2. Intruder

Disclaimer
Ouran High School Host Club is the shared property between Hatori Bisco and Bones Studio. I own none of the characters nor the original plot line. Only the idea of this fanfic belongs to me.

Author's Note
I have to declare that many of you may be disappointed with this chapter; from this point on, the Tama-Haru relationship is not the centre of attention anymore because I sort of want to work on the development of other couples as well.
As mentioned before, I am not exactly a huge Tamaruhi fan, as much as I'm okay with fics along that line—Alright, so I'm okay with pretty much every coupling, but you know what I mean—but there would be plentiful of Tamaki x Haruhi still for all those who prefer these two. Don't worry, I live only to serve my readers; if you're happy then I'm happy. XD
The rating has been changed to 'T' as well because of the first little bit in this chapter; it's not brutally violent or anything, but it may still be disturbing to younger children. (I thank my many years of Japanese Drama watching for this scene where Haruhi gets bullied when she was at school.) Ugh, I do hope that Tamaki doesn't seem too out of character in the flashback...
Anyways, here comes chapter two!
P.S.: To all those who have no idea as to what 'Yankees' means, well, it's a term that the Japanese people use in referring to those who look 'not nice', or simply, gangsters.

--

The warm afternoon sun shone into the chilly classroom.

Beside the trashcan stood a crowd consisted of five girls.

In the centre of the group, a young teenager was being pushed against the cold floor by one of the elder students.

The victim's face was a delicate one. Not too delicate however, because that would have made her look fragile, and she was anything but.

She was gifted with rosy cheeks, tender pink lips, and flawless flesh; there was nothing unpleasant about her features. All that had belonged to the freshman was perfectly made, especially her amber globs, which were shining with anger and frustration during the moment.

Many of her classmates had told her how they admired her. Her ravishing eyes, her Godly grades, her calm nature, her just personality...Everything about her was praiseworthy.

These admirations within her school friends in turn, led to many confessions and eventually, jealousy started to rise from those who could not accept her popularity.

She began to find the traps that were set up for her; tacks were being placed inside her indoor shoes, dirty water would be poured down from above every time she had to use the restroom. The list went on.

After the first couple of incidents, though, she quickly adapted to the hateful actions, and would always be able to leave the scene unharmed.

However, the Yankees had then decided that it was time they showed her how much she was detested.

Needless to say, the petite brunette had tried her best to protect herself during this unwanted rumble; she succeeded in bruising three of the intruders, and had given two of them cut-lips.

But there were simply too many of them for her to fight off, so she soon found the anti-Fujioka group beating her to the ground, her hands being clutched tightly behind her by one of the stronger members.

The youngest girl struggled to get up, but in return she got a solid kick on the temple, and her jaw hit harshly against the floor.

She saw a blade swaying before her nose, the tip of it reflecting off a quick flash. Then a soft yet frigid whisper breathed into her ear, "Let's see what happens to that pesky pretty face of yours once we finish cutting it up."

She shuddered.

A roar of merciless laughter barged into her hearing organ as she squeezed her eyes shut, not yet ready to face the pain that she would soon have to endure.

However, the blow never came.

As the hand that held the weapon was about to strike against the freshman, a tall figure stopped it with a firm grip.

The original target looked up with great difficulty and saw a pair of ocean blue eyes.

The rescuer's lips parted as he spoke to the Yankees with forced calm, "Do not, I repeat, do not, ever think of hurting Haruhi again..."

Although his princely features were still there, but with the disappearance of the warm smile that was always seen on his face, the four sophomores knew that they were given no choice but to plead for the forgiveness of Suou Tamaki.

--

As soon as Fujioka Haruhi stepped out of the vehicle onto the grounds of the Mori Art Museum, she was greeted by raging noises and constant flashes.

She flinched a little at the sparks of blinding light around her then relaxed once more as she came to the realization that they were merely the cameras of the excited reporters; there has not been such a thrilling event for years.

Haruhi looked up at the grand tower. It was too dark to see anything, so she had to wait till the spotlights to shine on the plate of the clock.

The fancily made minute hand was pointing at the Roman numeral that read 'XI', while the second hand aimed at the sign at the very bottom.

The twin Kaitou would intrude into the museum soon, but she was feeling more prepared than ever as a cool wind blew through her shiny chocolate-brown locks.

"Bring it on." the petite woman muttered as a confident smile appeared around the corners of her lips.

A nearby journalist tugged on the sleeves of her partner when she noticed the arrival of the brunette.

"Commander Fujioka!" the black-haired reporter called out with enthusiasm, which caused all the other reporters to spin around at once.

The Commander soon found herself being surrounded by the crowd, and had to constantly squint her eyes as flashes of pictures were being taken. Millions of questions were violently thrown at her as well; she barely had time to answer the first one when the rest were rubbed into her face.

"Commander, what is your opinion on tonight's event?"

"Commander, do you think you will be able to handle both Phantom Thieves at once?"

