I really, really, really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Because I enjoyed writing it :D
Chapter 9-
"Haru... Hi?"
It was the next day, and Hana was at school. She had just run into Haruhi, and received the shock of her life.
Haruhi was a mess. Her own face reflected Hana's- tired, with bags under her eyes, pale skin- but what scared Hana the most were her eyes. Usually so wide and filled with energy, they were half-lidded and dull.
"Haruhi?" Hana asked tentatively, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" Haruhi said, giving Hana a smile that was obviously false, "Why would you think anything was wrong?"
Hana gave her a look, then grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the crowd into a secluded area of the school. It wasn't very hard to find, considering that Ouran High was a behemoth of a school.
"There's still a few minutes until class starts" Hana said, and gave Haruhi a glare, "Talk"
"There's really nothing to talk about" Haruhi replied, looking anywhere but Hana's face.
"A week ago, Tamaki rushed up to me asking if I've seen you. He looked really worried" at this, guilt flashed on Haruhi's face briefly, but it was quickly covered by cold indifference, "You haven't been at school ever since then, and today you show up looking like hell. From what I can see, Haruhi, there's a lot to talk about"
Haruhi stayed silent for a minute, and when she spoke, her voice was strangled, "It's Tamaki... He.. Um, how do I put it.."
"Spit it out Haruhi, this isn't like you" Hana said, nerves giving her voice an edge. It wasn't like Haruhi to fumble with words; she was usually direct, like Hana. It was extremely unsettling.
"Tamaki and I... Had a fight" Haruhi admitted.
Hana expelled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, then stared at Haruhi intently, "Is that all? Seriously? You made me worry that much over a fight?"
Haruhi blushed slightly, "I know it sounds stupid" she said quietly, "But..."
"It does sound stupid" Hana agreed, then stopped herself, "Sorry. I know you probably want a comforting friend now"
"No, it's okay" Haruhi smiled, and this time Hana believed it, "I wouldn't want you to change, Hana. A comforting friend is not what you are"
Hana sighed, and Haruhi quickly tried to re-phrase what she'd said, "I mean, it's not like you're a bad friend, you're an amazing friend! It's only that I can't see you being comforting"
"You don't need to lie, Haruhi" Hana said, "So, what happened? You don't have to tell me, it's up to you" she added hastily, "But I would like to know"
"Tamaki was just being... Tamaki, I guess" Haruhi said, "But I was in a bad mood. The days before the fight, I just started to notice all his flaws. Like, if I coughed, he'd take me to the infirmary, or if my stomach rumbled, he'd arrange a huge feast in minutes. I get that he's trying to take care of me, but eventually it gets too much, you know? What's that word? Overbearing?"
"Yeah" Hana lied. 'Someone taking care of you too much? Haruhi, you are so lucky', "I can imagine"
"So I snapped" Haruhi admitted, "I yelled at him, and I said terrible things. I've tried to apologize, but he hasn't been answering my calls. I must've really hurt him"
Just then, the bell rang, and Haruhi wiped away a few stray tears, before saying, "I'll see you in class, Hana" before walking away.
Hana stood there, wondering just when everything in her life had been ruined. She wanted to turn back time, make Kyoya fall in love with her, make her father never leave, make her mother relax more, make Haruhi fix things with Tamaki. She wanted so many things and every single one of them seemed so in achievable.
"The library is now closing! Please, collect your items and leave!"
Hana sighed, flipping her books shut and stuffing them into her bag. She exited the library and was halfway out the school before she realized, 'I left my wallet on my desk in the classroom'
Rushing back, she navigated through the giant building and burst into her classroom. Walking over to her desk, she gasped. She quickly snatched her wallet, checked its contents- full, thankfully- then stared at her desk.
Her desk was a mess. Obscene pictures and foul words decorated it, some with swear words and others with not, all derogatory. A thousand questions ran through Hana's mind, but she focused on the simplest, 'Who did this?'
"It looks like you have a problem, Hana"
Hana closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself, then glared at Kyoya, "Did you do this?"
