While the fall had been short, it had also been extremely unexpected. Haruhi, a natural to the world around her, hadn't even thought of screaming at the top of her lungs when she had been taken by surprise and dropped through the floor. She was the type of person that embraced what life threw at her, and if it threw her, she just stood right back up.
Haruhi landed on something soft, sinking into the material of whatever had broken her fall. It was a foam pit, she realized. She propped herself up on her elbows which soon caused her to be pressed further into the foam beneath her. Not planning to dwell very long on the situation, she made her way through the foam blocks and towards the edge.
She found it was easier to roll out of the foam pit compared to her previous methods of walking and crawling. If she walked, she sunk further in. If she crawled, it felt deadly uncomfortably as the foam blocks rubbed against her legs and stuck uncomfortably in between her limbs. It felt like she was swimming and getting nowhere.
After she had successfully rolled out of the foam pit, a rather difficult task if you must know, Haruhi dropped to the ground in a squatting position. She straightened her body as she stood up and then adjusted her vest for comfort purpose. After ensuring that the vest was once more snug against her thin frame, she proceeded to smooth out the bottom of her dress which had become wrinkled and bunched up around her hips after the fall.
"Welcome! Game will begin in one minute. Please take your positions," a feminine voice, computer generated most likely, was emitted from the loud speakers above. Haruhi glanced up, catching glimpses of feet through the boards overhead. She could hear the muffled voices and sounds from above, but there was loud music bursting throughout the room and drowning out the other noises. The music lacked lyrics, but it had a catchy beat fit for the competitive atmosphere.
It was safe to assume that she was on the bottom floor. That meant she'd have to get up to where the rest of the people were somehow. The area where she had been dumped was dimly lit by a flickering bulb, providing an eerie setting. She was alone, having been separated from the rest of her club members. She wondered if any of the others in her group had fallen through the trap doors.
Deciding that she might as well "take her position", Haruhi held the gun to her side and proceeded forward. The only option she was allowed was to continue on straight ahead. Taking one final glance around the area where she had landed, she assumed that those that had fallen had ended up separated from their companions as well. She could only imagine how the twins would respond had they found themselves in the same predicament she was in. A mental image of Hikaru going insane without Kaoru by his side swept through her mind.
"Game will begin in ten seconds," the computer generated voice boomed.
Haruhi continued to walk straight ahead until she had reached a section that split off into two directions. To her right, she could see someone of a small stature wandering around, clutching their gun nervously in front of them as they walked forward, completely oblivious to her presence.
'The point of the game is to individually achieve the most points,' Haruhi mentally repeated to herself as she trailed behind the person at her normal pace. As she drew closer to the person, a loud noise – like a siren – burst through the area and caused her target to jump into the air in shock. The game had begun.
Haruhi took aim and squeezed the trigger.
"Kaoru," Hikaru said.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we should have stayed with them?" Hikaru asked, referring to both the "prince-type" and the "cool-type" that they had ditched a few minutes ago. They had split off from the two others by "accidentally" turning a corner.
Kaoru, who had been walking backwards next to his brother, cocked his head to the side to meet a pair of golden orbs that were identical to his own.
"Nah," the twins chorused together, sharing similar expressions. They both chuckled.
"I wonder where Haruhi is," Kaoru mused aloud, thinking of the girl that they had last seen disappearing through the floor beneath them.
The two of them turned a corner and Kaoru could hear his brother squeeze the trigger of his gun. The cry of protest from what sounded like a little kid could only mean that Hikaru had hit his target. Kaoru, however, didn't have a chance to congratulate him as he shot at the group of approaching players. There were four of them together. He could only assume they were a family from the lanky teenager, his kid brother, and the two touristy looking adults which fit the description of parents perfectly.
Hikaru spotted an escape to his right and decided to take it before the people that he and his brother had taken out could reactivate and retaliate. He grabbed his brother's wrist, and dragged the younger Hitachiin down a small corridor. They turned a corner, took a right, and continued their sprint. He landed another shot on an unsuspecting businesswoman's back before quickly turning into another corridor on his right.
"Ah," Kaoru said with a breathless laugh, "we did good."
Hikaru let a wide grin spill across his lips and he leaned against the wall.
"Hey, Kaoru," Hikaru started, letting his arm, and gun, fall to his side.
"What's up?" Kaoru asked, looking at his twin's face. His older brother wasn't grinning any longer.
Hikaru took a deep breath. He really wanted this question answered, "What do you think of Haruhi?"
Kaoru looked around warily, "Are you sure this is the best place to be having this conversation?"
