhi looked at him blankly "Tadashi just misses the relationship you two had all those years ago."

"What about it?" she mumbled

"You guys used to sleep in the same bed!"

"..."

"I remember how Ichirou got so mad when you guys did that. "You don't know anything about what a man wants from a woman." he always used to say." he said, laughing at the memory "That's not something a four year old should have to hear."

"Why are you bringing all this up?"

He ignored her question, but she asked another.

"Why did you care?"

He blushed a little "It should have been obvious."

Haruhi blushed too. "Th-thank you?"

Kiyoshi laughed nervously. "You say it like you like me."

"Keep holding on to that dream." Haruhi stuck her nose up.

"Hey Haruhi?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't take me seriously..I'm just talking hypothetically..."

"Yeah?"

"If you had to marry me...do you think you would grow to love me? In a romantic way, that is.."

"Naaaannnni? Is Onii-chan falling for me?" she asked jokingly

"Well, we might get married."

"No we won't." she said firmly "It's not the Elder's choice who I marry."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not. Otou-san chose to marry Oka-san."

"You're mom's maiden name was Fujioka. Fujioka, Kotoko. You're parents didn't know that their meeting was planned, and they fell in love with each other."

Haruhi lowered her head. "You're wrong."

"Beleive it or not...the Elder's actually do care about things like love."

"Shut up."

"They're actually not that bad."

"Of course they aren't. I've got to go." She got up slowly

"Where are you going?" he asked

"I'm hungry and I haven't eaten anything since that pudding cup." she said

"Well then. But seriously, would you grow to love me, if we had to get married?"

Haruhi looked away. Kiyoshi got up and grabbed her shoulders.

"Answer me."

"Mr. I'm-already-in-love!" Haruhi yelled back, desperately fighting the urge to say, "What do you see in him, anyway?"

"Tadashi hates me. At least you're my friend. Besides, he pushes you to be with him. I would give you as long as you needed to get used to the fact that we have no choice but to reproduce together."

"Excuse me?"

"Reproduce, as in sexual intercourse. You know, cherries, whipped cream, tasting and licking things, what they make porn out of. Why are you staring at me so weird?"

"You're a pervert. You're a dirty, sick, pervert." Haruhi felt a hand on her shoulder and a burning glare on her back. She turned her head to see a very furious Tadashi.

"You promised you'd be down in ten minutes." he told her, trying to keep his cool.

"I was just talking to Kii-nii. Your brother has a sick mind, you know." Haruhi grimaced.

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes at that statement "Oh please, you act like Tadashi's a perfect angel when it comes to that. I'd rather be a perv who just thinks about things, rather than a perv who doesn't have the self-control to keep his hands off of his own baby cousi-"

That earned him an exceptionally hard punch in the gut. "That's enough out of you." Tadashi said.

"Well, I'm going back to the room.." she said. "That's going to hurt in the morning." Haruhi advised Kiyoshi.


Constructive criticism please :D Have a very nice day.