Kyoya was standing by the open door, his lips twisted into a cruel smile, "No" he replied, "But I might have to congratulate who did"
That stung, but Hana didn't show it. She gave him a pleasant smile, "Don't bother. I'll have done it first"
He arched an eyebrow, and Hana walked to the back of the class, and thankfully found some cleaning supplies in the storage cupboard. She took them out, walked back over, and started cleaning. When the mixture of Kyoya's gaze and the tense silence, became too much, she spoke.
"You're not going to help?"
"I think we've established that I'm not a knight in shining armor, continuously coming to your rescue"
This time the sting made Hana flinch and it showed. Kyoya chuckled, forever the perceptive one, and her face flushed. She took out her fury on the table, scrubbing the words as though she was trying to scrub her feelings away.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Hana asked, through gritted teeth.
"As the president of the Host Club, and a member of the student council, I have responsibilities"
"And as a smug son of a bitch, you must have the responsibility of boasting about unearned positions"
She looked at him then, met his eyes in a silent challenge. He stepped into the classroom, door shutting behind him.
"Unearned?" His head titled slightly, and then he said the worst words he could have ever said, "Two weeks ago you'd have never said that. What happened?"
As she opened her mouth to retort, he cut across, "Is it because of our... Arrangement? To be fair, I never told you it was anything more than business. You have no right to be angry"
He was right, of course, and that was the worst part. He wasn't a villain. Even though he'd tricked Hana into feeling for him, it was Hana's fault for being tricked. She'd walked straight into a lions den; could she really blame the lions for being there?
"It's amusing, seeing how quickly a girl can fall in love with me when I play the part of the nice guy" Kyoya sighed, as though this was such a great dilemma, "Oh, well. I am an Ootori, after all. I'm sure you only fell for me because of my money"
"I'm not in love with you" Hana snapped.
"Oh?" Kyoya replied, interested, "Is that so?"
"I might have a... A crush on you" Hana spat the words out, "But I'm not in love with you. And I never will be"
"Really?" He inquired, taking another step towards her. She tried to back away, but the back of her legs hit the desk and she stumbled slightly. All of a sudden Kyoya's arms were around her, steadying her, and she lifted her head up to see a devious smile on his face.
"You may not be in love with me yet" he whispered, "But you will be soon. I will haunt your every dream" as he said this, he lifted his hand and gently caressed her cheek. Hana wanted him to stop but she couldn't move, couldn't say anything, "Whenever you have a spare moment you will think of me" he grabbed one of her braids and pressed it to his lips and she shuddered, "You will be my intoxicant, and I will he your drug" he tilted her chin up, and then, "Hana Kaneko, you will love me"
And then his lips pressed against hers and she forgot everything. She'd thought that every kiss after Takeuge-sensei would remind her of his, but this was... Bliss. She didn't even notice that she was kissing him back. It was slow and gentle, and Hana felt herself melt into it, into him.
He broke it off, and millions of emotions swam in his eyes. He forced a sneer but Hana saw through it, and then he left.
Hana just stood there, mind blank, fingers touching her lips as though she was trying to confirm what the hell had just happened.
Hana frowned. Three missed calls.
She'd just left the school, fighting back the tears of a broken heart. She felt used. Heck, she had been used. It was as though she was one of Kyoya's old toys, and he'd just realized that she might provide him with a few more hours of entertainment.
And that was the worst. Because it meant that he held no value to her feelings. It meant that he didn't care at all. Even though she'd found that he'd tried to trick her to fall in love with him for his own benefit, she'd clung onto a little hope, 'There was no way that he could act like that, acting so believably.. He has to feel something'
But now, after today, she'd realized that he did not give a damn about her. He didn't care at all. He'd toy with her feelings, make her believe in him, then leave her in the ground feeling depressed. She knew she had to accept that, and move on.
So why was it so difficult?
'Because of that look he gave you... The one that made you feel as though you were the most precious thing in the world...'
Trying to forget her cheesy, dramatic thoughts, she listened to the voicemail of the third message, and felt her heart stop beating at the words.
"Miss Kaneko? Your sister, Sakura, has fallen ill. Please, come to.."