"Where else are we going to have it?"
The twins gave each other a weak smile.
Kaoru had always been better at dealing with emotions than his twin. While his brother was more brash and acted without thinking, Kaoru observed and examined and thought things out. He knew that he liked Haruhi, and he knew that his brother liked Haruhi. Worse of all, he knew that their fellow club members liked Haruhi too.
"I like her," he said after a few moments.
"Yeah," Hikaru agreed, "me too."
Hikaru looked at the ground, "Do you think she likes one of us more than the other?"
"Knowing her," Kaoru said with a grin, "she probably hates us both the same."
Hikaru let out a laugh at the comment.
"But," Kaoru said wryly, "if she can hate us both the same, that just means she can like us both the same."
"Which is the best way to go," Hikaru supplied, "seeing as we already share everything."
Kaoru nodded, "We just have to make her like us. It's easier said than done, though, seeing as the rest of our dear club has fallen for our toy as well."
"As long as she doesn't end up falling for my lord," Hikaru added, referring to their emotional club president.
"I think we should be more worried about Mori-senpai," Kaoru replied, thinking of the private breakfast that they had missed out on.
Takashi Morinozuka held back a sneeze as he turned left and continued down his current path. He was searching for Mitsukuni at the moment, hoping his cousin hadn't traveled too far. Throughout his journey, he had already racked up a good deal of points. Then again, he had probably traveled throughout most of the course and shot at over half of the game's participants.
Unfortunately for the tall senior, he had yet to encounter any of his club members, least of all his cousin.
He heard footsteps approaching and placed the gun in front of him. Turning to his right, he let the gun fall back to his side.
"Mori-senpai," Kyoya said, recognizing the senior's towering form despite the less than adequate lighting.
Takashi let his eyes scan the area as if expecting to see others from their group.f
"Tamaki and I were separated," Kyoya explained, a small smile gracing his lips as if there was more to the story than the information he had just provided the other man with. To be honest, as soon as Kyoya had noticed that the twins had decided to take an alternate route, Kyoya had also managed to indiscreetly slip away from his blond-haired companion.
"Are you searching for Hunny-senpai?" Kyoya inquired, adjusting his glasses with his free hand.
Takashi nodded. He could already tell from the younger man's tone that he had not encountered his cousin during his travel.
"I'll come with you," Kyoya offered, deciding that the senior would be a suitable companion. Besides, if they ran into Haruhi, he wouldn't have to worry about her spending any more alone time with the "wild-type" like she had during breakfast. Sure, he wasn't one to talk, having gotten a back massage out of her the previous night, but he wasn't about to let the girl who had captured his attention go off with another man, even if it was a fellow club member. At least, not without putting up a good fight first.
It was, after all, common knowledge that Kyoya Ootori was not a force to be reckoned with.
Mitsukuni was having a great time. He'd played laser tag once before. When he was younger, he'd been classmates with a boy whose parents were owners of a successful hotel chain. It was for his classmate's seventh birthday that his parents had allowed him to turn one of their hotels into a laser tag course.
'The birthday cake had been particularly good,' Mitsukuni thought, fondly remembering the fluffy, chocolate icing.
He'd been taken by surprise when the floor had slid out from beneath him and he'd ended up falling through the trap door, landing in the foam pit waiting below. He'd quickly gotten out of the pit and had been disappointed to find himself alone. Although he'd been separated from Takashi and the rest of the club members before, the feeling of loneliness had never been a welcome one.
Mitsukuni was not one to dwell on sad thoughts for very long. His attention was drawn elsewhere when he got a bit carried away chasing the businessmen and prim-proper ladies around with his laser gun. A particularly funny encounter had occurred when a portly man sporting a flower-print shirt and khaki-colored shorts had entered into his line of fire. Even under the black lights, he'd been able to see the man's cheeks growing red with anger after he'd shot at him over seven times in a period of five minutes.
"Hunny-senpai!" he heard a familiar voice call and quickly spun around.
"Haru-chan!" Hunny exclaimed, bouncing towards the girl and giving her a quick embrace. Hugging her with their vests on hadn't been too comfortable, but Hunny found it enjoyable nevertheless. He always liked Haruhi's hugs.
"Mori-senpai isn't with you?" Haruhi inquired, glancing over the small senior's shoulder to find the spot empty.
"Nope," Hunny replied, quickly pushing her to the side and shooting at a bulky man behind her.
