It felt like forever, battling the monsters. Haruhi's hands felt tired and numb from swinging her sword. Her legs throbbed from running around too much. But adrenaline kept her going, kept her from fainting right there.
Hikaru was pretty good at fighting the monsters. He was agile, but his moves were rather rash. But then who could blame him? The monsters were scary. She would want to get rid of them as soon as possible.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the monsters retreated. Everyone was confused on the sudden retreat, but was happy anyways. Not that happy. Quite a few had fallen.
In the next thirty minutes, everyone was carrying injured bodies and dead bodies to the Big House. Haruhi and Hikaru went to help. They decided to help the bodies that were injured—touching a dead person's body was too much of an uncomfortable thought.
When they reached the Big House, they brought their patients to the infirmary. They set them down on the beds and they were about to leave, but something caught their eye.
The rest Host Club, though scathed, were gathered around one bed. And in that bed was Tamaki, who looked awfully injured. He had bandages around his torso. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted in pain.
"K-King!" Hikaru called, shocked. He quickly ran over to him, Haruhi following along. "What happened?"
"Tama-chan went into battle. But then a big man picked him up and crushed him in his hands." Honey explained. "The lady says all his bones in his torso are broken."
"You idiot." Hikaru was nearly in tears. "Why weren't you more careful?!"
Tamaki laughed, though it was weak and pained. "Sorry. . . I wasn't looking. . ."
"Senpai, please don't talk." Haruhi said. She gently placed her hand over Tamaki's. "Rest."
"Thanks for your concern, my little flower." Tamaki winked. "Papa will be okay. Trust me."
Haruhi smiled. Seriously, he still plays this stupid father-daughter game at times like these? She looked at Mori. "Where's Kyoya?"
"He went to find an Apollo camper. He said they could make the heal process a little faster." Mori replied. He looked at Tamaki, his eyes far away. Lord knows what he's thinking.
The Host Club stayed by Tamaki's bedside. They stayed there, watching the small rise and fall of their club leader's chest. It must have been painful having your bones broken. Haruhi wondered how he felt when his whole torso shattered under the giant's grip. It was a miracle he didn't die.
Most of them were just about to drift off into sleep when Kyoya came in. He had a slightly injured girl beside him. An Apollo camper. But he didn't look happy—he looked distressed, even.
"Kyoya-senpai. . . What's wrong?" Haruhi asked.
Kyoya looked at her with hard eyes. It was unsettling and made Haruhi flinch. "The fleece," he said, voice quiet. "The fleece has been taken away."
"The fleece. . . ? You mean, the one that Peleus guards?"
"Yes. That one." Kyoya ran a hand through his matted hair.
"I don't see what's the big deal," commented Honey. "I mean, the tree is all better now so there's no need to panic, right?"
Kyoya was clearly losing his patience. But he replied as calmly and poised as he could: "The big deal, Honey-senpai, is that the tree is not okay anymore. The monsters just about destroyed it."
"What?!" Kaoru's eyes widened. "But Thalia's tree protects us! Without it. . ."
"I'm glad you understand how distressing this is," muttered Kyoya.
"Don't mind him." It was the girl. She was checking on Tamaki's state. "He's just pissed off because he didn't protect the tree, because the thought of protecting it never came to mind."
The Host Club looked at Kyoya, who only raised his eyebrows. "What?" he asked.
"Don't be so grumpy, ya perfectionist." The girl grinned at him. "It's not your fault."
"Kindly stay out of this, Elizabeth."
"But she's right, senpai," Haruhi said. "It's not your fault. It didn't come to my mind that the fleece or tree was in danger. And I'm a child of Athena."
"Me too," joined Mori.
"Yes, but. . ." Kyoya's voice trailed off and he sighed. "Never mind. I guess you're right. I'm just so tired right now."
"We all are." Kaoru said. "I think we should get some shut eye after King gets treated."
"Agreed," the rest replied.
After Elizabeth had healed up Tamaki, the Host Club went off to their cabins to get some good ol' shut eye.
. . .
Monsters. Monsters, everywhere. They were scattered everywhere on a courtyard, lavishing on food from an almost endless buffet table. They were laughing and cackling, cheering and chattering. The torches' light sent shadows dancing across the open space.
Haruhi looked around. Where was she, exactly? There was a mansion to her right and a wall at her left.
She walked, not knowing where exactly to go. She knew that the monsters couldn't see her, that she was dreaming.
"I can't believe the ambush went perfectly fine!" said an empousa. "Those Camp Half-Blood losers are dead meat without their stupid tree."
Camp Half-Blood losers?
"I can't wait to eat their flesh." a Laistrygonian Giant said. "I'll ride the next boat to America."
America? If they weren't in America, where were they?
Japan.
"Listen, you knuckleheads!" A Hyperborean Giant caught their attention. "Master has somethin' to say!"
The courtyard instantly hushed. They all focused their attention to a man. He was dressed in a dark red hood. Dark hair peaked from beneath.
"It seems that the ambush had gone well," said the man. He smiled. "If we keep this up, we will end up destroying their camp. Which means that Olympus will be vulnerable without their puppets."
The crowd of monsters cheered.
"Soon, we will get revenge on the gods!"
More cheering. Stomping. Whooping.
For a moment, Haruhi felt like she was gonna hurl. It made her sick, seeing all these monsters happy with such things. But when the man took down his hood, she felt her heart stopped.
It was Nekozawa.