The caller, Sayaka-sensei and one of Sakura's teachers, named the hospital and the directions to it. Without realizing it, Hana was walking there, phone glued to her ear and listening intently, hoping that her phone would reveal her sisters well being. Damn it, she'd know that there had been a flu going around. But because of bloody Kyoya, she hadn't even considered the fact that Sakura might get it.
The overheard conversation from the other day echoed.
"Did you hear about Aoi-chan? She's, like, in hospital!"
"What, no way! What happened?"
"She got, like, this fever, cause there's this really nasty flu going around. Not many people have it, but like, when you get it, its really bad"
Cursing her stupidity, she hoped a flu was all Sakura had. Because if it was any worse, Hana would... Hana would...
She didn't know what she'd do.
"Hana, watch out!"
She was thrown across the street by a kick to the stomach. She went flying, the sheer force of the kick carrying her off the street and onto the sidewalk. Gasping for breath, she looked up to see a running... Honey?
"What were you doing?" Honey scolded, in that adorable way of his, "You could've gotten run over! You have to look both ways before you cross, and you have to hold a grown-ups hand!"
"Agh... Sorry" she muttered. It struck her as odd to be apologizing to someone who had just kicked her in the stomach.
Honey peered down at her, probably the only time he'd be able to in his life due to his height, Hana noted dryly. He didn't offer her a hand up, and Hana pulled herself up, trying to calm down. As she looked down into his concerned eyes, tears welled in her eyes and she couldn't hold it in anymore.
She started crying. God, she was so confused, from Kyoya's kiss to Haruhi's relationship issues, that maths homework and now Sakura's illness... She was all over the place, and even though she was in a public place in front of a guy she didn't even know that well, once she started crying she couldn't stop.
"Hana-chan" Honey said, sympathy on his face, "What do you need?"
"Take me to Sakura" she whispered, "Just take me to her"
Honey did just as she asked, and on the drive there he didn't ramble at all. He didn't talk about his favorite cake or Usa-chan or tea. He didn't talk about anything. It was so extraordinarily out of character for him, and Hana respected that. It showed, that underneath all the cuteness, was someone who was mature.
Well... Maybe slightly mature.
When they'd made it to the hospital, Hana had charged at the receptionist, demanding to know where her sister was. Obviously familiar with distraught visitors, the receptionist delivered the information clear and concisely, then added, "Also, please note that visiting hours are almost over"
At that moment, Hana didn't give a damn about visiting hours, but she forced herself to nod before charging, trying to find where her sister was. Honey followed, struggling to keep up, using his cutesy act until Hana finally decided to just carry him.
"Hana!" Honey whined, "Slow down! You're running too fast!"
He reached her, and stumbled falling over. He burst into tears, "I skinned my knee!" He wailed, "Hana, help! It hurts!"
She knelt down, and shoved him onto her back. He was heavier than he looked, and she wondered how Mori managed carrying such a heavy load around constantly.
"Thank you, Hana!" He beamed, "Now onward, my faithful steed!" He leaned over and gave her a childish grin she saw out of the corner of her eye, "I know a big word! Steed!"
"This steed will throw you off if you don't be quiet" Hana warned, and Honey giggled. The way Honey was acting reminded her of Sakura. Add that with his small frame and Hana might've actually believed he was eight years old.
Hana finally reached the room with her little sister and stormed over to her bed, ignoring the other patients in the room. Her breath caught when she spotted her sister. Sakura was lying still, her face bright red, sweat trickling down her cheek. Sakura's teacher, Sayaka-sensei, was dabbing at it with a cloth, a worried expression on her face.
Hana swallowed against the impossibly hard lump in her throat. This was bad. This was really, really bad.
Whats worse is that this is where the chapter is ending ;(. Sorry! I know that one 2,000 worded chapter every 3-4 weeks is an unreasonable updating time, and I'll do my best to get the chapters up faster.
Regardless, I hope you enjoyed! Please send me your thoughts in a review. What did you think of Kyoya? Was he too out of character?
Oh, and a quick shout out to KR Wolfe , who's writing an amazing story called Camera Shy. Its an Ouran Fanfic about Emi, a girl who somehow finds herself the Host Club's photographer, and she ends up developing feelings for a certain host... Check it out if you have the time!