Haruhi, not taken aback by the action, aimed at the woman who had just entered her line of sight. She pulled the trigger, watching as the woman turned to face them with a disappointed scowl, waiting to reactivate.
Hunny grabbed onto the girl's wrist and pulled her down another corridor. They hurried down the path, making two lefts, a right, and another left before reverting back to a walk.
"Game ends in five minutes," the electronic voice from earlier burst from the speakers above.
"I wonder how many points I got!" Hunny wondered aloud in an excited tone, "I bet I got a lot because I shot at this one guy a few times..."
Haruhi shot at a man who had wandered into their area; her laser landing against the sensor on his chest. The man quickly backed up and ran in the direction he had come from, obviously having no desire in going up against a team of two.
"...and then," Hunny continued, "there was this one guy who kept swearing loudly, so I shot at him and he got really mad and tried to chase after me but I ran around a corner too fast and then when he reactivated, I shot him again. He was so mad!"
This time, it was a little girl – the one she had first shot at in the beginning - that wandered into their path. Haruhi squeezed the trigger and watched as it landed against the sensor in the girl's gun.
"Oh! Haru-chan is really good," Hunny exclaimed, admiring the younger girl's aim.
Haruhi quickly ducked into the corridor on her left with Hunny trailing after her as he continued the recap of his story.
"...and I spun around and there was this woman that shot at me and ran off, but I caught up to her and shot her back..."
A flash of blond hair was the only thing that Haruhi's mind registered before she was engulfed in a bone crushing hug.
"Senpai," Haruhi wheezed out in greeting as the blond snuggled her cheek affectionately.
Tamaki was already proclaiming how much he missed his "darling daughter" and how those "wicked demons" had abandoned him. He sighed pathetically as he recounted the events, mentioning how he and "mother" had been separated.
"Tama-chan!" Hunny cheerfully exclaimed, "Haru-chan is really good at this game!"
"Really?" Tamaki asked, his eyes sparkling as he embraced her once more, "Daddy's so proud!"
They didn't have time to continue with their conversation as a dark figure shot at them and rushed off.
"Hey!" Tamaki protested, angry that the dark figure had just ruined a wonderful moment with his self-proclaimed daughter.
"Game has ended, please proceed to exit," the electronic voice rang, "arrows on the ceiling are provided as guides to the exit."
Haruhi looked up, and sure enough, there were neon lights hanging above to guide the way. The lights seemed to snake across the ceiling, reaching across the course.
"Let's go," Haruhi said.
They started walking. Haruhi would glance up every so often to ensure that they were going in the correct direction. After about three minutes, they joined a flood of people who were filing into the exit.
"Haruhi!" Hikaru and Kaoru called, running up to greet the girl. They wrapped their arms around her and clung possessively to the smaller girl. She looked up and glanced around, spotting Kyoya and Takashi who were also approaching their group.
"Mother!" Tamaki wailed as Kyoya halted his steps and glanced at the group.
"I see everyone's accounted for," Kyoya said coolly after a swift examination.
Takashi had taken his place at his cousin's side, towering over the martial artist.
The group entered into the familiar room where Lt. Davies had instructed them on rules and guidelines. The muscular man was no longer present. Instead, another man, dressed in similar attire, had taken his position at the head of the room and examined the crowd with scrutinizing eyes as they placed their vest back on the wall.
After they had placed their vests back on the wall, the twins dragged her from the room and towards the lobby where another group of people were waiting for the next game. They stood, chatting amongst themselves in light tones. Haruhi noticed that there were less business people and, in their place, were more kids with their maids and nannies.
"Haru-chan, Haru-chan!" Hunny shouted and she turned to face him. He was pointing at a large screen television with a series of names and rankings.
"Wow," Kaoru said from her left, "Haruhi came in second."
He was right. The name "Haruhi" was next to the number two. The spot beneath her read "Usa-chan." Fourth was Takashi. Kaoru managed to land a spot as fifth, Hikaru coming after his brother in sixth. A few more names down the list, she caught sight of Kyoya's codename on the sixteenth spot. Almost at the very bottom was Tamaki, having taken the ranking which was fourth to last.
"My lord didn't do so well," Hikaru commented as he tossed a grin at the depressed looking club president.
"Um," Haruhi started. The host club looked at their female companion curiously and waited for her to continue speaking. She was staring at the screen. Well, to be more specific, she waffs staring at the codename of the person that had scored the highest in the game.
"Doesn't that name look familiar?" Haruhi inquired.
Kaoru glanced at the name and felt his eyes widen, knowing that his twin had reacted in a similar fashion.
"Bereznoff."