"Commander, how many men do you plan on using in order to capture the Phantom Thieves?"

"Commander—"

All the questions that were waiting for her to answer were starting to get irritating. She needed the place to quiet down first so she could think up a strategy. Then she would have to find Inspector Houshakuji and start giving orders.

So, being a tranquil person as she was—unless it was when she had to deal with Commissioner Suou, that would have been another case—Haruhi flashed one of her natural smiles at the eager crowd, (which caused several of the women to regret that the Commander was born a female) and assured the citizens of the country that she would do her best to capture tonight's targets.

--

The cool moon was a shade of scarlet tonight. Strange, yet elegant at the same time.

On top of the grand tower, two identical figures who looked to be about twenty-three-years of age were peering down at the noisy crowd from above with great interest.

Both faces of the mysterious shadows had looked the same, but it was obvious that one was more mature than the other, although more naive at the same time.

"Ne, Hikaru," the sitting individual murmured without looking up at his mirror reflection.

"...Hmm?"

"Humans are such silly creatures, don't you think?" the younger one of the two asked, then beamed at his brother sweetly, "They're making such a huge fuss over nothing."

The older twin's lips curved upwards, although the smile was clearly not out of amusement.

"Ah." he responded absent-mindedly and shrugged, his golden globs fixed on a certain being beneath them.

The other one glanced at what his brother was staring at—...

She was a sophisticated woman who looked to be in her early twenties.

Her frame was small, and, as Kaoru had decided, there was only one word that could be used to describe her; petite. She was not horribly thin like a lot of the modern women. No, her waste was slender and although she did not look entirely luscious, there was a kind of elegancy within her that no other woman could have had the terms to compare with.

Her warm chestnut-coloured tresses hung loosely on her shoulders. It looked perfect on her; if ever it were to be worn any longer or shorter than it was, it would have made her all the less attractive.

On top of her charm was the ethereal yet determined pair of hazel eyes that seemed to hold the magic of lightening up the mood of anyone she talked to.

Right now, although she was having a somewhat difficult conversation with an emotionless spectacled man, an amiable smile was still presented on her face naturally. She even returned the salute back to the male after he had dropped his right hand, walking off and entering the museum from the entrance.

The younger brother looked up again to examine the expression of his own brother. He found both puzzlement and amazement on the face of his other half as he seemed to be absorbed in observing Commander Fujioka.

Grinning mischievously, Kaoru's eyes reflected off of the moonlight and twinkled in the dark like a cat's, "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Although it was a cool night, the first one of the two immediately felt the heat rising from his neck as he turned his face to look at the moon behind them, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Awww, come on," the younger twin teased, "I know that look, Hikaru. I've known you for almost four-hundred years; I can sense it when there's something on your mind."

"..."

"Besides," Kaoru closed his eyes and went on as a smirk began to form on his face, "the only thing I said was that 'she' was 'beautiful'; I didn't even say who I was referring to but you were already denying the fact! Don't tell me that you've really developed feelings—..."

"...Would you not feel lonely, Kaoru?" Hikaru cut the sentence frankly before his brother could finish.

The younger twin blinked innocently, "You mean, if you ever fall for another and leave me behind?" the understanding smile reappeared with a hint of sad loneliness, "We both have to learn to grow up eventually, Hikaru, and when that day comes, it would be time for us to—"

"To go our separate ways." the older twin finished. He was starting to get tired of this conversation.

His twin nodded solemnly.

Being the more repulsive of the two, Hikaru unintentionally grabbed onto the neckline of his brother's dark outfit and yelled, afraid to admit that maybe, just maybe, his other half had believed that he might someday betray him, "Is that what you want though, Kaoru?"

The younger twin stayed silent and let himself accept the verbal attacks. But his reaction had only urged the anger of his rough twin to explode.

"Why are you not responding to me?!...Oh I get it, you just don't want to have anything to do with me anymore, do you? So is that how it is? You're getting tired of your own brother now?"

A wave of deep hurt flashed across the softer pair of golden eyes. It was Kaoru's turn to face the moonlight and let its soothing coolness heal his wound.

Hikaru, who was now regretting and was getting frustrated, let go of his mirror reflection while he mumbled a quiet apology.

The silence between them dominated the air for a minute while the crowd underneath carried on with their exaggerated commotions.

Kaoru was the first one to make a move, unlike all the other times.

He sighed as he stood up. Then the graceful smile returned to his face as he playfully slapped his brother's back, trying to lighten up the mood, "Of course I would never get tired of my darling oniichan! So please don't worry, Hikaru, you know that I will love you forever no matter what the future might bring. Ne?"

Hikaru got up on his feet and, unexpectedly, pulled his other half closer toward his own body, hugging the soft auburn locks that were a duplicate of his own.

He took a deep breath, losing himself within the scent of citrus spice.

Before letting go completely, the older twin planted a gentle kiss on his ototou's forehead, followed by a tender 'thank you.'

