Chain Links

By BlueMoon

Wow, FIVE starting reviews! I'm so touched! (Tears of joy) Thank you all for your reviews so far! Here is the (not really) long awaited chapter two!

It was a long ride to the Morinozuka's vacation cottage. Mori had previously received a phone call from Kyoya explaining that he convinced Ranka not to worry about the absence of his daughter, and that she would be vacationing with Mori's family out in the country. What he failed to mention was that it was against Haruhi's own will. The limo pulled up to the cottage and Mori helped Haruhi out. The car drove away just as she realized the cottage, though it seemed more like a dojo to her, was entirely deserted.

"Mori-senpai," she looked up at him, "Are we the only ones here?"

"Hm," he nodded and proceeded towards the entrance when he heard a ring.

Haruhi looked down, "Oh, my cell phone," she reached inside her coat pocket and realized all too late that Mori was still attached to her. He blushed a deep red and yanked his hand away, pulling Haruhi with him. He slowly set her down, although he was panicking on the inside.

"Sorry," he said as she grabbed the cell phone with her other hand.

"It's a text from Hikaru and Kaoru!" she said looking down at her phone.

We can send u fuzzy handcuffs if u'd like! XD

She shut her cell phone in annoyance as Mori led her into the cottage.

"So Mori-senpai, does your cottage have a kitchen?"

"Ah."

"Good, we'll probably have to do the cooking ourselves."

"Ah."

"I'd prefer it that way," they finally found the kitchen, "It's more fun eating a meal you made yourself."

Haruhi smiled and led Mori, to his surprise, to the fridge to begin preparing dinner. For an empty cottage, the place happened to be well stocked, because they found plenty of fresh vegetables and meat, not to mention exquisite seasonings and breads. Before he knew what was happening, the two were side by side, Mori with a half pound of beef and Haruhi dicing carrots. Mori prepared the meat in no time at all and noticed that Haruhi was about to cut into an onion.

"Haruhi," he said, taking the knife from her, "Let me."

She nodded and turned to retrieve the potatoes from the far side of the counter, and when she turned back, the onion was perfectly chopped in a matter of seconds.

"Wow Mori!" she said gathering the onion pieces, "That was great!" She was about to take the knife from him when she noticed that there was a clean cut on the palm of his hand.

"M-Mori! You hurt yourself!" he looked down at his hand in shock. He'd never wounded himself with a blade, but then again, he was fighting a one-armed battle. Haruhi dragged him to the bathroom.

"You've got to be more careful," she said, finding a first aid kit in the cabinet. He felt odd, because usually he was the one who helped others. He smiled as she finished wrapping his hand.

"Thank you," he said, patting her head, "I appreciate it."

Haruhi nodded, "Well, you're welcome. Come on, let's finish dinner."

It took about an hour for the beef stew to finish cooking, and in the meantime the two prepared toasted bread and rice. It was quite a delicious meal, though Haruhi had to force herself to become a bit ambidextrous. When they were finished, Mori, being the gentleman that he was, took it upon himself to collect and wash the dishes while Haruhi cleaned the countertop beside him.

All of a sudden, a shattering sound was heard from the other room. The two froze and Mori slowly set down the plate he was working on.

"W-What was that?" Haruhi asked him, a bit nervous.

Mori glared, knowingly, "An intruder."

He dashed into the other room and spotted five men, all clad in black, carrying empty sacks and wielding knives. A vase lay in pieces on the floor at their feet.

"Burglars!?" she said, her voice shaking, "Out here?" she got close to Mori.

"Damn, I thought this'd be a clean job," said one of the men, raising his knife, "Well, they're a couple of kids, so this'll be easy."

Mori quickly drew a sword from his coat and assumed a fighter's stance.

"M-Mori?" Haruhi stared at the sword, "How long have you had that with you?"

Before she could brace herself, Mori lunged forward and struck at them, bringing Haruhi with him. The men tried to catch Haruhi, who was swinging from Mori's left hand, but Mori was too quick. The burglars retreated out of the cottage and into the woods, but Mori had no intention of letting them get away.

"Hold on to me," he said as she tried to catch her breath.

"What!?" she gasped, realizing that he was about to attack again. Mori flung his arm over his shoulder and Haruhi was forced to hold on to his neck for dear life. He ran into the woods in hot pursuit, targeting the men as if he were a missile. He struck, leaving one man wounded. He struck again, frightening another to his knees. Countless times they were struck by the branches and thorns from the brush, tearing at their clothes. He struck once more, causing a burglar to faint from shock. There were two more left out there, and Mori was starting to break a sweat. Haruhi was a complete mess from her hair to her clothes to her disposition. He turned around a few shrubs when the two slid down into a hole. Mori, catching his balance again, caught the two remaining culprits snickering at them from the top of the slope, and all too late they realized that it was a bad idea to make themselves known. About ten seconds later, both were out cold at the bottom of the slope.

Mori put his sword away and dusted himself off as Haruhi climbed down from his back.

"Uh, are you sure we should just leave them here?" she asked him.

"They won't bother us again," said Mori, turning from the slope in the direction of the cottage, "We should be getting back."

Haruhi nodded and followed alongside Mori towards home.

Though, they remained completely unaware that the intruders had one more friend.