A/N: This chapter was probably the hardest to write. Mori is just such a talkative fellow. XD
Enjoy!
.04 Mori
Several block away from Haruhi's apartment complex, there was a small park that she always enjoyed visiting, especially during the spring and summer. It was usually very quiet as most people frequented the larger park at the edge of town, and so it was a good place for her to go and read or relax in peace.
Today was the last day Haruhi would spend at home for several weeks, as tomorrow she would be going to her Dad's friend Misuzu's pension in Karuizawa where she'd spent her last summer. She was looking forward to the clean air and peaceful (if uneventful) atmosphere she enjoyed the previous year. Last time, she even ran into her old friend, Arai. She wondered if she'd see him again this year.
She wanted to spend her last day in town at her favorite place, and that's what led her to the park on this day.
Of course, every so often a day came where the park was more crowded than usual, and today, Haruhi was dismayed to find, was one of them.
The brunette had to resist the urge to openly sigh or roll her eyes. Looking to the left, she saw the large, shady tree she liked to sit under occupied by a pair of googly eyed lovers and their picnic basket. In addition, almost all the park benches were taken as far as she could see.
'Well, I came this far,' She told herself when faced with the thought of just going home.
Haruhi walked, book in arm, down the long, dirt path looking for an open bench. Only when she got to the end of the line did her search sort of pay off. Each bench could seat up to two people (maybe three). While the others had already filled their two person capacity, this bench only housed one person.
He looked familiar, that was the first thing Haruhi noticed. Even though he was sitting down, she could tell he was a lot taller than her. His face was neutral, and his eyes stared straight ahead at the grass. Haruhi wondered if he was waiting for someone or just enjoying the atmosphere the way she liked to. Not wanting to disturb him, she turned to walk away. However, she was suddenly assaulted by several voices in her head.
'Haruhi,' Her father's voice said. 'You need to make more friends. Those twins you tell me about seem nice, but you've never even brought them home to meet me. I know you went to Ouran to study, but I still want you to have some fun!'
'You really should open up more,' The voice of her old friend Kasumi sprang up. 'I bet they'd knock off all that 'commoner' talk once they got to know you better.'
Haruhi sighed, 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to try once.'
And with that, she turned back around and put on a smile.
"Good Morning," she greeted him.
He didn't answer, look up, or acknowledge her in any way.
Haruhi blinked. Did he not hear her?
"Good Morning," she said again, louder this time. "Is this seat taken?"
He glanced at her and for a few seconds simply stared into her eyes, then he made a small gesture with his head which she believed indicated 'no'. He then went right back to staring straight ahead. Haruhi had no idea what to make of that.
'What's with this guy?' She thought to herself.
"Hey, Haruhi!"
The brunette turned towards the voice and saw three small boys running to her, all of whom she instantly recognized as neighbors from her apartment complex. She smiled as she walked toward them and away from the stoic-faced man.
"Shinta-kun," she addressed the auburn haired boy closest to her before glancing at his two brown haired companions. "Hiro-kun, Akira-kun, you guys didn't run away from your parents again, did you?"
Shinta shook his head, "Nah, they're all over there."
He pointed towards a group of adults sitting at a picnic table and Haruhi nodded.
"Okay, so what to you need?" She asked.
"She can't help us." Hiro whispered to Shinta, who shushed him.
"We were playing catch, and our ball got stuck in a tree and it's up really high and we can't get it down!" Akira piped up.
"Can you help us, Haruhi?" Shinta asked.
To be honest, Haruhi wasn't sure she could. She wasn't all that tall, so getting balls out of trees wasn't exactly something she could do easily. Still, she nodded.
"Sure, I'll help."
Shinta and Akira grinned, while Hiro just rolled his eyes. Shinta took Haruhi by the arm and pulled her toward a large tree. Looking up, Haruhi could see the ball situated on a branch that she could reach... were she about three feet taller, she realized as her shoulders dropped.
The boys noticed this as Shinta let out a disappointed sigh.
Behind them, Hiro rolled his eyes again, "I told you guys she couldn't help, she's too short!"
"Shut up, Hiro," Shinta snapped at him.
"Have you tried throwing another ball up there to try and knock it down?" Haruhi asked, trying to be helpful in any way she could.
"We don't have another ball," Hiro rudely replied. "Dontcha think we'd have tried that already?"