The younger one nodded and extended his black wings, flying off into the night sky on his own, knowing that his older brother needed some alone time.

However, even without the unrealized pressure that Kaoru was unintentionally giving him, Hikaru still could not help but to feel irritated.

A surge of loneliness came and overwhelmed his heart.

What was this tension that was stuck in his chest, making him so uncomfortably breathless?

Could it be...That his brother had been right? That he had really fallen for that unworthy human?

That...Commander Fujioka?!

Impossible.

He had never believed in 'love at first sight'; the kind of foolishness only existed in fantasies, in fairytales, and everybody knows that they don't exist.

...Immortal Phantom Thieves have been believed to be only an illusion by many humans as well though, but there he was standing on the roof of a tower, ready to break into the museum within minutes.

How would one explain that?

Besides his feeling of uncertainty, she was only a human, a mere human that was not even suitable to lick the shoes of an immortal like him.

And to top it all off, she was in charge of capturing him and his brother.

Wanting to be with her would mean to place both of them in the hands of danger.

It was forbidden.

Although he hated to admit it, but clearly, he was living in a world completely different from that of Fujioka Haruhi's.

He could not force something that was never meant to be.

Or...Could he?

--

Five minutes till twelve, then she would come face to face with the legend that her deceased mother had once told her about.

The Commander stood beside Inspector Houshakuji and her partner, Ootori, who were busy ordering the troop of three hundred men to hurry up with the security guarding.

Haruhi checked her own belongings:

Two pairs of handcuffs; if one was lost or broken then the other pair would be needed. A fifteen inched baton; to fight off the Phantom Thieves if they ever tried to attack. And lastly, a 380 ACP pocket gun; something she would have to use if there ever came the absolute compulsory.

She hated to end people's lives, of course; who would want to do such a thing, right? But it was her job as a police officer to protect the properties of others.

A sweet melody drifted out of Haruhi's uniform pocket, and she took out her silver-coloured cell phone.

"Fujioka speaking."

From the other end of the phone came the delighted singsong of her boss, "Commander hime!"

"Oh, hello Commissioner." a smile rose upon her face. It was good to hear his voice again at a tense moment like this.

"I just want to say that, Commander, I wish you all the best in carrying out this mission."

"Thank you for the kind words, sir." she answered systematically.

The Commissioner gave a light chuckle as he suddenly remembered something else.

"And...Haruhi?" he added in a shy voice, now moving on to a more personal conversation

"Yes, Commissioner?"

In almost a hushed undertone, Commissioner Suou whispered huskily, "...Please take extra good care of yourself, my hime."

The Commander raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

As if he had gathered up his courage, the blonde male spoke into the mouthpiece with a distinctly loving tone, "I...I don't know what I would do if I ever lose you, Haruhi."

The brunette shook her head and laughed, taking that her boss was just in one of his moods of flirting with women, "You do know that your sweet talks can never make me fall for you, Commissioner?"

"Promise me, Haruhi. Please. I'm having a bad feeling that—"

"If you don't mind me saying so, sir, fate and sixth sense are not to be trusted."

An awkward silence broke out between the two.

Haruhi sighed eventually, signaling to Tamaki that she had surrendered. "I will pay extra attention in my surroundings, sir, if that is what you had wanted to hear. But I have to inform you that I must go now; there's only thirty seconds before twelve."

"Very well," the voice of the blonde said, sounding once more like the superintendent that he was, "I will be hearing good news from you then, Commander?"

"Yes sir."

Sliding the cell phone back into her pocket, Haruhi's ears picked up the first strike in the series of twelve peals.

Two shadows appeared under the radiant moon and vanished into the dark sky as suddenly as they came.

In the midst of the exclaiming and gasping crowd, Commander Fujioka flashed a sneer that was so different from her usual warm smiles.

"Let the game...Begin..."

--

Author's Note
And that ends our second chapter. Oh I wanted to write more about the shounen-ai scene between Hikaru and Kaoru, but couldn't really bring up another reason for the physical contacts. Ahem ahem.
...I just realized too, that I'm better at writing kuso fanfics; I kept on wanting to add some retarded smart arse comment within the chapter like I always do with my so-called 'humourous' fics, (which would always turn out to be kind of...BS-ish too...Ugh.) but really, this story's really too darn serious for my own liking. Oh hell with it...
Hm, the mysterious yet elegant mood in this chapter reminded me a little of the first chapter of the D.N. Angel manga. Don't know why, but I enjoy reading/watching/looking at things with those elements.
Ne ne...the last chapter was like a little relationship interlude between Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye (FullMetal Alchemist), eh? That's what it reminded me of after I finished it. Oh and by the way, Mustang's useless characteristic is ­L-O-V-E! Ha ha ha. X3
On a side note...Come on people! Please review! Just tell me whether you enjoyed it or not, it's that simple! There's like, 100 hits on the story currently but only 2 reviews...-twitch-