"Well maybe your parents and help you get it down."
"They're too busy talking about boring grown-up stuff," Akira replied, hanging his head.
Haruhi frowned, not knowing what to do next. If only she were taller, or at least had something to stand on top of.
"This is pointless, you guys," Hiro was saying. "We should just forget it and go- HOLY CRAP!"
"Hiro-kun!" Haruhi snapped at the boy. "Don't use that language."
"But there's a giant coming this way!" The wide-eyed boy shouted as he pointed at something behind her.
"Eh?"
Haruhi turned, and sure enough, the silent man from before was walking over to them. The same lack of expression adorned his features. Haruhi opened her mouth, but no sound came out as he stopped directly in front of her.
She was definitely right about him being tall; from this position she had to crane her neck all the way up just to see his face. The three boys were all staring at her fearfully, waiting for her to do or say something. Even Hiro-kun was, for once, at a loss for words.
"Can I help you?" Haruhi asked him, careful not to betray any emotions. She didn't think the man was dangerous, but couldn't be sure.
He switched his gaze from her to the tree, which was too tall even for him. Haruhi had turned her head when he did, and therefore didn't see it when the man reached forward and grasped her sides firmly.
"Hey, what're you-" she sputtered while trying to break free of his grip, but he was too strong and by then he'd already lifted her into the air.
"I bet he's gonna eat her," she heard Hiro mutter to Akira, who began to shiver with fear (the poor boy had always had a weak stomach).
Meanwhile, Haruhi was still struggling.
"Let me go, what do you think you're doing?"
He didn't answer, but in the end he didn't have to. At that moment, Haruhi noticed that he was holding her up so high that the tree branches were now at eye level, including the one with the ball wedged inside it. For a moment, she just stared, then she looked down at the young man holding her up. He looked back at her expectantly, and suddenly she understood what he was doing. Tentatively, she stretched her arm out outwards, leaning forward until she felt the leather of the baseball under the tips of her fingers. Once her hand had enclosed the round object, she pulled back, and the man took that as his cue to lower her back down.
When Haruhi once again felt the ground under her feet and the tall man removed his hands from her waist, she held the ball out for the awestruck boys to take. Shinta took it from her, his face still awestruck. Somehow, this action brought the other two out of it.
"That was awesome!" Akira exclaimed jumping up and down happily. "You're awesome, Haruhi! You too, giant man!"
Hiro made a 'pfft' noise at the younger boy's actions, "He is way too easily impressed."
Haruhi and Shinta glared at the bratty child. To their surprise, the boy then sighed and smiled.
"Still, thanks for the help, giant man." He said to the tall man, who predictably gave no response.
"Ahem," Shinta coughed to get Hiro's attention.
The brunette boy glanced at his friend, who jerked his head in Haruhi's direction. Hiro caught his drift and, with a roll of his eyes, gave Haruhi a nod.
"You too, Four-eyes."
Haruhi frowned, but returned the nod. She was long accustomed to the boy's rotten attitude. He'd been like that since the day his family moved in, and she still hadn't forgotten his little trick with the chewing gum last year. Haruhi unconsciously raised a hand to her boy cut hair as the thought entered her mind.
"Come on, let's go play!" Shinta called out.
Hiro ran off without a word, but Akira stayed back to issue Haruhi and 'giant man' a hurried goodbye before running off to join his friends.
Now alone again with the silent young man, Haruhi looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you for the help," she said to him, not even expecting an answer at this point. "Though I wish you would have told me what you were doing beforehand."
The man just looked at her. His expression unreadable as ever.
"My name is Haruhi, by the way," she introduced herself. "I'm not sure, but I think we may go to the same school."
To her surprise, he nodded at that. So she had seen him at Ouran, but he must be in a different grade since she was pretty sure he wasn't in her class. She smiled wider, happy to have finally gotten a reaction out of him, even if he still wouldn't talk to her. It seemed he wasn't quite as standoffish as he'd originally seemed.
"Well, I'd better go now," Haruhi said. "I hope you have a good summer."
With that, she turned and began her walk back home, all while thinking about what she should pack and how to organize everything in her suitcase. By this time, she was completely out of earshot of the quiet young man who stood watching her go. As such, she didn't hear it when two words escaped his lips in barely a whisper.
"You're welcome."
